A year and a half after the leadership at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft was upended by the sudden departure of its newly selected chair James Woolery, the firm is struggling with continued defections and has approached at least two firms about a possible merger.
According to two recently departed partners and an associate, the firm, prompted by management committee member Christopher Cox, approached King & Spalding over the winter about a combination of some kind. (King & Spalding did not respond to requests for comment.) One partner also said that Cadwalader had approached a smaller litigation firm in New York.
