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Debevoise & Plimpton

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Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
Debevoise & Plimpton
Headquarters66 Hudson Boulevard
New York City, U.S.
No. of offices9
No. of attorneys855 (2022)[1]
Major practice areasArbitration & International Disputes, Finance, Funds, Mergers & Acquisitions, Private Equity[2]
Key peoplePeter Furci (Presiding Partner), Mary Jo White (Senior Chair)
RevenueIncrease $1.329 billion (2022)[1]
Date founded1931
Company typeLimited liability partnership
Websitedebevoise.com

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP (known as Debevoise; DEH-bə-voyz) is an international white-shoe law firm headquartered in New York City, with offices in Washington D.C., San Francisco, London, Paris, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Luxembourg.[3] The firm specializes in intellectual property, white-collar crime and government investigations, international arbitration, M&A, private equity, insurance, and securities work.[4]

History

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The firm was founded in 1931 by Eli Whitney Debevoise, a descendant of Eli Whitney, and William E. Stevenson, a gold medalist in the 1924 Summer Olympics.[5] Both men had previously worked together at Davis Polk & Wardwell.[5] Francis T. P. Plimpton soon joined the firm's masthead in 1933.[6] In 1936, Robert G. Page joined the firm, which was then known as Debevoise, Stevenson, Plimpton & Page.[7] The firm later became Debevoise, Plimpton & McLean after the addition of Edward C. McLean.[8] By the 1970s, the firm was named Debevoise, Plimpton, Lyons & Gates after partners Marvin Lyons and Samuel E. Gates.[9][10] The firm's name was eventually shortened to Debevoise & Plimpton in the 1980s.[11]

Debevoise rose to prominence as counsel in the bankruptcy proceedings of Ivar Kreuger's business empire in the 1930s.[5] In the 1950s, the firm defended Alger Hiss, a U.S. government official controversially accused of espionage, in two highly publicized perjury trials.[12] Soon after, the firm represented Ford Motor Co. in its transition to a public corporation.[13]

Debevoise's reputation grew with the success of its partners outside of the firm. Page became president of Phelps Dodge in 1947.[7] Eli Whitney Debevoise, who remained the firm's presiding partner until 1972, also served as the Allied Commission's Deputy United States High Commissioner for Germany from 1951 to 1953.[5] Stevenson was president of Oberlin College from 1946 to 1960, and later President John F. Kennedy appointed him as the Ambassador to the Philippines in 1961.[14] President Kennedy also appointed Plimpton as the deputy United States Representative to the United Nations, a role he held from 1961 to 1966.[11] McLean served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York from 1962 until his death in 1972.[15]

In 2021, the firm assisted the Democratic Party in the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump.[16]

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 students 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."[17]

Reputation and rankings

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Debevoise & Plimpton is ranked No. 9 on The American Lawyer's 2022 A-List;[18] and No. 18 on Vault's 2024 Rankings of the most prestigious law firms.[19] 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.[20]

Debevoise is notable as one of the last major law firms known to use a lockstep seniority-based compensation system.[21]

Controversial cases

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Representation of the family that controls Purdue Pharma

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Debevoise represented four members of the Sackler family, which controls Purdue Pharma, the company that developed and marketed the painkiller Oxycontin.[22] 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.[22] 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.[23]

Assistance to Guantanamo prisoners

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Attorneys from Debevoise & Plimpton worked on behalf of prisoners held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.[24][25][26] 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."[27] Stimson's views were widely criticized. The Pentagon disavowed them, and Stimson resigned shortly thereafter.

2010s

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Investigating pro-Palestine student protests at Columbia University

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In 2024, Columbia University hired Debevoise & Plimpton in response to the pro-Palestinian student protests during the Gaza war.[31] The firm's attorneys were employed to investigate student misconduct complaints and serve as interim hearing officers at Columbia.[31]

Notable attorneys and alumni

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Judiciary

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Government

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Business

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Academia

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Arts & entertainment

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b February 3, Patrick Smith; PM, 2024 at 02:03. "'Debevoise's Revenue Stays Flat As Profits Take A Hit". The American Lawyer.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ "Debevoise". Debevoise.
  3. ^ "Locations". Debevoise. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
  4. ^ "Debevoise & Plimpton LLP - The Inside View". Chambers Associate. 2025. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d Hevesi, Dennis (July 1, 1990). "Eli Whitney Debevoise Dies at 90; Co-Founder of a Top Law Firm". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
  6. ^ "Debevoise & Plimpton LLP | Company Profile". Vault. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
  7. ^ a b "Robert G. Page, Ex‐President Of Phelps Dodge, Is Dead at 69". The New York Times. December 27, 1970. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
  8. ^ "EDWARD M'LEAN, A FEDERAL JUDGE". The New York Times. October 13, 1972. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
  9. ^ "Article 7 ‐‐ No Title". The New York Times. March 13, 1975. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
  10. ^ Jr, Robert Mcg Thomas (March 9, 1979). "SAMUEL E. GATES, 63, AIRLINE‐LAW EXPERT". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
  11. ^ a b Margolick, David (July 31, 1983). "FRANCIS T.P. PLIMPTON, 82, DIES". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
  12. ^ "DEATHS". The Washington Post. July 2, 1990. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
  13. ^ Archives, L. A. Times (July 2, 1990). "Eli Whitney Debevoise; Law Firm Represented Alger Hiss". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
  14. ^ Fowler, Glenn (April 4, 1985). "WILLIAM STEVENSON, LAWYER, EDUCATOR AND U. S. DIPLOMAT". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
  15. ^ "McLean, Edward Cochrane | Federal Judicial Center". www.fjc.gov. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
  16. ^ DeBonis, Mike; Hamburger, Tom; Gardner, Amy (January 30, 2021). "House Democrats building elaborate, emotionally charged case against Trump". www.msn.com. Washington Post. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  17. ^ Sorkin, Andrew Ross; Mattu, Ravi; Warner, Bernhard; Kessler, Sarah; Merced, Michael J. de la; Hirsch, Lauren; Livni, Ephrat (November 2, 2023). "Law Firms Warn Universities About Antisemitism on Campus". The New York Times. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  18. ^ "The 2022 A-List: Top 20 Firms". The American Lawyer. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  19. ^ "Top Law Firm Rankings: Vault Law 100". Firsthand. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  20. ^ "Debevoise & Plimpton LLP | Company Profile | Vault.com". Vault.
  21. ^ Dayal, Mahira (May 13, 2025). "Debevoise & Plimpton Deals Prowess Tested by Leadership Exits". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
  22. ^ a b "Purdue's Sackler family wants global opioids settlement: Sackler lawyer Mary Jo White". Reuters. April 23, 2019. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  23. ^ "Debevoise Dominated Sackler Family Fees Tied to Opioid Scandal". The American Lawyer. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  24. ^ Shayana Kadidal (May 16, 2007). "Getting Rid of Lawyers at Guantanamo: An Update". Huffington Post. Retrieved January 19, 2008.
  25. ^ "The Pro Bono Tradition at Debevoise". Debevoise & Plimpton. Retrieved January 19, 2008.
  26. ^ Schwartz, Emma (May 15, 2007). "The Latest Guantanamo Debate". Legal Times. Retrieved January 19, 2008.
  27. ^ Lewis, Neil (January 13, 2007). "Official attacks top law firms over detainees". New York Times. Retrieved January 17, 2007.
  28. ^ a b Cash, Justin. "Debevoise takes on Lindsay Lohan in Grand Theft Auto court battle". Legal Week. Incisive Financial Publishing. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
  29. ^ "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.
  30. ^ "Lindsay Lohan loses Grand Theft Auto V lawsuit on appeal" by Leslie Katz, CNET, March 30, 2018. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  31. ^ a b Monnay, Tatyana (May 31, 2024). "Columbia Hires Wall Street Lawyers for Student Protest Probes". Bloomberg Law.
  32. ^ Cross2017-05-16T13:02:00+01:00, Michael. "Former City lawyer named as French premier". Law Gazette. Retrieved May 15, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

Further reading

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