Davis Law Firm history

Francis L. Stetson graduated from Columbia, fought against the corruption of New York City's Democratic Party Boss Tweed, and then served New York City as its assistant corporation counsel before he joined Bangs as a partner in 1880.

Founded in 1891, Davis, Davis, Davis & Davis, PC, is one of the oldest and most respected law firms in Virginia.

The younger generation created the first 'true partnership,' according to Harbaugh, under such leaders as Allen Wardwell, who had joined the firm as a clerk after graduating from Harvard Law School in 1898.

Starting in 1913, Davis made oral arguments before the nation's highest tribunal in 140 cases, the most of any 20th-century lawyer.

Acting as the de facto head of the law firm, Wardwell recruited two key men in 1920.

With 20 partners in 1939, Davis Polk Wardwell Gardiner & Reed for years had represented J.P. Morgan & Company and the Guaranty Trust Company.

By 1964 the law firm of 37 partners had added a Paris office and moved to its new headquarters at One Chase Manhattan Plaza in New York City.

1973: Firm opens its London office.

The crisis finally was resolved in early 1981 when a group of lawyers from New York law firms representing the nation's largest banks negotiated with attorneys representing Iranian interests.

1993: The Hong Kong office is established.

He had represented RJR Nabisco for several years, including a 1994 tobacco lawsuit.

Then in late 1995 Goldstone accepted an offer to become the CEO of RJR Nabisco Holdings Inc.

In November 1998 the same magazine, in cooperation with London's Legal Business, published its first ranking of the world's largest law firms.