The firm opened its doors in 1968 with six partners and eight associates, all of whom wanted to build a different kind of law firm. From the outset, we emphasized a single-minded commitment to excellence, an entrepreneurial spirit and a dynamic yet practical approach to achieving superior results for our clients.  To compete successfully with larger rivals, we offered young lawyers opportunities for training and advancement through the ranks, giving them responsibility as rapidly as they could handle it, rather than relying on a preconceived schedule.  We were 20 lawyers when we moved into our home for 35 years at 919 Third Avenue, and today, we are approximately 370 lawyers and doing business out of our new state of the art headquarters at 1177 Avenue of the Americas.

Despite its initial small size, the firm’s founding partners envisioned it as a full service law firm. When we opened our doors, we had litigation, corporate, real estate, tax and trusts and estates “departments,” though a few had only one or two lawyers. Today, as we celebrate our 40th anniversary, the firm's practice continues to prosper and our attorney numbers have increased apace and comprise 20 plus practice areas. Many of the partners added since we opened in 1968 began their careers here after law school or clerkships. Others joined as associates from other firms, choosing to build their careers here. A number of our more recent additions were partners elsewhere or were in-house counsel who saw the opportunity to build their practices in the more attractive environment we have created. Laterals have helped build or strengthen many of our practice groups. Most recently, we have brought on impressive groups with practices in intellectual property, land use, real estate and immigration.

Growth has been geographic as well as across practice areas. When we found that more and more of our clients’ matters dealt with cross-border issues, we moved to add to our international practice, particularly in Europe. We opened up a Paris office in 1999 with 20 lawyers who had practiced together for 20 years. We have also built great relationships with law firms throughout the world. This expansion of our reach has been a great asset in servicing our clients throughout the United States and Europe.

Looking ahead to the future, we expect tremendous growth in all areas of our practice. We will continue to draw strength from the values that fueled the firm's earliest successes: our commitment to excellence, a strong emphasis on recruiting, training and retaining the best lawyers coming out of law school and clerkships, a dynamic, innovative, but always pragmatic approach to achieving exceptional results for our clients. We are today an even more exciting place to practice law, offering some of the most challenging, diverse and innovative work in an informal and open environment.