| Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | New York City |
| No. of offices | 1 |
| No. of attorneys | 217 |
| Major practice areas | General Practice |
| Revenue | (-0.9%) US$580 million (2010)[1] |
| Date founded | 1965 |
| Company type | general partnership |
| Website | |
| www.wlrk.com | |
Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is a prominent law firm located in New York City. Herbert Wachtell, Martin Lipton, Leonard Rosen, and George Katz founded the firm in 1965.[2] All four were graduates of New York University School of Law. It has for some time been the most profitable large law firm in the world on a per-partner basis according to the American Lawyer's annual AmLaw 100 Survey. The firm also ranks at the top of other various surveys, including the Vault.com Associates Survey and was ranked as the #1 Most Prestigious Law Firm to Work For by the AveryIndex.[3]
Wachtell is generally considered the most difficult law firm to be hired at: summer classes at Wachtell usually have approximately twenty students and are composed of the strongest applicants from top law schools. Its associates are generally paid significantly more than associates at other firms in the country; bonuses are often equal to 100% of associates' salaries. The firm is smaller, and has a lower associate-to-partner ratio, than its peer firms, such as Cravath, Swaine & Moore.[4]
The firm is known for its skill in mergers and acquisitions. One of the founding partners, Martin Lipton invented the so-called "poison pill defense" during the 1980s to foil hostile takeovers. Working both sides of the mergers and acquisitions game, Wachtell Lipton has represented blue-chip clients like AT&T, Kraft, and JP Morgan Chase.
The firm is also known for its skill in business litigation. It has handled many of the precedent-setting Delaware corporate governance cases. One of their most recent clients was Larry Silverstein, owner of the two 110-story towers of the World Trade Center. Videos of another one of the founding partners, Herb Wachtell, arguing cases in the courtroom are shown in law school classes as examples of effective trial advocacy.
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