Willkie Farr & Gallagher

Willkie Farr & Gallagher
Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP · Public domain · source
Name	Willkie Farr & Gallagher
Founded	1888
Headquarters	New York City
Num offices	14+
Practice areas	Litigation; Corporate; Finance; M&A; Antitrust; Intellectual Property
Key people	Ephraim S. Fischbach; John F. Kennedy (not partner)
Employees	800+

Willkie Farr & Gallagher is a multinational law firm headquartered in New York City with a long history serving clients in corporate finance, litigation, and regulatory matters. The firm has acted for major corporations, financial institutions, and governments on high‑profile transactions and disputes, maintaining offices across the United States, Europe, and Asia. Its practices span mergers and acquisitions, securities, antitrust, bankruptcy, and investigations, engaging with leading firms, agencies, and courts.

History

Founded in 1888 during the Gilded Age, the firm emerged as a New York commercial practice representing banks, railroads, and industrial clients involved with Wall Street and the New York Stock Exchange. In the early 20th century the firm handled matters touching on Interstate Commerce Commission regulation and corporate reorganizations related to the Panic of 1907. Partners from the firm advised on finance and international trade during the interwar period alongside figures active in League of Nations discussions. Mid‑century engagements connected the firm to securities matters under the Securities Act of 1933 and Securities Exchange Act of 1934, while later decades saw expansion into mergers and acquisitions amid the Takeover wave of the 1980s and work involving Drexel Burnham Lambert‑era finance. In the 21st century the firm adapted to post‑Sarbanes–Oxley Act compliance regimes, cross‑border transactions influenced by the European Union and World Trade Organization frameworks, and litigation before the Supreme Court of the United States and major federal courts.

Practice Areas

The firm maintains comprehensive corporate practices including Mergers and acquisitions work for multinational buyers and sellers, representing clients in Initial public offering matters and Private equity transactions. Its finance group handles syndicated lending and securitization with ties to institutions such as Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Citigroup. In litigation and dispute resolution the firm appears before federal and state courts, arbitration panels including the International Chamber of Commerce, and regulatory bodies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice (United States). Antitrust practitioners engage with the Federal Trade Commission and the European Commission on competition matters. The intellectual property team litigates patents and trademarks in venues like the United States Patent and Trademark Office and international tribunals; bankruptcy lawyers represent debtors and creditors in proceedings under United States bankruptcy law. The firm also advises on tax, benefits, employment, and compliance linked to frameworks like the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Notable Cases and Engagements

The firm has represented clients in landmark corporate deals, regulatory investigations, and securities litigation, often involving major banks and corporations such as Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, and General Electric. It has defended clients in high‑stakes antitrust inquiries before the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division and litigation referencing precedents from the Sherman Antitrust Act era. The firm participated in restructurings tied to bankruptcies like those of Lehman Brothers and engagements arising from the 2008 financial crisis. Its attorneys have submitted briefs in cases before the United States Supreme Court, and have handled cross‑border arbitrations under rules of the London Court of International Arbitration and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes. The firm’s white‑collar and investigations team has represented executives in matters involving the FBI and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and advised corporations during probes led by congressional committees such as the United States House Committee on Financial Services.

Offices and Global Presence

Headquartered in New York City, the firm operates offices in major financial and legal centers across North America, Europe, and Asia, aligning practice teams with jurisdictions including London, Paris, Frankfurt, Brussels, Milan, Hong Kong, and Tokyo. The firm’s global presence enables coordination on cross‑border mergers, EU competition filings before the European Commission Directorate‑General for Competition, and transnational litigation in forums like the High Court of Justice and the Federal Court of Australia. Strategic alliances and secondments facilitate client representation with local counsel in markets such as Brazil, India, China, and Singapore.

Leadership and Organization

Governance combines a managing partner and executive committee structure common to major international firms, with practice group leaders overseeing corporate, litigation, regulatory, and transactional teams. The firm recruits from leading law schools, placing alumni in roles interacting with institutions like the Federal Reserve System, the United States Department of the Treasury, and the International Monetary Fund. Leadership has included lawyers who served in governmental or academic posts and who maintain connections to bar associations such as the American Bar Association and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York.

Pro bono and Public Interest Work

The firm maintains a pro bono program representing individuals and nonprofit organizations before civil rights tribunals, immigration courts, and family courts, and partners with legal services groups including American Civil Liberties Union affiliates and Legal Aid Society offices. Pro bono matters have addressed asylum claims involving clients from regions affected by conflicts like those in Syria and Afghanistan, voting‑rights litigation before state courts and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and public‑interest regulatory petitions filed with agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Health and Human Services. The firm also supports charitable organizations and bar‑sponsored clinics focused on access to civil justice.

Category:Law firms based in New York City Category:International law firms