Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP is the oldest Wall Street firm still in existence. Its practices include capital markets, corporate, finance, financial regulatory, financial restructuring, litigation, and real estate. The firm has a well-established presence in Charlotte, Dublin, London, New York, and Washington, DC.

Dating Back to the Days of Washington . . . As in George

Cadwalader was founded in 1792, when folks were still sealing letters with wax and writing with quills. It revolutionized practice by eliminating the old system of unpaid law clerkships and establishing the associate role. 

Cadwalader forged a niche in the early New York legal field by working on commercial claims, litigation, maritime law, and real estate for banks and representing insurance companies and members of New York society. The real catalyst of the firm’s growth and increased financial stability is thought to have been former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State John L. Cadwalader, who joined the firm in 1878, bringing big-time corporate connections with him. 

Cutting Edge

A regular in the top 20 of Vault’s Real Estate practice rankings, Cadwalader is known for its work in construction finance, distressed real estate financings, joint ventures, loan sales, management and leasing, mezzanine loan financings, and mortgage finance.

The firm boasts a strong transactional practice, which has a stellar reputation for its capital markets and securities work. Cadwalader is consistently ranked by Vault for its Securities/Capital Markets practice, and in May 2021, the firm was recognized by IFLR Americas as a Structured Finance and Securitization Team of the Year. The firm’s regulatory reputation is one of the best in the industry—the firm garnered another IFLR Americas Team of the Year award in the financial services regulatory category. The firm also received a 2020 Law360 Practice Group of the Year award in the Banking category. The firm has developed a custom application to address the unique needs of the commercial mortgage-backed securities industry.

Beyond Billables

The firm offers year-long first-year, and mid-level training programs and a business development training series to sharpen the business development skills of all attorneys in areas such as networking, branding, developing relationships, and perfecting pitches. The educational opportunities, however, aren’t all about work. For example, through its Civil Rights Series initiative, the firm hosts speakers from a variety of civil rights organizations, including The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, The Women’s March, Lambda Legal, GLAD, The Southern Poverty Law Center, the ACLU, the NAACP, the Brennan Center for Justice, the NYC Commission for Human Rights, and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The goal of the program is to spark conversation and involvement in pro bono projects and the community.

• Following the Great Depression, Cadwalader handled two of the most publicized cases of the era: the Gloria Vanderbilt custody case and the copyright infringement suit involving Gone with the Wind.
• In the 1970s, litigation in the financial arena increased dramatically, as insider trading and white-collar crimes were aggressively prosecuted. Cadwalader’s high-profile cases included Tavoulareas v. The Washington Post, the Agent Orange class action suit, the Dalkon Shield class action suit, and the Fund of Funds case.
• In 2018, Cadwalader was selected by the Federal Reserve's Alternative Reference Rates Committee (ARRC) to develop best practices for cash products in the post-LIBOR world—a $200 trillion market. The firm counsels a number of major global financial institutions and regional banks on their LIBOR transition. The firm even drafted the legislation adopted by New York State that addresses legacy contracts and advised the U.S. federal government and the European Commission on LIBOR-related legislation.  
• In 2021, the firm advised on the $3 billion CMBS refinancing of New York’s One Vanderbilt skyscraper, the second-tallest building in Manhattan. This transaction represents the largest-ever fixed-rate CMBS financing secured by a single asset.

• “Practice Group of the Year” for Structured Finance, Hospitality, 2022—Law360
• Ranked among the leading law firms as part of the annual North America “Innovative Lawyers” awards in Market Firsts (for the Real Estate Finance practice’s work) and Client Delivery (for a firm-wide innovation program), 2022—Financial Times
• Named “Law Firm of the Year” in Derivatives and Futures Law, 2023—U.S. News—Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” 
• Named “CMBS Law Firm of the Year,” 2022—GlobalCapital U.S. Securitization awards
• Awarded “Diverse Women Lawyers International Firm of the Year” and “U.S. – South Firm of the Year” in recognition of the excellence of the firm’s Charlotte office, 2022—Women in Business Law Awards for the Americas