Kramer Levin

We opened our doors in 1968 with six partners and eight associates, a small firm determined to compete with much larger rivals, in a city with no shortage of law firms. We envisioned a full-service firm, though some of our first departments had only one or two lawyers. From the outset, our emphasis was on recruiting, training and retaining the best lawyers we could find, placing them in a comfortable, collaborative environment where they could grow and thrive. Then, as now, we stressed a pragmatic, results-oriented approach, encouraging our teams to be dynamic and creative, but to look beyond the legal issues to the larger business challenges our clients face. In 1970, we moved our then 20 lawyers to 919 Third Avenue, which remained our home for 35 years. At the time, our practice areas were limited to litigation, corporate, real estate, tax, and trusts and estates. Today, from our state-of-the-art headquarters at 1177 Avenue of the Americas, we have grown to over 375 lawyers in some 20 practice areas. Our growth has been geographic as well. As our clients' matters dealt increasingly with cross-border issues, we moved to add to our international practice. We opened our Paris office in 1999 with 20 lawyers who had practiced together for 20 years. In September 2011, to expand our reach and depth in our intellectual property practice, we opened our Silicon Valley office.