Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
| Headquarters | 1285 Avenue of the Americas, New York City, New York, United States |
|---|---|
| No. of offices | 8 |
| No. of attorneys | 950[1] |
| Major practice areas | Antitrust, bankruptcy, corporate reorganization, communications, technology, employee benefits, executive compensation, entertainment, environmental, intellectual property, litigation, personal representation, private equity, real estate, tax |
| Revenue | (Gross revenue) $1,301,773,000 (2017)[2] |
| Date founded | Predecessor firm founded in 1875 |
| Company type | Limited liability partnership |
| Website | paulweiss.com [26] |
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP (known as Paul, Weiss) is an international law firm headquartered on Sixth Avenue in New York City. In addition to its headquarters in New York, the firm maintains offices in Washington, D.C., Wilmington, Delaware, Toronto, London, Tokyo, Beijing, and Hong Kong.
| Headquarters | 1285 Avenue of the Americas, New York City, New York, United States |
|---|---|
| No. of offices | 8 |
| No. of attorneys | 950[1] |
| Major practice areas | Antitrust, bankruptcy, corporate reorganization, communications, technology, employee benefits, executive compensation, entertainment, environmental, intellectual property, litigation, personal representation, private equity, real estate, tax |
| Revenue | (Gross revenue) $1,301,773,000 (2017)[2] |
| Date founded | Predecessor firm founded in 1875 |
| Company type | Limited liability partnership |
| Website | paulweiss.com [26] |
Political contributions
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Paul, Weiss was one of the top law firms contributing to federal candidates during the 2012 election cycle, donating $1.23 million, 81% to Democrats.[3] By comparison, during that same period Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld donated $2.56 million, 66% to Democrats,[3] while oil conglomerate ExxonMobil donated $2.66 million, 88% to Republicans.[4] Since 1990, Paul, Weiss contributed $5.44 million to federal campaigns.[5]
Notable representations
Paul, Weiss represents detainees held by the U.S. military at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. A number of the detainees went on a hunger strike to protest alleged inhumane conditions. In response, prison authorities force-fed detainees. Paul, Weiss attorneys filed an emergency application demanding information about the condition of the detainees. In a ruling in October 2005, Judge Gladys Kessler of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ordered the government to provide the detainees' lawyers with 24 hours' notice before initiating a force-feeding, and to provide lawyers with the detainees’ medical records a week before force-feeding.[6]
Paul, Weiss assisted Thurgood Marshall to reverse the doctrine of "separate but equal" in Brown v. Board of Education.[7]
Paul, Weiss represented Edith Windsor in challenging the Defense of Marriage Act in United States v. Windsor in 2013.[7]
Paul, Weiss issued the report in the Deflategate football inflation controversy in 2015.[8]
Paul, Weiss advised the casino operating unit of Caesars Entertainment in its bankruptcy proceedings, taking over the role from O'Melveny & Myers in 2011. It later became known that Apollo Global Management, a private equity sponsor of Caesars, was also a Paul Weiss client. Paul Weiss was found to have a conflict of interest in the matter, although an investigation found no actual harm to Caesars or its creditors.[9]
Paul, Weiss represented the China Medical Technologies (CMED) Audit Committee in investigating an anonymous letter alleging possible illegal and fraudulent activities by management, prior to CMED being discovered to have been the subject of a $355 million fraud.[10][11][12][13][14][15][16]
Rankings
Diversity
In 1949 William Thaddeus Coleman, Jr. was the first black lawyer hired at the firm.[20] On October 10, 2007, Paul, Weiss was included in a ranking of law firms by the national law student group Building a Better Legal Profession.[21][22] The organization ranked firms by billable hours, demographic diversity, and pro bono participation. Paul, Weiss was noted as being in the top fifth of firms researched in number of Asian, female, and LGBT associates, and in all other categories it was rated in the 61st to 80th percentile except female partners (40th to 59th percentile) and Hispanic associates (21st to 40th percentile).[23]
Name partners
Randolph Paul
Louis S. Weiss
Simon H. Rifkind
John F. Wharton
Lloyd K. Garrison