| Coudert Brothers LLP | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | New York City |
| No. of offices | 28 |
| No. of attorneys | 650 |
| Major practice areas | General practice |
| Revenue | — |
| Date founded | 1853 (New York City) |
| Company type | Defunct |
| Website | |
| www.coudert.com | |
Coudert Brothers LLP was a New York-based law firm with a strong international outlook that practiced from 1853 until its dissolution in 2006.
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The firm was established in 1853 in New York by three sons of Charles Coudert, Sr.: Frederic René Coudert, Sr., Charles Coudert, Jr., and Louis Leonce Coudert, which specialized in international law.[1]
The firm represented private investors seeking to acquire rights to build the Panama Canal; French automotive and tire manufacturers opening plants in the U.S.; the governments of Russia, France and Great Britain in the build up to World War I; and Ford Motor Company and a group of foreign car manufacturers in the successful appeal of the Selden Patent Case, ending the attempted monopolization of the automotive industry.The firm prospered under three generations of family control, expanding from its start in New York City to 28 offices worldwide, including Paris, London, Moscow, Sydney, Tokyo, Los Angeles and Shanghai. Coudert partners dealt with financiers, presidents, and ambassadors in settling cases of corporate ownership worldwide, acting as confidential facilitators of Allied arms buying in World War I, and as interventionist supporters in World War II.
In 1986, Coudert Brothers hired Gordon Spivack, a former Yale Law School professor who oversaw the multimillion-dollar antitrust practice at the disbanding law firm of Lord Day & Lord. Spivack took 17 lawyers to Coudert Brothers, plus clients like the Coca-Cola Company.[2]
Though American Lawyer magazine ranked it "among the 100 highest-grossing firms in the United States" in 2004, it was dissolved in 2005 after failing to reach a merger agreement with another firm, Baker & McKenzie.
The breakup of Coudert Brothers was long in coming. In 2004, the firm had profits of only $410,000 per partner—among the lowest in big law firms. Coudert Brothers took a significant hit when Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe recruited 11 partners from its London and Moscow offices, effectively ended its presence there.[3] After the break-up, most of the New York office joined Baker & McKenzie, greatly expanding its New York operations. In Paris, the Coudert Frères office split to the Philadelphia-based firm Dechert and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe. In Brussels, Antwerp, Singapore and Tokyo, DLA Piper and Mayer Brown welcomed new attorneys from Coudert. Additionally, some of the lawyers in Almaty, Kazakhstan and St. Petersburg, Russia went on to be the foundation for new offices for Chadbourne & Parke in those areas. Its Bangkok office switched to Hunton & Williams.
On September 22, 2006, Coudert Brothers filed for bankruptcy.