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Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

Why Cadwalader?

At Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, we put nearly 230 years of legal experience and innovation to work today for many of the world’s most prominent financial institutions, corporations and funds. Our attorneys provide counsel and strategic legal solutions to help their clients break new ground, accomplish business goals, and manage challenges. Our long legacy continues with our work on the most important, sophisticated and complex transactions, litigation, disputes, investigations and regulatory matters of the day.

As a firm community, Cadwalader is comprised of talented and driven individuals committed to excellence and innovation. Across practices, offices and transatlantic borders, we share the common goal of providing world-class client service through the development of a culture that fosters diversity, collaboration and professional growth.

Cadwalader attorneys value their experience of receiving first-rate training and development and access to challenging and cutting-edge client and pro bono work, all within an inclusive and supportive environment.

Our Work

As the oldest continuing Wall Street law practice, Cadwalader retains its reputation as a premier financial services law firm, while serving a truly diverse client base with equal distinction. Our attorneys are known for providing high-quality, well-coordinated and efficient legal expertise that addresses the full spectrum of commercial and regulatory risks and business opportunities, including in the areas of: antitrust, banking, corporate finance, corporate governance, executive compensation, financial restructuring, intellectual property, litigation, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, private wealth, real estate, regulation, securitization, structured finance, tax and white collar defense.

Diversity and Inclusion

We believe that our continued strength lies in ensuring that we attract, retain and nurture the very best talent from all backgrounds, and we expect that the future composition of Cadwalader will, with each passing year, more closely reflect the global community that we serve.

The Cadwalader Center for Diversity & Inclusion (CCDI) is the firm’s organizing body and central resource for its multi-faceted diversity programs. The CCDI’s 10-person global Diversity Committee, chaired by Cadwalader Managing Partner Pat Quinn, is focused on developing tomorrow’s diverse leaders by investing in their success today.  As steward of the firm’s robust diversity and inclusion agenda, the committee aims to improve on existing programs and launch new initiatives that will expand opportunities in retention and promotion, career development and business development for the firm’s diverse and women attorneys.

A representative sample of our ongoing D&I initiatives includes:

  • Diversity Talent Development Programs
  • Civil Rights @Cadwalader -- Our Civil Rights Series began in May 2017 and is focused on providing conversation and education around the civil rights issues of our time, with recent speakers/topics including: gun control, hate crimes, LGBTQ rights, police brutality, reproductive rights and voting rights.
  • Our affinity networks, which are designed to be impactful and inclusive, and to better the business of the firm, include: Asian Pacific American Attorney Resource Group; Black & Latino Association; LGBTQ Network; Veterans Network; Women’s Leadership Initiative; First Generation Attorney Resource Group; and Parents Affinity Network.

Pro Bono

Through a range of pro bono programs, Cadwalader provides assistance to organizations and individuals who cannot afford quality legal representation. We strive to lead by example, matching the diverse interests of our lawyers with the wide-ranging needs of our pro bono clients. Our efforts are connected by a common thread — a collective dedication and commitment to helping the underserved and disadvantaged.

We have established several signature projects to help individuals and communities at the margins of society reach greater levels of self-sufficiency.

These include:

  • Black & Latino Association Immigration Clinic: Founded in 2015, the Clinic serves as a support network meant to increase attorney awareness, knowledge and engagement on pro bono immigration matters.
  • Not-for-Profit Incubator: Over the past 10 years, Cadwalader’s Not-for-Profit Incubator has incorporated and obtained tax exemption for more than 300 organizations, working hand-in-hand with clients to prepare formation documents and all required legal paperwork for the IRS and state agencies.
  • LGBTQ Network Name Change Clinic: The firm’s LGBTQ Network partners with the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund’s Name Change Project to provide free legal name change services to low-income transgender people.
  • Small Business Clinic: Working with our bank clients, we host and staff small business clinics organized by Start Small Think Big, an organization committed to helping low- to moderate income individuals build and sustain thriving businesses in underserved New York City communities.
  • Veterans Life Planning Clinic: Through our Veterans Network Life Planning Clinic, our attorneys, in partnership with Volunteers of Legal Service (VOLS), prepare wills, powers of attorney, and other essential directives and life planning documents for veterans and low-income seniors.
  • Women’s Leadership Initiative Housing Clinic: Attorneys who participate in the WLI Housing Clinic are focused on helping low-income tenants in New York public housing keep and/or repair their homes.

To see a full list of Cadwalader’s long-standing relationships with additional legal service providers, please see our pro bono brochure.