Cravath, Swaine & Moore

What Cravath, Swaine & Moore does

Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP is a New York-formed limited liability partnership founded in 1819, operating as one of the most prestigious U.S. law firms and consistently ranked at the top of Vault Law 2026-2027 alongside Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. The firm is organized into two principal departments — Corporate and Litigation — supported by specialized sub-practices spanning Capital Markets, Mergers and Acquisitions, Financial Institutions Group (FIG), CFIUS and National Security, Tax, Executive Compensation and Benefits, Antitrust, Securities Litigation, Investigations and Regulatory Enforcement, Board and Officer Representation, Cybersecurity & Data Privacy, ESG, Private Equity, and Artificial Intelligence, along with industry-focused practices in Financial Services and Insurance, Technology, Energy and Infrastructure, Blockchain/Cryptocurrency/Digital Assets, and Real Estate and Hospitality. Its client base includes Fortune-grade multinationals such as Disney, Paramount, JPMorgan, Citi, Tesla, Biogen, Westinghouse, IBM, MTN Group, First Solar, EIB, Robinhood and BitGo, and the firm anchors transformational matters including Paramount's $110 billion hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery and Kenvue's $48.7 billion acquisition by Kimberly-Clark.

Cravath monetizes primarily through traditional billable-hour professional services, with revenue generated from M&A advisory, capital markets deal representation, financing counsel, regulatory advisory, litigation, and investigations across its three offices in New York (HQ), Washington D.C. and London. The firm does not publicly disclose pricing and operates entirely on relationship-driven, partner-led engagements. The Financial Institutions Group is a signature asset, staffed by former senior U.S. regulators including a former SEC Acting Chairman (Elad Roisman), former SEC/Treasury officials (Jeffrey Dinwoodie), a former FTC Commissioner (Noah Phillips), an eight-year Federal Reserve Board Legal Division senior counsel (Lucas Beirne), and — as of June 2026 — a former DOJ National Security Division official (Michael Patrick Daly).

Technology adoption at Cravath is in the early assistive phase: an ISO/IEC 27001:2022-certified Information Security Management System (certificate #IS 595233) provides the security baseline; of counsel Scott Reents publicly piloted "vibe coding" (generative AI) for legal practice at Legalweek 2026; the firm publishes a recurring Artificial Intelligence Developments Newsletter; and an AI litigation sub-practice has been formalized. Industry coverage indicates traditional firms including Cravath are upgrading AI tools to keep pace with AI-native law firms that complete certain analyses in 45 minutes versus two weeks. The firm also produces the Quarterly Review, Finance & Capital Markets Quarterly Review, and Alumni Journal as part of a substantive thought-leadership and client-relationship engine, supported by active participation in venues such as the Stanford Directors' College, The L Suite's GC Leadership Dinner, the SEC Crypto Task Force, and Cambridge Forums.

Name

Cravath, Swaine & Moore

Legal name

Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP

Website

https://cravath.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1819

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP is a 200+ year-old New York-headquartered elite U.S. law firm serving Fortune-grade enterprises, financial institutions, and governments on transformational M&A, capital markets, litigation, regulatory enforcement, and CFIUS matters from offices in New York, Washington D.C. and London.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110), Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) & Securities Law (BPAHAAAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

M&A Advisory (Buy-side/Sell-side) (BPAHADAC)

Keywords

• Corporate legal services
• Mergers and acquisitions
• Securities litigation
• Capital markets law
• Legal advisory services

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Professional legal services (hourly and engagement-based billing): Cravath operates the traditional century-old billable-hour model for legal services, with partners billing time across practice areas (Corporate, Litigation, Tax, Executive Compensation, IP, Antitrust, Investigations). Industry coverage notes the billable hour's role as a measure of value is eroding as AI-native firms charge for outcomes, but Cravath continues to monetize through professional services engagements. The firm disclosed multi-tiered equity partnership structure, reserving profit distributions primarily for rainmakers.
2. Transactional fees and advisory retainers: Beyond hourly billing, Cravath generates revenue from M&A advisory fees, capital markets deal representation, financing counsel, regulatory advisory and litigation engagements. Representative matters include the Paramount $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, Kenvue's $48.7 billion acquisition by Kimberly-Clark, Westinghouse's up to $17.5 billion DOE financing, BitGo's $212.8 million IPO, and Euro Investment Bank / State Street / JPMorgan / Disney notes offerings.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP is a premier U.S. law firm providing legal counsel for the most challenging legal issues, most significant business transactions and most critical disputes. The firm operates two principal departments — Corporate (M&A, capital markets, banking and credit, tax, executive compensation, ESG, CFIUS and national security, corporate governance) and Litigation (antitrust, securities, M&A litigation, investigations and regulatory enforcement, board and officer representation) — delivered by partners, of counsel and associates from offices in New York, Washington, D.C. and London.

Product overview

Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP is a single, unified professional services law firm — not a multi-product platform — organized around two principal departments (Corporate and Litigation) supported by specialized sub-practice areas such as Capital Markets, Mergers and Acquisitions, Financial Institutions Group (FIG), CFIUS and National Security, Tax, Executive Compensation and Benefits, Antitrust, Securities Litigation, Investigations and Regulatory Enforcement, Board and Officer Representation, Cybersecurity & Data Privacy, ESG, Private Equity, and Artificial Intelligence. The Corporate and Litigation departments are complemented by industry-focused practices spanning Financial Services and Insurance, Technology, Energy and Infrastructure, Blockchain/Cryptocurrency and Digital Assets, and Real Estate and Hospitality. Alongside its advisory services, Cravath produces recurring client publications including the Quarterly Review, the Finance & Capital Markets Quarterly Review, and the Artificial Intelligence Developments Newsletter, and maintains the Cravath Alumni Journal and the 200.Cravath bicentennial brand site for alumni and historical content. All of these offerings are delivered by partners, of counsel, and associates operating from the firm's New York, Washington, D.C., and London offices.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Corporate Department Cravath's primary transactional practice advising clients on their most significant business transactions, including M&A, capital markets, banking and credit, tax, executive compensation, ESG, CFIUS and national security, and corporate governance matters.
• Litigation Department Cravath's contentious practice handling the firm's most critical disputes, including antitrust, securities litigation, M&A litigation, investigations and regulatory enforcement, board and officer representation, shareholder derivative actions, and trial and appellate matters.
• Mergers and Acquisitions Represents clients in friendly and hostile M&A, including the largest public-company transactions; Cravath has led deals such as Paramount's $110 billion bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, Disney/21st Century Fox, Occidental/Anadarko, and Kenvue's $48.7 billion acquisition by Kimberly-Clark.
• Capital Markets Represents issuers and underwriters in debt, equity, and global capital markets offerings, including IPOs, registered notes offerings, and high-yield debt transactions.
• Financial Institutions Group (FIG) Advises banks, broker-dealers, fintechs, insurers, asset managers, and crypto firms on transactional, regulatory, supervisory, enforcement, and governance matters, drawing on attorneys with experience at the Federal Reserve, SEC, Treasury, and DOJ.
• CFIUS and National Security Advises clients on foreign investment reviews (CFIUS) and national security matters, cross-border transactions, and regulatory scrutiny of multinational deals.
• Antitrust Represents clients in civil antitrust litigation, merger review and conduct investigations, and enforcement matters before DOJ and FTC.
• Investigations and Regulatory Enforcement Represents clients in internal and government investigations, regulatory enforcement proceedings, and white-collar criminal defense matters.
• Securities Litigation: Defense

Named customers26 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature3 records

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Debevoise & Plimpton LLP: Direct peer: elite New York firm with strong M&A, private equity and litigation practices, often seen on competing transactions and frequently co-counsel alongside Cravath in complex matters.
• Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP: Direct peer: traditional Am Law 5 firm competing with Cravath in M&A, capital markets and litigation; broader scale than Cravath but overlapping client base among Fortune-grade corporations.
• Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP: Direct peer: elite New York transactional and litigation firm; its current chair Scott Barshay is a Cravath alumnus. Competes for top M&A, private equity, and high-stakes litigation mandates.
• Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP: Direct peer: elite New York-founded firm with deep cross-border M&A and capital markets practice, particularly strong in European and emerging-market deals where Cravath also competes via its London office.
• Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP: Direct peer: elite New York transactional and litigation firm that competes for the largest M&A, capital markets and securities litigation matters and recently hired away Cravath partner Amanda Hines Gold.
• Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP: Direct peer: elite New York firm with leading M&A, private equity, banking and capital markets practices, regularly competing with Cravath on large-cap transactions and financial-institution matters.
• Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz: Direct peer: the other firm at the top of Vault Law 2026-2027 rankings. Both compete for the largest, most complex M&A and corporate governance mandates for Fortune-grade clients with similarly lean partnership models.
• Sullivan & Cromwell LLP: Direct peer: a similarly prestigious New York-founded firm competing head-to-head on mega M&A, capital markets, and cross-border mandates (e.g., they often appear on opposite sides of the largest transactions alongside Cravath).
• Latham & Watkins LLP: Direct peer: jointly led Paramount's $110B hostile bid with Cravath; one of the largest U.S. firms by revenue and a leading global M&A and capital markets competitor, particularly in cross-border mandates.

Emerging players

• Wiley Rein LLP: Emerging peer in regulatory and litigation work: Washington, D.C.-headquartered firm with deep government experience (former FTC, FCC officials) that competes with Cravath's Investigations, Antitrust, and FIG practices on regulatory and bet-the-company matters.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cravath
• Facebookfacebook.com/cravath
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/7945

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cravath, Swaine & Moore