Seward & Kissel
HeadquartersNew York City, New York and Washington, DC
No. of attorneys160
Major practice areasFinancial services
Date founded1890
Websitewww.sewkis.com

Seward & Kissel is an American law firm with offices in New York City and Washington, D.C. that was founded in 1890. Its primary expertise is in the financial services industry. The firm's clientele includes commercial banks, investment funds, institutional investors, and shipping and transport companies.[1][2] As of September 2015, the firm had 160 lawyers.[3][4]

History

Seward & Kissel began as Smith & Martin and has been headquartered in downtown New York City since its founding. In 1949, the firm advised in the formation of the first hedge fund. It opened its Washington office in 1977 and its transportation and shipping practice in 1992.[3] The firm “has remained independent since its founding in 1890, a rarity for a midsize law firm these days,” noted one financial website in 2015.[5]

Seward & Kissel takes the first half of its name from George Seward, who became a partner at Meyer, Kidder, Matz & Kissel, one the previous iterations of the firm, in 1953. He remained an active partner until 1983 and continued working at the firm until 2011. He held many leadership positions at the American Bar Association, founded the business law section of the International Bar Association, and was the honorary life president of the International Bar Association. He died in 2012 at the age of 101.[6]

In September 2015, the firm celebrated its 125th anniversary by burying a time capsule outside its Battery Park offices. The plan is for the capsule to be recovered 125 years later. Managing Partner John Tavss expressed the hope “that Seward & Kissel will still be thriving in the year 2140, when this time capsule is to be opened.” Among the items placed in the time capsule were a BlackBerry, a business card, a Zagat guide, and a New York City Subway map.[3]

While presiding over the environmental case brought by Ecuadorian Native groups against Texaco-Chevron, Judge Lewis A. Kaplan appointed Seward & Kissel to prosecute environmental lawyer Steven Donziger.[7] Seward & Kissel partner Rita Glavin claimed that the firm did not have a conflict of interest with regards to the case, even though it has worked directly with Chevron at least twice, including as recently as 2018.[8] This resulted in a law student boycott against Seward & Kissel. The boycott began in February 2021 and involves around 300 law students from around 50 law schools. In a letter, the students state that the firm has a conflict of interest in prosecuting Steven Donziger, saying: "We, the undersigned law students, refuse to consider employment with the firm until it withdraws from its conflicted position as Chevron's private prosecutor".[9][10]

Lawsuits

On February 27, 2012, ruling in favor of a group of plaintiffs represented by Seward & Kissel, the Delaware Court of Chancery enjoined the sale of BankAtlantic by BankAtlantic Bancorp (BBX) to Branch Bank & Trust, agreeing that the sale would violate the contractual rights of holders of BBX trust securities. “This decision is significant,” stated one report, “because it sends a message to all Banks with trust preferred securities (TruPS) that they cannot infringe on the rights of the TruPS holders when trying to restructure.”[11]

In May 2016, Gray Financial Group sued Seward & Kissel in a Georgia federal court for $12 million. Gray charged the firm with malpractice, saying that it had been negligent in advising Gray to sell funds to a state pension, thus rendering Gray “vulnerable to federal investigations.” In response, Seward & Kissel called the allegations “meritless and sanctionable.”[12][13]

Ratings

Chambers USA 2019: 4 practices (Investment Management, Corporate/M&A, Bankruptcy/Restructuring and Maritime Finance)[14] and 14 lawyers ranked.[14]

Legal 500 US 2018: 2 practices (Hedge Funds and Corporate/M&A) and 4 lawyers ranked.[15]

25 lawyers ranked as SuperLawyers.[16]

The U.S. News - Best Lawyers: 4 practices nationally ranked and 5 additional practices ranked regionally.[17]

J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge

In 2014, two Seward & Kissel lawyers, Denise Mazzeo and Dave Knowles, won the women's and men's races respectively in the J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge.[18][19]

References

  1. ↑ "About Us". Seward & Kissel LLP. Seward & Kissel LLP. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  2. ↑ Lattman, Peter (January 3, 2006). "Cutting Hedge: Law Firm Grows With Funds". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 "Seward & Kissel LLP Celebrates 125th Anniversary With Burial of Time Capsule, Reflections on New York Legal History". Business Wire. September 29, 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  4. ↑ Gordon, Leslie (February 1, 2016). "NYC law firm buries a time capsule to celebrate its 125th birthday". ABA Journal. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  5. ↑ Williamson, Christine (October 5, 2015). "Seward & Kissel look to 125 more years". Pensions & Investments. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  6. ↑ "Seward & Kissel Founding Partner George Seward Dies at 101". Bloomberg. February 15, 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  7. ↑ "When Feds Demur, Judge Charges Ecuador Crusader Himself". Courthouse News. 13 August 2019.
  8. ↑ Bragman, Walker; Sirota, David (July 14, 2020). "The Government Gave Big Oil the Power to Prosecute Its Biggest Critic". The American Prospect.
  9. ↑ "Law firm's alleged conflict in environmental case sparks student boycott". The New York City Daily Post. 26 February 2021. Archived from the original on 5 March 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  10. ↑ Grant, Jason (26 February 2021). "Students From 52 Law Schools Boycott Seward & Kissel's Recruitment Over Alleged Conflict in Donziger Prosecution". New York Law Journal. Archived from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  11. ↑ Akesson, Alex (March 4, 2012). "Hedge Fund Law Firm Seward & Kissel Achieves Injunction Against Bank Asset Sale". Hedgeco. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  12. ↑ Hays, Kali (May 6, 2016). "Seward & Kissel's Advice Got Financier In Hot Water, Suit Says". Law360. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  13. ↑ McDonald, Robin (May 12, 2016). "Atlanta Investment Advisers Battling SEC Sue New York Law Firm for Malpractice". Daily Report Online. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  14. 1 2 "Seward & Kissel LLP, USA | Chambers Rankings". chambers.com. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
  15. ↑ Seward; PLAZA, Kissel LLP New York Washington DC 1 BATTERY PARK; York, New; Ny 10004; f?3+fli6>; c; York, x;while);}hivelogic_enkoder]> */ Web: www sewkis com New; York, Washington DC New; DC, Washington. "The Legal 500 > Seward & Kissel LLP > New York, USA > What we say". www.legal500.com. Retrieved 2019-07-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ↑ "Seward & Kissel LLP in New York, New York". Super Lawyers. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
  17. ↑ "Seward & Kissel LLP - Rankings". bestlawfirms.usnews.com. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
  18. ↑ Chisholm, Cameron (June 10, 2014). "'I will either win this race or die'". Fortune. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  19. ↑ "Seward & Kissel shows winning edge on first night of Corporate Challenge". JP Morgan Chase. June 4, 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
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