Winthrop, Stimson, Putnam & Roberts

Winthrop, Stimson, Putnam & Roberts was a prominent New York City law firm that traced its origins to a law partnership formed there in 1868. It merged with San Francisco–based law firm Pillsbury, Madison & Sutro in 2001.^[1] The merged firm subsequently became Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman in 2005.^[2]

Winthrop, Stimson, Putnam & Roberts

Headquarters	New York City
No. of offices	5
Offices	New York City, Tokyo, London, Hong Kong, and Singapore
Date founded	1868 (1868)
Dissolved	2001 (2001) (merged with Pillsbury, Madison & Sutro)

History

The firm was founded in 1868 as Root & Clarke. After several name changes, and the addition of Bronson Winthrop, it was known as Winthrop & Stimson after 1898, and Winthrop, Stimson, Putnam & Roberts after 1927.^[3] The firm represented clients including W. E. B. Du Bois,^[4] America West Airlines,^[5] Zapata Petroleum,^[6] Clark Estates Inc.,^[6] and Ethyl Corporation,^[7] among others.

In 1980, the firm published Winthrop, Stimson, Putnam & Roberts: A History of a Law Firm.^[8]

Immediately prior to its 2001 merger, Winthrop had offices in Tokyo, London, Hong Kong, and Singapore with more than half of the firm's revenue coming from abroad.^[9] The 2001 merger with Pillsbury, Madison & Sutro, which was then twice the size of New York City-based Winthrop, Stimson, Putnam & Roberts, created one of the largest law firms in the country with more than 860 lawyers in 16 offices.^[9] As of 2000, Pillsbury had been headquartered in San Francisco for 126 years.^[10]

In 2005, the Pillsbury Winthrop LLP firm merged with Shaw Pittman LLP forming a new entity, known as Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, with over 900 lawyers.^[11]

Notable alumni

The firm produced a number of leaders in law, jurisprudence and public service, including:

Felix Frankfurter, a U.S. Supreme Court justice, worked at the firm.

• Felix Frankfurter (1882–1965), legal scholar and U.S. Supreme Court Justice
• Charles Nourse (1888–1974), football player and lawyer
• John Edward Parsons (1829–1915), president of the New York City Bar Association^[12]
• Elihu Root (1845–1937), one of the firm's founders and a U.S. Secretary of State
• Raymond P. Shafer (1917–2006), 39th governor of Pennsylvania^[13]
• Sargent Shriver (1915–2011), director of the Office of Economic Opportunity and the U.S. Ambassador to France^[14]
• Henry L. Stimson (1867–1950), cabinet member under four Presidents of the United States
• Brooks Thomas (1931–2010), lawyer and executive of Harper & Row
• Bronson Winthrop (1863–1944), one of the firm's founders^[15]