The
international corporate law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell has a long history. Founded in 1879 by
Algernon Sullivan and
William Cromwell, the firm was on hand for the foundation of both
General Electric in 1882 and
United States Steel in 1901. Prior to
World War I, Sullivan & Cromwell represented
European bankers and
bond syndicates financing the development of
America’s
railroads and
industrial infrastructure. Cromwell was also involved in financing the construction of the
Panama Canal.
The Great Depression generated a great deal of
litigation for the firm, primarily from
Wall Street clients seeking to handle the increased
government involvement in business and the
financial industry with the introduction of the
Securities and Exchange Act of 1933. At this point the firm entered the lucrative business of
antitrust defense, and
Federal Income Tax law. During and after
World War II individual members of the firm, including partners such as
John Foster Dulles and
Arthur Dean, also played important roles in
domestic politics and
international affairs.
Today, Sullivan & Cromwell has about 600
lawyers in four US and seven international
offices. It focuses on corporate law for
industrial,
commercial, and
financial clients, more than half of which are located abroad. Sullivan & Cromwell's major clients include
investment and
banking giant
Goldman Sachs and
Microsoft - being represented in
its antitrust battle with the
US Justice Department.
Sullivan & Cromwell has U.S. offices in
Washington, D.C.,
Los Angeles and
Palo Alto. Overseas offices are in
Paris,
London,
Melbourne,
Tokyo,
Hong Kong,
Frankfurt and
Beijing.