Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
Debevoise & Plimpton
Headquarters66 Hudson Boulevard
New York City
United States
No. of offices10 Total
No. of attorneys769 (2020)[1]
Major practice areasArbitration & International Disputes, Finance, Funds, Mergers & Acquisitions, Private Equity[2]
Key peopleMichael W. Blair (Presiding Partner), Mary Jo White (Senior Chair)
RevenueIncrease $1.2 billion (2020)[1]
Date founded1931
Company typeL.L.P.
Websitewww.debevoise.com

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP (often shortened to Debevoise) is an international law firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1931 by Eli Whitney Debevoise and William Stevenson, the firm was originally named “Debevoise, Plimpton & McLean”. Debevoise specializes in private equity, financial services transactions, private funds, and international arbitration.[2] In 2021, the firm assisted the Democratic Party in the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump.[3]

Overview

Debevoise & Plimpton currently employs approximately 769 lawyers in nine offices throughout the world. The firm divides its practices into three major areas: Corporate, Litigation, and Tax. Debevoise & Plimpton has offices across many locations, including New York City, Washington D.C., London, Moscow, Shanghai and Tokyo.[4]

Debevoise is the only law firm in the world to have both a former US and UK Attorney-General simultaneously as partners (Michael Mukasey in the U.S. and Lord Goldsmith KC in the U.K.).[5]

In November 2023, amid a wave of antisemitic incidents at elite U.S. law schools, Debevoise & Plimpton was among a group of major law firms who sent a letter to top law school deans warning them that an escalation in incidents targeting Jewish student would have corporate hiring consequences. The letter said "We look to you to ensure your students who hope to join our firms after graduation are prepared to be an active part of workplace communities that have zero tolerance policies for any form of discrimination or harassment, much less the kind that has been taking place on some law school campuses."[6]

Reputation and rankings

Debevoise & Plimpton is ranked No. 9 on The American Lawyer's 2022 A-List;[7] and No. 18 on Vault's 2024 Rankings of the most prestigious law firms.[8] It is consistently among the most profitable large law firms in the world on a per-partner and per-lawyer basis according to American Lawyer magazine's annual AmLaw 100 Survey. Debevoise was placed overall No. 1 in The American Lawyer's "10-Year A-List," a ranking of the law firms who have earned the highest cumulative score on the A-List since its inception in 2003. The annual A-List ranks firms according to their performance in four categories: revenue per lawyer, pro bono service, associate satisfaction, and diversity.[9]

Controversial cases

Representation of the family that controls Purdue Pharma

Debevoise represented four members of the Sackler family, which controls Purdue Pharma, the company that developed and marketed the painkiller Oxycontin.[10] Purdue, along with other opioid makers, faced over 2,000 suits in 2019 by state, city, and county officials who blame prescription opiates for the death of thousands of Americans in the opioid epidemic.[10] For its legal work amid the opioid scandal, Purdue Pharma paid Debevoise the majority of its legal spend: more than $11.4 million out of a total of more than $17.5 million.[11]

Assistance to Guantanamo prisoners

Attorneys from Debevoise & Plimpton worked on behalf of prisoners held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.[12][13][14] Jeff Lang, of Debevoise & Plimpton, was one of the first Guantanamo Bay attorneys to file an appeal in the Federal appeal court in Washington DC of prisoners' Combatant Status Review Tribunal proceedings. The Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 included provision for prisoners to challenge whether the Tribunals' decisions complied with the Tribunal's mandate. Charles "Cully" Stimson, then Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Detainee Affairs, stirred controversy when he went on record criticizing the patriotism of law firms that allowed employees to assist Guantanamo prisoners: "corporate CEOs seeing this should ask firms to choose between lucrative retainers and representing terrorists."[15] Stimson's views were widely criticized. The Pentagon disavowed them, and Stimson resigned shortly thereafter.

2010s

Notable attorneys and alumni

[19][20]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 February 17, Dylan Jackson; PM, 2021 at 04:55. "'Surprising And Fascinating': Debevoise Saw Partner Profits Jump 23% in 2020". The American Lawyer.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. 1 2 "Debevoise". Debevoise.
  3. ↑ DeBonis, Mike; Hamburger, Tom; Gardner, Amy (January 30, 2021). "House Democrats building elaborate, emotionally charged case against Trump". www.msn.com. Washington Post. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  4. ↑ "Debevoise Opens in Tokyo". Debevoise. Retrieved 2016-06-12.
  5. ↑ "Debevoise & Plimpton LLP - the Inside View".
  6. ↑ Sorkin, Andrew Ross; Mattu, Ravi; Warner, Bernhard; Kessler, Sarah; Merced, Michael J. de la; Hirsch, Lauren; Livni, Ephrat (2 November 2023). "Law Firms Warn Universities About Antisemitism on Campus". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  7. ↑ "The 2022 A-List: Top 20 Firms". The American Lawyer. Retrieved 2023-07-08.
  8. ↑ "Top Law Firm Rankings: Vault Law 100". Firsthand. Retrieved 2023-07-08.
  9. ↑ "Debevoise & Plimpton LLP | Company Profile | Vault.com". Vault.
  10. 1 2 "Purdue's Sackler family wants global opioids settlement: Sackler lawyer Mary Jo White". Reuters. 2019-04-23. Retrieved 2023-07-08.
  11. ↑ "Debevoise Dominated Sackler Family Fees Tied to Opioid Scandal". The American Lawyer. Retrieved 2023-07-08.
  12. ↑ Shayana Kadidal (May 16, 2007). "Getting Rid of Lawyers at Guantanamo: An Update". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2008-01-19.
  13. ↑ "The Pro Bono Tradition at Debevoise". Debevoise & Plimpton. Retrieved 2008-01-19.
  14. ↑ Schwartz, Emma (May 15, 2007). "The Latest Guantanamo Debate". Legal Times. Retrieved 2008-01-19.
  15. ↑ Lewis, Neil (2007-01-13). "Official attacks top law firms over detainees". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-01-17.
  16. 1 2 Cash, Justin. "Debevoise takes on Lindsay Lohan in Grand Theft Auto court battle". Legal Week. Incisive Financial Publishing. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  17. ↑ "Lindsay Lohan’s two-year battle against GTA5 finally ends in Take-Two’s favor", Polygon, VOX Media, September 1, 2016. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  18. ↑ "Lindsay Lohan loses Grand Theft Auto V lawsuit on appeal" by Leslie Katz, CNET, March 30, 2018. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  19. ↑ Valérie Peiffer; Pierre Simon; Pascal Mateo (16 December 2010). "Edouard Philippe de A à Z". Le Point. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  20. ↑ Jules Pecnard (10 May 2017). "Trois choses à savoir sur Edouard Philippe, le potentiel futur Premier ministre". L'Express. Retrieved 15 May 2017.

Further reading

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