Hughes Hubbard & Reed

Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP (a.k.a. "Hughes Hubbard" or "HHR") is a multinational law firm headquartered in New York City with offices in the United States, France, and Japan.

Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP
HeadquartersNew York, N.Y.
No. of offices7 (2 international)[1]
No. of attorneys209 (2022)[1]
Major practice areasGeneral practice
Key peopleTheodore V.H. Mayer, Chair [2]
Revenue gross revenue $301 million USD (2022)[1]
Date founded1888
FounderCharles Evans Hughes[3]
Company typeLimited liability partnership
Websitewww.hugheshubbard.com

The firm's history dates back to the late 19th century, when it counted among its partners former U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes. Hughes Hubbard has practice areas in both the litigation and corporate fields.

According to a 2020 Law.com report, Hughes Hubbard had been on a “downward trajectory” over the prior five years.[4] Over that time period, gross revenue was down 27%, attorney head count was down by over 80 lawyers, profits-per-equity partner was down to $1.41 million in 2019 (from $2.14 million in 2014), and the firm’s profit margin was 18% (down from 42%).[4]

History

1871–1899
  • 1871 - In the wake of the Great Chicago Fire, Chicago-based lawyer Walter S. Carter had so many claims to prosecute involving insurers bankrupted by the fire that he moved his office to New York City. Faced with more business than he could personally handle, Carter tried hiring the most promising law students to help him and, in a departure from standard practice, paid these "associates" a salary. One of them was then-future Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Charles Evans Hughes.
  • 1888 - Four years after joining the firm, then known as Chamberlain, Carter & Hornblower, Hughes was made partner, and the firm's name was changed to Carter, Hughes & Cravath.

1900–1999
  • 1910 - After four years as governor of New York, Hughes was appointed to the Supreme Court by President William Howard Taft.[5]
  • 1916 - Hughes resigned from the Court to run for president against Woodrow Wilson. After he was defeated, Hughes rejoined his old partners and, with the exception of four years he served as Secretary of State under President Harding, he remained a partner in the firm until 1930.[6][7]
  • 1929 - Charles Evans Hughes, Jr. (1862–1948), also a partner in the firm, resigned to become US Solicitor General.
  • 1930 - Hughes was appointed Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court.[8] Upon his father's appointment, Charles Evans Hughes, Jr. resigned from his position as Solicitor General and rejoined the firm as a partner.[9]
  • 1937 - In June, the firm suddenly dissolved, due to what the media at the time reported was Charles Evans Hughes, Jr.'s desire to insulate his father from a political attack directed at one of Hughes, Jr.'s partners at the firm by Roosevelt's Secretary of the Treasury. On June 10 of that year, Hughes, Richards, Hubbard & Ewing opened its offices at One Wall Street, where it would remain for over 50 years.
  • In the 1960s, Hughes Hubbard started representing Coopers & Lybrand, culminating in its multibillion-dollar merger with Price Waterhouse. Other clients who remained with the firm over multiple decades include Merck, BMI, Continental Airlines (now United), and Viacom.
  • 1968 - The firm became Hughes Hubbard & Reed.[10]
  • In the 1970s, Hughes Hubbard defended Bristol Myers in an antitrust case and Ford Motor Company in Pinto fuel tank cases, which was the start of the firm's product liability practice.[11]
  • In the 1990s, Hughes Hubbard represented musician Bob Marley's widow against 11 people who alleged they were Marley's children and sought recovery from his estate.[12]
  • 1999 - The firm elected Candace Beinecke as Chair of the firm, making her the first woman to lead a major New York City law firm.[13]

Since 2000
  • 2007 - Hughes Hubbard led the drafting of a $4.8 billion global settlement program to resolve over 99.9% of eligible Vioxx claims against its client Merck alleging heart attacks, ischemic strokes, and sudden cardiac death.[14]
  • 2008 - Hughes Hubbard partner James Giddens was appointed trustee for the $123 billion liquidation of Lehman Brothers, the largest bankruptcy in US history, and Hughes Hubbard was selected as his counsel. In the following years, Hughes Hubbard returned $110 billion to customers and general creditors.[15]
  • 2011 - Hughes Hubbard partner James Giddens was appointed trustee for the liquidation of MF Global, the eighth-largest bankruptcy in US history, and Hughes Hubbard was selected as his counsel. In the following years, Hughes Hubbard distributed $8.1 billion and achieved a full recovery for former customers and secured creditors and a 95% recovery for unsecured creditors.[16]
  • 2014 - Hughes Hubbard served as lead counsel to Merck in its acquisition of antibiotics maker Cubist Pharmaceuticals for $9.5 billion.[17] That year Hughes Hubbard tobacco-related products liability work declined after former client Lorillard was acquired by Reynolds American, which moved much of the Lorillard litigation work to another firm.[4]
  • 2015 - Hughes Hubbard represented Merck in a $3.8 billion deal to buy Idenix Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company.[18]
  • 2018 - Hughes Hubbard Hughes International Trade chair F. Amanda DeBusk left the firm for Dechert.[19]
  • 2020 - Hughes Hubbard former heads of International Trade (Joanne Osendarp) and Defense Industry (Eric Parnes) left the firm as part of a team of seven lawyers for McDermott Will & Emery.[20][21] After taking out an $8.7 million dollar forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan from the United States Small Business Administration, Hughes Hubbard laid off over 30 people.[22][23][24][25]
  • 2021 - Hughes Hubbard Mergers & Acquisitions global chair Avner Bengara left the firm for Baker & Botts.[26]
  • 2022 - Hughes Hubbard MediaTech global chair Matthew Syrkin left the firm for O'Melveny & Myers.[27][28][29]
  • 2023 - Hughes Hubbard International Arbitration Group co-chair Hagit Elul left the firm for Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.[30][31]

Notable people

References
  1. "Hughes Hubbard". Law.com.
  2. "Ted Mayer | Partner at Hughes Hubbard & Reed". October 14, 2021.
  3. "Firm history". Archived from the original on September 3, 2012. Retrieved October 27, 2008.
  4. Rubino, Kathryn (October 15, 2020). "Biglaw Firm Desperately Hopes They Can Turn Around Their Downward Spiral". Above the Law.
  5. "The Supreme Court . Capitalism and Conflict . Biographies of the Robes . Charles Evans Hughes | PBS". thirteen.org.
  6. "Charles Evans Hughes - People - Department History - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov.
  7. Scott Bomboy (April 11, 2018). "The remarkable career of Charles Evans Hughes". Constitution Daily.
  8. Abraham, Henry Julian (2008). Justices, Presidents, and Senators: A History of the U.S. Supreme Court Appointments from Washington to Bush II. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 157–158. ISBN 9780742558953.
  9. Parrish, Michael E. (2002). The Hughes Court: Justices, Rulings, and Legacy. ABC-CLIO. p. 10. ISBN 9781576071977.
  10. "A Storied Law Firm with a Strong History". Hughes Hubbard & Reed. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
  11. Reginald Stuart (December 16, 1979). "Making the Case for the Pinto". The New York Times.
  12. White, Timothy (2008). Bob Marley: The life of the great reggae singer. Ediciones Robinbook. p. 404. ISBN 9788496222786.
  13. "Hughes Hubbard and Reed : About Us". Archived from the original on March 19, 2006. Retrieved April 11, 2006.
  14. Alex Berenson (November 10, 2007). "Analysts See Merck Victory in Vioxx Settlement". The New York Times.
  15. Roy Strom (September 18, 2018). "Hughes Hubbard's Long Lehman Brokerage Wind-Down Could End in 2019". The American Lawyer.
  16. "MF Global to start $6.7 billion customer payout". CNBC. April 3, 2014.
  17. Karlee Weinmann (December 8, 2014). "Merck Keeps Pharma M&A Flowing With $9.5B Cubist Pickup". Law360.
  18. "Merck (MRK) to Acquire Idenix Pharma (IDIX) for $24.50/Share". StreetInsider. June 9, 2014.
  19. Dan Packel (April 25, 2018). "Dechert Adds International Trade Chair From Hughes Hubbard". The American Lawyer.
  20. "McDermott Picks Up 7-Lawyer Trade Team From Hughes Hubbard". Bloomberg Law.
  21. Ben Rigby (August 6, 2020). "McDermott boosts Washington DC practice with arrival of seven-strong trade disputes team". Global Legal Post.
  22. Debra Cassens Weiss (December 22, 2020). "Some law firms that took paycheck protection loans banked the money, consultant says". ABA Journal.
  23. Christine Simmons (September 30, 2020). "Hughes Hubbard, Amid Mounting Challenges, Undergoes 'Rebuilding'; Disagreements about compensation criteria and the value of a merger have accompanied a years-long decline in revenue, head count and profitability". The American Lawyer.
  24. Samantha Stokes (July 7, 2020). "Hughes Hubbard Lays Off Attorneys and Staff After Receiving PPP Loan". The American Lawyer.
  25. Sara Randazzo and Inti Pacheco (July 7, 2020). "Dozens of Top Law Firms Got PPP Loans". The Wall Street Journal.
  26. Meghan Tribe (April 1, 2021). "Hughes Hubbard M&A Chair Avner Bengera Heads to Baker Botts". Bloomberg Law.
  27. Dan Roe (September 13, 2022). "O'Melveny Adds Media Technology Chair from Hughes Hubbard Amid Media-Tech 'Gold Rush'". New York Law Journal.
  28. "O'Melveny Names Matthew Syrkin MediaTech Co-Chair in New York". Bloomberg Law. September 13, 2022.
  29. Osakwe, Chinekwu (September 13, 2022). "Media, tech dealmaker jumps to O'Melveny in New York". Reuters.
  30. Osakwe, Chinekwu (February 9, 2023). "Law firm Orrick hires arbitration group leader from rival in N.Y." Reuters.
  31. "Orrick hires from Hughes Hubbard". Global Arbitration Review. February 9, 2023.
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