is the oldest continuously-running
Law Firm in the
United States . It was established in
New York City in
1792 and is considered a
White Shoe Firm .
The firm is highly rated by
Chambers and Partners in the areas of
Capital Markets ,
Insurance , and
Income Tax .
CWT was founded by an orphan,
John Wells , in lower
Manhattan . In
1818 , Wells established one of the first law partnerships with
George Washington Strong . On Wells' death in
1823 Strong asked
George Griffin to join him as his partner. This partnership lasted until
1838 , when they separated amicably, and Strong entered into a new partnership with
Marshall S. Bidwell . In the same year, Strong's son,
George Templeton Strong , joined the firm as a clerk; he became a partner in
1845 . When George Washington Strong died in
1855 the firm was renamed Bidwell & Strong by virtue of Bidwell's more senior status, but over the following years it was George Templeton Strong who became the more prominent.
Strong became disillusioned with legal practice towards the end of his life, the final straw being Bidwell's death in late
1872 . Strong resigned from the firm at the end of that year, leaving it in the hands of his cousin
Charles E. Strong . Charles E. Strong wished to form a partnership with his friend
John Lambert Cadwalader , but this had to wait until
1878 due to Cadwalader's appointment as an Assistant Secretary of State.
Henry W. Taft joined the firm in
1889 and became a partner in
1899 . His special expertise in
Antitrust matters led to his appointment, in
1905 , as Special Assistant to the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York to supervise the government's case against the
American Tobacco Company . He returned to the firm in
1907 .
George W. Wickersham joined the firm in
1883 and became a partner in
1887 . In
1909 he was appointed
United States Attorney General by President
William Howard Taft , brother of Henry W. Taft. When he returned to the firm in
1914 it was renamed Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, Strong having died in
1897 .
During its history, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft was known by a number of names:
- Wells & Strong (1818–1823)
- Griffin & Strong (1823–1837)
- Griffin, Strong & Griffin (1837–1838)
- Strong & Bidwell (1838–1845)
- Strong, Bidwell & Strong (1845–1855)
- Bidwell & Strong (1855–1873)
- Charles E. Strong (1873–1878)
- Strong & Cadwalader (1878–1914)
- Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft (1914–present)
The firm became a
Limited Liability Partnership in
2004 .
