Kaye Scholer

Last updated
Kaye Scholer
Kaye Scholer 2013 Logo.jpg
Headquarters250 West 55th Street, New York, NY
No. of offices9
No. of attorneys450+
Major practice areasGeneral practice
Revenue$370 million (2015) [1]
Profit per equity partner$1.38 million (2015) [1]
Date founded1917 (New York City)
Founder Benjamin Kaye
Jacob Scholer
Company type Limited liability partnership
Dissolved2017
Website www.arnoldporter.com

Kaye Scholer was a law firm founded in 1917 by Benjamin Kaye and Jacob Scholer. The firm had more than 450 attorneys in nine offices located in the cities of Chicago, Frankfurt, London, Los Angeles, New York City (headquarters), Shanghai, Palo Alto, Washington, D.C., and West Palm Beach. [2]

Contents

In late 2016, Kaye Scholer voted to merge with Washington D.C.-based law firm Arnold & Porter to create a $1 billion+ sized multinational firm with a large offering both in the US and internationally. The merger was effected on January 1, 2017, as Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP, later modified to operating as Arnold & Porter, in February 2018.

Reputation and recognition

Kaye Scholer was internationally known for being a leading litigation firm. Its particular areas of litigation strength include antitrust, intellectual property, and products liability. In 2008, Kaye Scholer was named Product Liability Firm of the Year by Chambers and Partners. [3] In 2005, 2006 and 2007, The National Law Journal named Kaye Scholer to its list of top 10 elite litigation defense firms, making Kaye Scholer the only law firm to appear on this list for the three years it had run. In 2006, The American Lawyer magazine selected Kaye Scholer as the products liability litigation firm of the year. [4] In 2013, Law360 selected Kaye Scholer's product liability practice as one of its Practice Groups of the Year. [5] Kaye Scholer was one of only five firms singled out for product liability by the publication. [6]

Kaye Scholer also had transactional practice, including those in aviation, bankruptcy, finance, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, and real estate. [7]

In the life sciences arena, Kaye Scholer was recognized in 2010 as "one of the most well regarded firms" for life sciences by The International Who's Who of Life Sciences Lawyers 2010. On September 10, 2009, at an awards ceremony in Basel, Switzerland, capping Novartis AG's Global Legal Meeting, Kaye Scholer received the company's first-ever Preferred Provider Award for Excellence. [8]

Kaye Scholer was one of the nation's most profitable large law firms, according to American Lawyer magazine. Kaye Scholer maintains a reputation [9] for being a collegial firm, something of a rarity in law firms of its size and economic success.

History

The firm was founded in 1917 in New York by Benjamin Kaye and Jacob Scholer. Scholer was a graduate of New York Law School. Kaye was a graduate of Columbia Law School and an eminent banking lawyer who was among the first lawyers to bring a federal income tax case to trial under the 1913 income tax law. Kaye was also a noted playwright who wrote plays between tax cases. The firm was known as Kaye, Scholer, Fierman, Hays and Handler for many years.

In 1958 the firm moved into brand new offices at 425 Park Avenue, between 55th and 56th Streets. This becomes the firm's New York headquarters for the next 55 years, [10] making it one of the longest business tenants at one locale in the city's history. In fall 2014, the firm left 425 Park Avenue and moved its New York headquarters to 250 West 55th Street. [11]

Kaye Scholer launched an office in Washington, D.C. in 1980 that now employs approximately 50 attorneys.

Charges brought by the Office of Thrift Supervision against the firm in 1992 related to its representation of Charles Keating and his bank, Lincoln Savings and Loan, generated one of the most prominent legal ethics controversies of the decade. [12]

Kaye Scholer opened an office in West Palm Beach in 1997, where it focuses on real estate and estate planning law.

Former US Senator Abraham Ribicoff joined Kaye Scholer as senior counsel in 1981. Ribicoff had previously sponsored the bill that opened up trade between the US and China. As a result of his influence, Kaye Scholer was able to further expand into the Asian market, becoming the first New York-based firm to open a Shanghai office in 1998. [13] [14]

In 2001, Kaye Scholer opened offices in London and Chicago; the firm's Frankfurt office opened soon after, in 2002. In 2010, the firm opened its ninth office in Palo Alto, offering a full range of legal services to technology companies and private investment firms in Silicon Valley and Northern California. [15]

Following the merger of London-based Clifford Chance and legacy firm Rogers & Wells, Kaye Scholer benefited from a series of key lateral partners in intellectual property and bankruptcy. [16] [17]

In November 2016, Kaye Scholer announced that it would be merging with Washington, D.C.-based firm Arnold & Porter LLP to form Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP, with approximately 1000 attorneys across nine domestic and four international offices. The merger took effect on January 1, 2017. [18] In February 2018, The National Law Journal reported that the newly combined "firm has quietly reversed its post-merger branding efforts" and "scrubbed nearly all mention of ”Kaye Scholer” from its public image, changing its brand name, email addresses and web domain", while retaining the legal entity name in full. [19]

Notable mandates

Transactional

Litigation

Literary history

Kaye Scholer is a law firm with a strong literary tradition, reaching back to the firm's playwright co-founder Benjamin Kaye. His most successful plays include She Couldn't Say No, which premiered on Broadway in 1926 and was adapted for the screen in 1930 and 1940. Other plays written by Kaye include I Want My Wife (1930), The Curtain Rises (1933) and On Stage (1935). [53]

In addition, several Kaye Scholer lawyers have published successful novels. In 2005, Greenleaf Book Group Press published Two Men Before the Storm: Arba Crane's Recollection of Dred Scott And the Supreme Court Case That Started the Civil War, written by Kaye Scholer Partner Greg Wallance. [54] The historical novel traces the series of events that led to the landmark Supreme Court ruling in Dred Scott vs. Sandford . Wallance has also authored two nonfiction books, Papa's Game (1981) [55] and America's Soul in the Balance: The Holocaust, FDR's State Department, and the Moral Disgrace of An American Aristocracy (2012). [56]

In fall 2012, Academy Chicago Publishers published Kaye Scholer Special Counsel Richard Smolev's debut novel, Offerings, which tells the story of the ambitious Kate Brewster, who is determined to be the first woman to run a Wall Street investment firm despite the many high-stakes obstacles that impede her progress. [57] Smolev's second novel, the historical In Praise of Angels, was published in summer 2013. [58]

Noted alumni

Among Kaye Scholer's alumni are Judges Denise Cote and Analisa Torres [59] of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York; the late former Senator Abraham Ribicoff; Kenneth Feinberg, Special Master of the U.S. Government's September 11th Victim Compensation Fund; and the late Milton Handler, a Columbia Law professor and antitrust expert who drafted laws that include the first Food and Drug Act, the National Labor Relations Act and the GI Bill of Rights. [60]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shearman & Sterling</span> Multinational law firm based in New York City

Shearman & Sterling LLP is a multinational law firm headquartered in New York City, United States.

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP is an American multinational law firm headquartered at One Liberty Plaza in New York City. Known as a white shoe law firm, Cleary employs over 1,200 lawyers worldwide.

Proskauer Rose LLP is an international law firm headquartered in New York City. It was founded in 1875 and currently employs more than 800 attorneys in twelve offices worldwide.

Bracewell LLP is an international law firm based in Houston, Texas, that began in 1945. The firm has approximately 350 lawyers, and has United States offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Hartford, San Antonio, Seattle, Dallas and Austin, as well as offices in Dubai and London.

Ropes & Gray LLP is a global law firm with 13 offices located in the United States, Asia and Europe. The firm has more than 1,500 lawyers and professionals worldwide; its clients include corporations and financial institutions, government agencies, universities, and health care organizations. It was founded in 1865 in Boston by John Codman Ropes and John Chipman Gray.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evercore</span> American financial services company

Evercore Inc., formerly known as Evercore Partners, is a global independent investment banking advisory firm founded in 1995 by Roger Altman, David Offensend, and Austin Beutner. The firm has advised on over $4.7 trillion of merger, acquisition, and restructuring transactions since its founding. Evercore is widely considered one of the most prestigious and elite investment banking advisory firms.

Jeffrey B. Kindler is an American healthcare executive and private investor. He served as chairman and CEO of the pharmaceutical company Pfizer from 2006 to 2010. Kindler has later served as CEO of Centrexion Inc., and chairman of the GLG Institute.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winston & Strawn</span> American law firm

Winston & Strawn LLP is an international law firm headquartered in Chicago. It has more than 900 attorneys spread across ten offices in the United States and six offices in Europe, Asia and South America. Founded in 1853, it is one of the largest and oldest law firms in Chicago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman</span> Full-service law firm

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, also known as Pillsbury, is a full-service law firm with a particular focus on the energy, financial services, real estate and technology industries. Based in the world's major financial, technology and energy centers, Pillsbury counsels clients on global business, regulatory and litigation matters.

Coudert Brothers LLP was a New York–based law firm with a strong international outlook that practiced from 1853 until its dissolution in 2006.

Chadbourne & Parke LLP, founded in 1902 by Thomas L. Chadbourne, was a 400 lawyer firm, which operated from 12 offices in ten countries. Chadbourne was known for its practices in project finance and energy, international insurance and reinsurance, multi-jurisdictional litigation, and corporate transactions.

Reed Smith LLP is a global law firm with more than 1,500 lawyers in 30 offices throughout the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Crowell & Moring is an international law firm headquartered in Washington, DC, with offices in New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Orange County, Chicago, Denver, London, Brussels, Doha, and Shanghai. With approximately 600 lawyers, the firm advises multinational corporations on regulatory, litigation, corporate, and investigations matters. As of 2022, Crowell & Moring is ranked among the top 100 law firms in the United States in The American Lawyer's "AmLaw 100" list, based on gross revenue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heller Ehrman</span>

Heller Ehrman LLP was an international law firm of more than 730 attorneys in 15 offices in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Heller Ehrman was founded in San Francisco in 1890 and had additional offices located in most of the major financial centers around the world including New York City, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., London, Beijing, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Schulte Roth & Zabel, LLP is a full service law firm with offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., and London. The number of attorneys practicing at the firm globally is approximately 320 as of 2020, down from approximately 375 attorneys in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">W. Mark Lanier</span> American lawyer

William Mark Lanier is an American trial lawyer and founder and CEO of the Lanier Law Firm. He has led a number of high-profile product litigation suits resulting in billions of dollars in damages, including Johnson & Johnson baby powder and Merck & Co.'s Vioxx drug.

Jeffrey L. Kessler is a partner at the international law firm Winston & Strawn, where he also serves as Co-Executive Chairman and co-chair of the firm's antitrust/competition practice and is a member of the firm's executive committee. Until May 2012, he was the global litigation chair at the international law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf, where he was also the co-chair of the sports litigation practice group and served on the firm's executive and leadership committees. His major clients include the Panasonic Corporation, National Football League Players Association (NFLPA), the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), William Morris Endeavor, Activision Blizzard, Avanci, the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), United States Women's National Team (USWNT) soccer players, NTN Corporation, Relevant Sports, and Actors' Equity Association.

Fenwick & West LLP is a law firm of more than 470 attorneys with offices in Silicon Valley, San Francisco, Seattle, New York City, Santa Monica, Washington, DC and Shanghai. The firm focuses on the technology and life sciences sectors, advising clients at all stages from startups to public companies. Fenwick has been embroiled in legal issues with the US law enforcement and multiple class action lawsuits due to their representation of FTX, for whom they allegedly created shell companies in order to launder money and skirt regulatory scrutiny.

Cohen & Gresser LLP is an international law firm with offices in New York City, Paris, Washington D.C., and London. The firm represents clients in complex litigation and corporate transactions throughout the world. Founded in 2002, the firm has grown to seventy lawyers in eight practice groups: Corporate; Employment; Intellectual Property & Technology; Litigation and Arbitration; Privacy and Data Security; Real Estate; Tax; White Collar Defense. The firm's clients include Fortune 500 companies and major financial institutions across a broad spectrum of industries throughout the world, and it has litigated and negotiated against some of the nation's largest law firms.

Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP is an American law firm headquartered in San Diego, California. It is a plaintiffs law firm specializing in securities litigation and shareholder rights cases.

References

  1. 1 2 Meyer, Dani (March 16, 2016). "Squire Patton Boggs, Kaye Scholer Revenue Figures Revealed". Law360.
  2. "Kaye Scholer LLP". U.S. News. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  3. "Chambers USA Awards for Excellence 2008: The Winners" (PDF). Chambers and Partners.
  4. Press, Aric. "Litigation Department of the Year" . Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  5. Shrestha, Bibeka. "Product Liability Group of the Year: Kaye Scholer". Law360.
  6. Simpson, Jake. "Law360 Names Practice Groups Of The Year". Law360.
  7. "Chambers USA 2012: Kaye Scholer LLP". Chambers and Partners.
  8. "Kaye Scholer Chosen for Novartis's Inaugural Preferred Provider Award for Excellence". Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  9. "Chambers Associate Law Firm Profile - Kaye Scholer LLP". Chambers and Partners. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  10. Amon, Elizabeth. "Goodwin Procter, Kaye Scholer to Move Offices: Business of Law". Bloomberg.
  11. Delaporte, Gus (2 April 2013). "Boston Legal: Andrew Levin On 250 West 55th Street". Commercial Observer.
  12. William H. Simon, "The Kaye Scholer Affair: The Lawyer's Duty of Candor and the Bar's Temptations of Evasion and Apology" (2006) http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-4469.1998.tb00705.x/abstract
  13. "Chambers Asia 2012 - Kaye Scholer LLP".
  14. The Lawyer, 'NYC firm first to Shanghai,' (1998) http://www.thelawyer.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=95588 Archived 2012-09-13 at archive.today
  15. Lee, Kevin. "Former Kaye Scholer Leader Heads to Greenberg Traurig". The Daily Journal. Archived from the original on 2011-04-23. Retrieved 2013-03-12.
  16. The Lawyer, 'Clifford Chance New York rainmaker quits for Kaye' (2003)
  17. The Lawyer, 'CC hit for six by Kaye Scholer NY raid' (2005) http://www.thelawyer.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=114093 Archived 2012-09-19 at archive.today
  18. "Arnold & Porter and Kaye Scholer Announce Combination". Arnold & Porter. Retrieved 2016-12-20.
  19. "Arnold & Porter Scrubs Kaye Scholer From Masthead, Website", by Ryan Lovelace, The National Law Journal, Law.com, February 02, 2018. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  20. Whiteman, Lou (19 August 2014). "Genesis Healthcare goes public via merger". The Deal. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  21. Taulbee, Pamela. "Pfizer Bolsters Injectables by Buying InnoPharma". The Street.
  22. Pringle, Sarah (11 June 2014). "Helen of Troy Takes Healthy Directions". The Deal.
  23. Henderson, Tom (5 May 2014). "Private equity firm buys Novi-based Learning Care Group". Crain's Detroit Business.
  24. Meagher, Bill (2 June 2014). "REIT Five Oaks receives $75M ATM facility". The Deal.
  25. Weinmann, Karlee. "Novartis Unveils $30B In Deals To Drive Strategic Overhaul". Law360.
  26. "Pharmafirma Vectura kauft Activaero".
  27. Huddleston, Jr., Tom. "Skadden Lands Roles on Two Insurance Sector Deals". The Am Law Daily.
  28. Collins, Allison. "American Securities Picks Up Frontier Spinning". Mergers & Acquisitions.
  29. Paquette, Monica. "Marketplace". New York Law Journal.
  30. Man, Pui-Guan. "US duo's London offices take lead on Goldmans' motor insurer investment". Legal Week.
  31. "The Deal Fairmount Minerals acquires sand mining unit". 24 July 2013.
  32. http://www.jwchilds.com/sites/all/files/jwchilds/attachments/Mens%20Wearhouse%20July%2018%202013.pdf%5B%5D
  33. Wilson, Daniel. "FTC OKs Novartis' $1.5B Fougera Buy With Divestitures". Law360.
  34. Pasternak, Sean. "Onex Agrees to Buy USI From Goldman Fund for $2.3 Billion". Bloomberg.
  35. Lerner, Kira. "JPML Refuses Consolidation Of Endo Birth Control Suits". www.law360.com. Law360. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  36. Donahue, Bill. "Hershey Wins Ban On Same-Named Sen.'s Look-Alike Signs". Law360.
  37. Greene, Kat. "Class Cert. Denied In Pfizer Pay-For-Delay Suit". Law360.
  38. Lipkin, Michael. "Amazon, Publishers Dodge Bookstores' E-Book Antitrust Suit". Law360.
  39. Hornbeck, Eric. "Kenneth Cole's $160M Go-Private Deal Sound, Judge Rules". Law360.
  40. Graham, Scott. "Circuit OKs Director's Suit Over Fraud in Merger Registration". The Recorder.
  41. "Parties to Chinese Drywall Litigation Reach Global Settlement" (Press release). PR Newswire.
  42. Wolfe, Jan. "Kaye Scholer Scores Verdict in IP Row Over Airplane Parts". The American Lawyer.
  43. Bolado, Carolina. "Qualitest Beats Class Cert. Bid In Birth Control Recall Suit". Law360.
  44. Randles, Jonathan. "Illumina Patent Claims Invalidated In DNA Sequencing Row". Law360.
  45. Li, Victor. "1st District Rules in Favor of Big Pharma in Antitrust Suit". The Recorder.
  46. Li, Victor. "Kaye Scholer Fends Off Challenge to Pfizer Cancer Drug Patents". The American Lawyer.
  47. Uhlman, Lisa. "4Kids Plan Confirmed Over License Partner's Objection". Law360.
  48. Stride, Megan. "Pfizer Units Escape Suit Over Hormone Treatments". Law360.
  49. Coe, Erin. "USPTO To Update Patent Term System After Ruling". Law360.
  50. Lipman, Melissa. "How They Won It: Kaye Scholer Saves Pfizer's Viagra Patent". Law360.
  51. Coe, Erin. "Federal Circuit Won't Rehear Celebrex Patent Dispute". Law360.
  52. Howard, Samuel. "Caribe Media Ch. 11 Plan Gives Lenders Control Of Co". Law360.
  53. http://www.playbillvault.com/Person/Detail/24774/Benjamin-M-Kaye [ bare URL ]
  54. "Historical novel retells tale of American injustice". Chicago Tribune. 1 January 2006.
  55. Maitland, Leslie (6 September 1981). "PAPA'S GAME By Gregory Wallance. 309 pp. New York: Rawson, Wade Publishers. 4.95". The New York Times.
  56. "Kaye Scholer's Greg Wallance Authors Book on State Department's Role During Holocaust". Reuters. 18 April 2012. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
  57. "Writers Exchange: Richard Smolev, author of "Offerings" | Books on the Make". 16 January 2013.
  58. Winters, John (14 October 2013). "Review: Angels with dirty pockets". The Sun Chronicle.
  59. "Analisa Torres Senate Questionnaire" (PDF).
  60. Nasar, Sylvia (12 November 1998). "Milton Handler, 95, Is Dead; Antitrust Expert Wrote Laws". The New York Times.