Talk:Sullivan & Cromwell

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nearly all of the text on this page seems to come from [1] , which is explicitly copyrighted. Unless there is permission this content should be deleted.

Also, this information does not seem to be objective. Essentially, it is a reprint from the firm's Web page. Is this permitted under Wikipedia's policies, even apart from the copyright issue?Masteven 22:20, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

No, this is not permitted under Wikipedia policy, so it should be completely rewritten. I am deleting it from the article and placing it here if anyone cares to rewrite it. --Sbrools ^{(talk . contribs)} 05:08, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

History (from the firm's website) Founding From its earliest involvement in the formation of Edison General Electric Company in 1882 and United States Steel Corporation in 1901, to its present work with leaders of the global economy in the 21st century, the firm has been closely involved in the affairs of some of America's, and now the world's, greatest industrial, commercial and financial enterprises. Sullivan & Cromwell's efforts to bring about the building of the Panama Canal are chronicled in David McCullough's book, The Path Between the Seas. The firm represents the Panama Canal Authority to this day. 1929-1969 The Great Depression and its aftermath reoriented much of Wall Street, and Sullivan & Cromwell was called on to assist clients in confronting a burst of government involvement in business affairs and a new wave of business-related litigation. During this period the firm developed its expertise in defending shareholder derivative litigation and antitrust actions, and was among the first law firms to develop expertise in the field of federal income tax law. A series of new federal statutes, beginning with the Securities Act of 1933, was enacted to regulate the investment industry, and Sullivan & Cromwell prepared the first major registration statement under the Securities Act. The firm's substantial involvement in, and important contributions to, securities offerings and securities regulation have continued since that time. Sullivan & Cromwell partner Rogers Lamont was the first American to die in World War II. Lamont had worked in the firm's Berlin office in the early 1930s and had seen the horrors of Nazi Germany firsthand. Lamont resigned from the firm in 1939 and joined the British Army. Lamont was killed at Dunkirk on May 27,1940. During and after World War II individual members of the firm, including partners such as John Foster Dulles and Arthur Dean, also played important roles in domestic politics and international affairs. John Foster Dulles's younger brother Allen Welsh Dulles was a Sullivan partner for several decades interrupted by his service with the Office of Strategic Services during World War II, as the first director of the Central Intelligence Agency and as a member of the Warren Commission. Sullivan & Cromwell's litigation department was led for many years by Harlan Fiske Stone, before he left the firm to become Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Partner Robert MacCrate served as Counsel to New York Governor Nelson D. Rockefeller and as Special Counsel to the Department of the Army for its investigation of the My Lai Massacre. 1970-2007 During the past three and a half decades Sullivan & Cromwell has grown gradually in measured response to the increasing volume and complexity of their clients' affairs, developing leading practices in areas such as mergers and acquisitions, banking regulation, real estate finance, derivatives and private equity. The firm's work in cross-border capital flows has continued, including substantial involvement in foreign direct investment and project finance, the development of the Euro — and other global capital markets, and the financial flows to Asia and Latin America. As the expansion of the scope and nature of the firm's practice required Sullivan & Cromwell to have lawyers in locations more convenient to clients. Building on the legacy of John Foster Dulles and Arthur Dean, the S&C chairmen during this period, John Stevenson, John Merow and Ricardo Mestres, all aggressively expanded the firm's practice in the United States and around the world. Domestic branches were opened in Washington, D.C. in 1977, Los Angeles in 1984 and Palo Alto in 2000. Overseas, the Paris office, closed during World War II, was reopened in 1962, and offices were opened in London in 1972, Melbourne in 1983, Tokyo in 1987, Hong Kong in 1992, Frankfurt in 1995, Beijing in 1999 and Sydney in 2001. Now a fixture in U.K. legal circles after for 35 years in London, Sullivan is widely regarded as a peer of the Magic Circle (law) firms. In the late 1980s Sullivan partner Robert MacCrate served as president of both the New York State Bar Association the American Bar Association. MacCrate later chaired the ABA Task Force on Law Schools and the Profession. The Task Force's Report, widely known as the MacCrate Report[2], was issued in July 1992 and is widely viewed as template for modern legal education in the United States. MacCrate, a former S&C vice chairman, continues to be active as a Senior Counsel of the firm. In a land deal reminiscent of Peter Stuyvesant's purchase of Manhattan Island, Sullivan & Cromwell purchased its New York headquarters building, 125 Broad Street, in 1992 for a bargain price from the building's bankrupt owner. According to the American Lawyer[3], Sullivan & Cromwell was the 10th largest law firm in the world in 2005 as measured by gross revenue, although it was second only to Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz in revenue per lawyer in the annual AmLaw survey. Sullivan is ranked as the 3rd most prestigious law firm by Vault.com behind Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, and Cravath, Swaine & Moore, ahead of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, Sullivan & Cromwell Chairman H. Rodgin Cohen was among the key leaders in the Wall Street community who successfully worked to provide support for small businesses in Lower Manhattan. The firm's post-9/11 efforts included assisting in the formation of Wall Street Rising.

[edit] Discrimination Lawsuit

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the lawsuit filed against Sullivan by Aaron Charney. Both New York Magazine and New York Observer have done articles on it. It paints a pretty bleak picture as life as a big firm associate.--Davidwiz 15:54, 27 March 2007 (UTC)