Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle

Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP
Headquarters	New York City, United States
No. of offices	13
No. of attorneys	250
Major practice areas	General practice
Revenue	$135 million (2009)
Date founded	1830 (New York City)
Company type	LLP
Website	www.curtis.com

Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP is a New York-based international law firm with more than 240 attorneys in 13 offices worldwide plus a strategic alliance with a firm based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In 2009, its declared revenues were approximately $135 million. In 2007, the New York Law Journal listed Curtis, Mallet as one of the largest 100 law offices in New York City (listed at 67th).

History

The law firm was founded in 1830 in New York City by John and James Graham, two brothers from Connecticut who established their legal practice on Fulton Street (Manhattan) in today's Financial District. In 1847, the firm admitted partner William Curtis Noyes, the son of a state Supreme Court justice. The firm merged in 1852 with another legal partnership established by a member of the Curtis family and moved to new premises on Wall Street. In 1899, Severo Mallet-Prevost represented the government of Venezuela in front of the arbitration tribunal established to adjudicate the boundary dispute between Venezuela and the British colony of Guiana. The United Kingdom received the lion's share of the dispute territory in the Essequibo River basin, which Mallet-Prevost believed was the result of a deal between the British and Russian judges on the tribunal.^[1] In 1925, the firm's current name was adopted, Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle. The firm established its Washington, D.C. office in the 1970s and hired former New Jersey U.S. Senator Clifford Case to drum up business. Curtis previously operated offices in Hong Kong and Newark which were both closed by 2004. The firm presently maintains its headquarters in the H. J. Kalikow and Co., Inc. building at 101 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan.^[2]

Awards

The Martindale-Hubbell International Law Digest, one of the most widely-used guides on the laws of more than 80 countries, has turned to Curtis since 1930 to prepare and annually update the laws of almost every Latin American jurisdiction.

The New York Law Journal ranked Curtis number 61 on the New York Law Journal Largest Private Law Offices list for 2006.

Curtis was mentioned in the US Legal 500, 2007 Edition for Mergers and Acquisitions International Deals Under One Billion Dollars.

Curtis was ranked as having the highest percentage of minority partners, as well as the highest percentage of Hispanic Americans in Minority Law Journal’s 2008 "Diversity Scorecard." In the overall category for most diverse, the firm was ranked 18 for highest percentage of minority attorneys (partners and non-partners).

In 2008, the Firm was awarded the "Excellence in Commercial Brief Writing" Award by the New York State Bar Association's Commercial and Federal Litigation Section. The winning brief was drafted by T. Barry Kingham (Partner), Turner P. Smith (Partner) and Gabriel Hertzberg (Associate). It was submitted to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in support of a motion by Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) to stay a district court order enjoining FIFA from pursuing a Swiss arbitration.

In 2008, Steven J. Reisman was recognized for his excellence in Bankruptcy/Restructuring by Chambers USA.

In 2008, Lizabeth L. Burrell was recognized for her excellence in transportation, specifically in the shipping industry. The Maritime Law Association declared Ms. Burrell, “an absolutely excellent president who is a great speaker, and quite possibly the best maritime law writer in the country.”

From 2004 to 2008, Legal 500 the definitive guide to the legal market in over 70 countries recommended the Curtis within Latin America Legal 500 for the Firm's work in Corporate and Commercial Mergers & Acquisitions, Banking & Finance and Dispute Resolution.

Curtis was highlighted for its exceptional work in middle-market Mergers, Acquisitions and Buyouts in the 2008 Edition of the US Legal 500.

Performance

In February 2009, despite a weak economy, the firm reported a 13.5% surge in revenue, pushing profits per partner to the $1 million mark, a record for the firm. Revenues per lawyer were reported at $570,000. Chairman George Kahale cited the firm's limited presence in mergers and acquisitions, banking, and private equity, along with its strength in bankruptcy and arbitration as major contributors to the firm's stability and growth.^[3]

Noted practices

The firm is divided into two main departments, corporate and litigation. It is well-known for its international corporate practice including securities, mergers & acquisitions, project finance and other transactional matters. Curtis is also respected for its work in shipping and admiralty law, energy, and bankruptcy. On the contentious side, the firm has an active practice representing domestic and foreign clients in litigation, international funds, and international arbitration proceedings.

Curtis, Mallet has long had a strong focus on Latin America, and historically maintained offices in a number of Latin American countries in the early 20th century, including Havana, Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro which were shuttered by the time of the Second World War. Curtis has also had a successful practice of representing Latin American issuers in securities offerings, targets and acquirers in mergers & acquisitions and governments across the region in privatizations. Currently the firm maintains an office in Mexico City. The firm recently announced a strategic alliance with the Argentine law firm, Fernandez Quiroga Ayarragaray & Ocampo. Legal publications report that the firm's strategic alliance is the first step towards a full-fledged merger of the two firms. Curtis is also seeking to expand into Brazil.^[4] Perhaps its most noted clients in the region are the Mexican state oil company, Pemex and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, which the firm currently represents in a variety of corporate, arbitration and litigation matters in the United States and abroad.

Major clients

Curtis represented now-defunct securities firm Drexel Burnham Lambert in charges brought under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and the Securities Act by the United States government. Key clients include Verizon and Flextronics in the telecommunications sector, Access Industries and the Century Aluminum Company, a subsidiary of Glencore International AG, in the industrial sector and Citgo, PDVSA, YPFB and KazMunayGas in the petrochemicals sector. The firm has been particularly successful representing state-owned or parastatal energy companies which bring in approximately $50 million in revenues for the firm. Curtis also represented the Air Transportation Stabilization Board in a number of transactions regarding air carrier consolidation and restructuring following the September 11th Terrorist Attacks. Recently, the firm was retained by Lehman Brothers, the bankrupt investment bank to serve as conflicts counsel in its Chapter 11 proceedings when lead counsel Weil, Gotshal & Manges cannot act due to conflicts of interest.

Pro bono

Among the firm's pro bono publico endeavors was the representations of Stanley Williams in a death penalty appeal in the state of California. In 2007, the Firm also represented the not-for-profit Katonah Village Improvement Society, in its opposition to Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia's attempt to register the name "Katonah" as a trademark. In 2008, Curtis partner Jeffrey I. Zuckerman represented Mordechai Dov Brody and his parents in opposing an effort by Children's Hospital in Washington, D.C., to terminate Brody's life support. Also in 2008 Curtis partner Santiago Corcuera was mentioned and quoted by the Latin Lawyer Magazine for his pro bono work in Mexico. Curtis was also ranked sixth, out of fifteen firms in the Pro Bono Ranking conducted by the Latin Lawyer Magazine in 2008.

Offices

New York (1830)
Almaty (2008)
Astana (2008)
Buenos Aires (2008) (strategic alliance with Fernandez Quiroga, Ayarragaray & Ocampo)
Dubai (2008)
Frankfurt (1989)
Houston (1992)
Istanbul (2007)
London (1981)
Mexico City (1991)
Milan (1998)
Muscat (1997)
Paris (1972)
Washington, D.C. (1963)