The story
Founding, 18th and 19th centuries
In 1792, attorney John Wells, a Princeton graduate who was one of approximately 80 lawyers in New York City at the time, founded the law firm that ultimately became known as Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft. The firm became a partnership called Wells & Strong in 1818 when George Washington Strong joined Wells' practice.
Wells' death in 1823 prompted Strong to bring in George Griffin as partner. Griffin then left in 1838 and George Washington Strong partnered with Marshall Bidwell. George Washington Strong's son, George Templeton Strong, a lawyer and noted diarist, joined the firm in 1844.
The firm became known as Strong, Bidwell & Strong and then later became Bidwell & Strong in 1855 after George Washington Strong's death. Charles E. Strong, George Templeton Strong's cousin, became the firm's chief in the 1870s. During his tenure, he considered shuttering the firm and moving from law to banking. In 1878, Strong partnered with John Lambert Cadwalader, who was assistant secretary of state during President Ulysses S. Grant's administration.
George W. Wickersham, an antitrust lawyer, joined the firm in 1883 and made partner in 1887. Wickersham was named U.S. Attorney General under President William Howard Taft. Henry W. Taft, President Taft's brother, began working at Cadwalader in 1889; he became partner in 1899.
20th century
Taft served as special assistant to the U.S. Attorney General from 1905 to 1907. The firm became known as Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft in 1914.
In the 1930s, Cadwalader was involved with the custody trial determining the guardianship of Gloria Vanderbilt. Catherine Noyes Lee became Cadwalader's first female partner in 1942. In the 1950s, the firm was led by Cornelius W. Wickersham.
Cadwalader expanded its footprint as the firm opened an office in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1996, established a London presence in 1997 and opened its first office in China, located in Beijing, in 2005.
In the mid-1990s, a group of partners formed what some at Cadwalader referred to as Project Rightsize, an effort from 1994 to 1995 to remove less productive partners. The group shuttered Cadwalader's office in Palm Beach, Florida, and reduced a branch in Los Angeles, California. In all, 17 partners, nearly 20 percent, left the firm. Critics said the move was driven by individuals' financial interests and two former partners successfully sued Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft for violating its partnership agreement.
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21st century
Following the September 11 attacks, Cadwalader assisted families of those killed, including immigrant families. A portion of the firm's post-9/11 work occurred when attorneys learned there was no central resource for families seeking benefits; as a result, Cadwalader lawyers put together the "Handbook of Public and Private Assistance Resources for the Victims and Families of the World Trade Center Attacks", which was released in November 2001. The firm released an expanded version the following year.
During the 2008 financial crisis, Cadwalader reduced its number of lawyers by about 20 percent in 2008. A reporter for The Wall Street Journal suggested the move was meant to lower operating costs as demand for its services decreased. Then-Chairman W. Christopher White stated, "There was a bubble, we rode that bubble, it contracted, and we adjusted". Also during the fiscal crisis, Cadwalader attorneys served as advisers for the U.S. Treasury as Chrysler and General Motors restructured. Cadwalader expanded in China with a Hong Kong office in 2010. In 2011, the firm opened offices in Houston and Brussels.
In 2013, James C. Woolery left JP Morgan Chase for Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft. The next year, Woolery was selected to take over as the firm's new chairman starting in 2015. In January 2015, when the chairman-elect was slated to take the chairman's post, the firm announced Woolery had left Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft to launch a hedge fund. The firm eliminated the chairman position and Managing Partner Patrick Quinn began overseeing the firm.
In 2025, the firm agreed to a deal with Donald Trump to do 100 million dollars' worth of pro bono work on behalf of causes promoted by Trump, which was followed by mass resignations of lawyers.
On December 19, 2025, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft announced a merger with Hogan Lovells to form Hogan Lovells Cadwalader. The merger was approved by partner votes at both firms on April 13, 2026. The combined firm began operations in July 2026, with over 3,100 lawyers.
From Wikipedia’s article on Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3