Taft Stettinius & Hollister, commonly known as "Taft", is an American, AmLaw100[2] law firm founded in Cincinnati, with offices in Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Delaware, Ohio; Chicago, Illinois; Denver, Colorado; Detroit, Michigan; Indianapolis, Indiana; Covington, Kentucky; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Phoenix, Arizona; and Washington, DC.[3] Taft has been referred to as Cincinnati's most prestigious law firm.[4][5]
History
Taft traces its roots back to 1885, when Worthington & Strong was founded by Judge William Worthington and Edward W. Strong. John L. Stettinius and John B. Hollister joined the firm after its founding, at which point the firm became known as Worthington, Strong, Stettinius & Hollister. In January 1923, Judge Worthington died. In the following year, a young firm headed by Robert A. Taft and Charles P. Taft II, sons of former President William Howard Taft, joined the older firm to become Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP.[6]
In 1947, the firm's labor department, led by J. Mack Swigert, was instrumental in helping Robert Taft, who had become a United States Senator, draft and pass the groundbreaking Taft–Hartley Act that regulated labor unions.[7][8]
In the late 1960s-early 1970s, Murray S. Monroe founded the firm's Antitrust practice.[9][10]
More recently, the firm is known for its work representing West Virginians in the environmental litigation against DuPont beginning in the 1990s,[11] which was the subject of the 2019 film Dark Waters.
Since the 1980s, the firm's expansion beyond Cincinnati has been accomplished with the aid of strategic mergers with local firms with its various branch offices, including Kelley, McCann, and Livingston of Cleveland in 2001,[12] Sommer Barnard of Indianapolis in 2008,[13] Kahn Kleinman of Cleveland in 2008,[14] Chester, Wilcox, and Saxbe of Columbus in 2012,[15] and Shefsky and Froelich of Chicago in 2014.[16] On August 29, 2019, partners at Briggs & Morgan of Minneapolis voted to merge with Taft. The merger became effective January 1, 2020.[17] In February 2021, Taft opened an office in Washington, DC.[18] On December 31, 2022, Taft opened an office in Detroit, Michigan through a merger with Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss.[19]
Practice areas
The firm's practice areas include business and finance, business restructuring, bankruptcy and creditor rights, domestic relations, employment, environmental, gaming, government contracts, health and life sciences, higher education, intellectual property, labor relations, litigation, pharmaceutical and life sciences litigation, private client, public finance, real estate, tax, technology services and more.[20] Taft employs over 850 attorneys.[21]
Notable attorneys
- Robert Bilott, environmental lawyer
- John Cranley, Mayor of Cincinnati (2013–2022)[22]
- Peter Deegan, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa (2017–2021)
- Virginia Emerson Hopkins, Senior U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Alabama
- Sarah Morrison, U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Ohio (2019–present)[23] and Administrator for the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation (2016–2019)[24]
- John B. Nalbandian, U.S. Circuit Judge for the Sixth Circuit
- Caleb Nelson, Emerson G. Spies Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Virginia School of Law
- Charles Phelps Taft II, Mayor of Cincinnati (1955–1957)
- Charles R. Saxbe, former member of the Ohio House of Representatives (1975-1982) and 1982 Republican candidate for Ohio Attorney General
- Robert A. Taft, U.S. Senator from Ohio (1939–1953)
- Robert Taft Jr., U.S. Senator from Ohio (1971–1976), U.S. Representative from Ohio (1963–1965; 1967–1971)
References
- ^ "Professionals | Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP".
- ^ "Taft". Law.com. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
- ^ "Offices | Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP". Taftlaw.com. Retrieved 2019-10-16.
- ^ Djordjevich, Vera (2007). Vault Guide to the Top Chicago & Midwest Law Firms, p. 305. Vault Inc., New York. ISBN 1-58131-460-4.
- ^ Lat, David (May 25, 2021). "A Closer Look At The 2021 Am Law 200 Rankings". Above the Law. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
Taft, which you can think of as the Cravath of Cincinnati...
- ^ "Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP Organizational Profile". The National Law Review. April 5, 2013.
- ^ Peale, Cliff (September 4, 2000). "Local lawyer had role in labor law". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
- ^ "Antitrust". Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP. 2024. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
- ^ Rebecca Goodman (28 October 2003). "Murray Monroe, 77, was legal scholar". Cincinnati Enquirer. p. 14. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
- ^ "Murray S. Monroe: 1925-2003". CBA Bar Report. January 2004. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
- ^ Rich, Nathaniel (January 6, 2016). "The Lawyer Who Became DuPont's Worst Nightmare". New York Times. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
- ^ "Taft, Stettinius extends reach". Enquirer.com. 2001-01-03. Retrieved 2018-03-28.
- ^ "Sommer Barnard Merges With Ohio-Based Law Firm, Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP". Prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2018-03-28.
- ^ Kass, Arielle (6 August 2008). "Kahn Kleinman to merge into Taft Stettinius - Crain's Cleveland Business". Crainscleveland.com. Retrieved 2018-03-28.
- ^ Bell, Jeff (November 15, 2011). "Chester Willcox merging with Taft Stettinius".
- ^ "Subscription Center". ChicagoBusiness.com. January 2014. Retrieved 2018-03-28.
- ^ "Taft Grows with Addition of Briggs and Morgan".
- ^ "New Washington, DC Office & Preeminent Public Affairs Group Fuel Taft Law's Continued Expansion | News | Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP". www.taftlaw.com. Retrieved 2021-02-12.
- ^ "Taft law firm gets long-desired Detroit address through merger with Jaffe".https://www.theindianalawyer.com/articles/taft-law-firm-gets-long-desired-detroit-address-through-merger-with-jaffe
- ^ "Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP: Law Firm Profile - Martindale.com". Martindale-Hubbell.
- ^ "About Us | Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP". www.taftlaw.com. Retrieved 2023-08-23.
- ^ Williams, Jason. "John Cranley: What you need to know". Cincinnati.com. Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
- ^ "Judge Sarah D. Morrison | Southern District of Ohio | United States District Court". www.ohsd.uscourts.gov. Retrieved 2022-03-22.
- ^ Eaton, Sabrina (2019-06-11). "Senate approves Sarah Morrison for federal judgeship in Southern Ohio". cleveland.com. Retrieved 2022-03-22.