Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
| Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Headquarters |
425 Lexington Avenue New York City |
| No. of offices | 11 total, 6 international |
| No. of attorneys | 835 (2013) |
| Major practice areas | General practice |
| Key people | William R. Dougherty, Executive Committee Chairman[1] |
| Revenue |
 US$1.13 billion (2013)[2] |
| Date founded | 1884 |
| Founder | John W. Simpson, Thomas Thacher and William M. Barnum |
| Company type | Limited liability partnership |
| Website | |
| www.stblaw.com | |
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is a law firm headquartered in New York City which employs over 800 attorneys in eleven offices worldwide. The firm is highly regarded[3] for its litigation and corporate practices, with special attention focused on its mergers and acquisitions specialty. Simpson Thacher is consistently among the most profitable large law firms in the world on a per-partner basis according to the American Lawyer’s annual AmLaw 100 Survey. For 2015, Simpson Thacher was ranked #6 on The Vault’s Top 100 Most Prestigious Law Firm Rankings, and #1 in Private Equity. The firm is also recognized in various other surveys, including Vault.com’s 2010 review of the 20 Best Law Firms to Work For.
The firm has relationships with private equity firms Blackstone Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, and it has longstanding ties to JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and the United States Department of the Treasury.[4]
History
John W. Simpson, Thomas Thacher and William M. Barnum organized the firm as "Simpson, Thacher & Barnum" on January 1, 1884, with offices at 9 Pine Street.[5] The three were formerly law clerks at the old-line firm Alexander & Green. The first associate salary was ten dollars, and the first retainer fee was fifty dollars.[5]
In 1889, the name was changed to "Reed Simpson Thacher & Barnum" when former U.S. House Speaker Thomas Brackett Reed joined the firm. Reed died in 1902, and the name was soon changed to Simpson Thacher Barnum & Bartlett. The final change came in 1904 when it was amended to its current name of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
From its original location at 9 Pine Street, the firm has operated at many offices throughout New York City until finally settling at its present location at 425 Lexington Avenue opposite Grand Central Terminal. The firm also has offices at the Chrysler Building across the street.
Associate Compensation
In 2007, Simpson Thacher led the market[6] by raising the base salary for first-year associates to $160,000 per year.[7] In the process, it established the market salary for all of its peer firms in New York City.[8] Simpson Thacher again led the market in 2014 when it raised associate bonuses by as much as $40,000,[9] matched within hours by other NY elite firms Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison and Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton.[10]
Rankings and awards
Simpson Thacher is consistently among the most profitable large law firms in the world on a per-partner basis according to the American Lawyer’s annual AmLaw 100 Survey. The firm is also recognized in various other surveys, including Vault.com’s 2010 review of the 20 Best Law Firms to Work For.
- For 2011, Simpson Thacher was ranked #6 on The Vault’s Top 100 Most Prestigious Law Firm Rankings, and #1 in Private Equity.
- Recognized in 61 categories, including 30 in the top two bands, in Chambers Global 2012: The World's Leading Lawyers for Business.
- Recognized in 49 categories, including 27 in the top two bands, in Chambers USA 2011: America's Leading Lawyers for Business.
- Recognized in 21 categories, including 15 in the top two bands, in Chambers Asia-Pacific 2012: Asia Pacific’s Leading Lawyers for Business.
- Recognized in 32 categories, including 20 in the top two tiers in The Legal 500 United States 2011.
- Recognized in 9 categories, including 8 in the top two tiers in The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2010/2011.
- Named the 2012 South Korea International Law Firm of the Year at the Chambers Asia-Pacific Awards.
- Received the Chambers & Partners 2010 Award for Excellence in Finance.
- Named one of sixteen Transatlantic Elite law firms by The Lawyer in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011.
- Named to Global Arbitration Review’s GAR 100 in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012.
- Named Asian-Counsel magazine’s 2010 Firm of the Year for Alternative Investment Funds in Hong Kong.
- Named Asian Legal Business’ 2010 Leading Private Equity & Venture Capital International Law Firm across Asia.
- Received Legal Services NYC’s 2010 Pro Bono Visionary Award.
Notable alumni
Simpson Thacher lawyers have included U.S. Senators, Solicitors General, a Speaker of the House of Representatives, a Secretary of State, a Secretary of the Army, Ambassadors, Judges on U.S. Circuit and District Courts and the New York State Court of Appeals, presidents of the American Bar Association, and presidents of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York.
- Guido Calabresi (Summer Associate)
- Cyrus Vance
- Karenna Gore Schiff
- Thomas D. Thacher
- Thomas Brackett Reed
- Dennis G. Jacobs
- Whitney North Seymour
- Wendell Lewis Willkie II
- Suzanne Nora Johnson
- Anne-Marie Slaughter
- Dwight Morrow
- Eric Vitaliano
- Lynn Forester de Rothschild
See also
- White shoe firms
- Magic Circle (law)
References
- ↑ Doughtery's firm bio
- ↑ "Inside View, Simpson Thacher Bartlett". Retrieved 2014-08-21.
- ↑ Chambers and Partners, Firm Profile; Vault, Firm Profile; IFLR, Firm Profile
- ↑ Chambers-Associate Firm Profile
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Firm Website, History
- ↑ Chambers Firm Profile
- ↑ Anthony Lin, Simpson Hikes Pay; First Years Go to $160,000, New York Law Journal, January 23, 2007
- ↑ Chambers-Associate Firm Profile
- ↑ Gorman, Nathalie (November 21, 2014). "Associates, Rejoice: Simpson Thacher Kicks Off Bonus Season Early". ALM, Law.com.
- ↑ Jones, Ashby (November 21, 2014). "Elite Law Firms Lift Year-End Bonuses". Wall Street Journal.