History

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP owes its reputation to the character, integrity, ability, and entrepreneurial spirit of its lawyers and staff, starting with founders Jarboe, Goodfellow, Eells, and Orrick, and continuing to this day. Our expertise in public finance and corporate law stems from the seminal work done by a group of legal innovators in a time and a city that held tremendous potential.

The firm has built on this foundation, expanding its practice to include 13 practice areas, throughout 18 offices in 7 countries, while maintaining its tradition of client service. The firm’s offices in Beijing, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Milan, Moscow, New York, Orange County, Pacific Northwest, Paris, Rome, Sacramento, San Francisco, Shanghai, Silicon Valley, Taipei, Tokyo, and Washington, D.C. enable the firm to serve its clients in a manner that would have astounded the firm’s founders.

Our Founders

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP traces its roots to 1863, when San Francisco was emerging from the Gold Rush as an island of commerce.

In that year, the German Savings and Loan Society (which would later be part of the First Interstate Bank of California) was organized, with John R. Jarboe as its general counsel. In 1885, Jarboe, an authority on real estate titles, founded Jarboe, Harrison & Goodfellow, which would become the present-day Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP.

When Mr. Jarboe was admitted to the bar in 1858, the examination procedure was not as orthodox as it is today. Then, candidates submitted to an oral examination in Sacramento by a committee of three members of the Bar appointed by the Supreme Court. After Mr. Jarboe answered a few questions at his examination, one of the examiners said they were wasting their time by questioning him on matters about which he was better informed than they. Instead, they asked Mr. Jarboe if he knew how to make brandy punch. "I do not," replied Jarboe, "but I have discovered that they make a very fine one at the Sazerac, a saloon across the street, and I would be pleased if the learned committee would join me in testing one." The examination continued in earnest at the saloon. The committee found the applicant's judgment to be sound, indeed.

When Ralph C. Harrison was appointed justice to the California Supreme Court in 1891, the partnership of Jarboe, Harrison & Goodfellow was dissolved. In 1901, W. S. Goodfellow formed a new partnership, Goodfellow & Eells. Charles Eells, described by William Orrick as one whose "impact of learning and acute mind was softened and molded by his uprightness of character, unerring sense of right and fairness and by an ever present fund of humor," helped guide San Francisco through challenging times.

Legal Innovators from the Early 1900s

In 1905, Ralph Harrison assembled the corporations that became the Pacific Gas & Electric Company; and Charles Eells was instrumental in the reorganization of Fireman's Fund Insurance Company after the devastating 1906 earthquake and fire. Eells saved the business from collapse by devising an innovative plan to pay unpaid claims with company stock. The firm also counted among its clients the first two San Francisco firms to engage in the business of investment banking.

Goodfellow & Eells was also involved in the litigation surrounding the controversial development of hydroelectric power and water-use rights in the Truckee River/Lake Tahoe region. When William H. Orrick joined the firm in 1910, the United States Reclamation Service and Secretary of the Interior Richard A. Ballinger had negotiated a contract with private interests that allowed water diversion from the lake, a deal that outraged conservationists. Mr. Goodfellow, representing business interests, met with President William Howard Taft, who opened the interview by stating, "My trouble is to find anyone who understands your western water law." The resulting litigation led to legislation that affects the use of Lake Tahoe water today.

William H. Orrick

William H. Orrick was known for the precise nature of his briefs and the prodigious work assignments he "subpoenaed" associates with. He also insisted on exhaustive legal research and continued to do legal research into his eighties. He retired in 1960.

Stanley Moore joined the firm in 1914, and the firm name was changed to Goodfellow, Eells, Moore & Orrick. The year 1927 began an important era for the firm when Ralph Palmer, Tom Dahlquist, George Herrington, and Mitchell Neff became partners. Tom Dahlquist was a brilliant and innovative corporate lawyer. He was an authority on the California Corporate Securities Act and wrote a series of articles for the California Law Review, published in 1945-46, discussions of that became the starting point for matters under the Act until corporate securities law was revised in 1968.

George Herrington

Before he joined the firm, George Herrington worked part-time as a librarian at Boalt Hall while studying law there. He worked regularly on Sundays and would find Mr. Orrick sitting on the library steps with a suitcase full of work, waiting for George to unlock the door so he could go to work. George claimed that the only reason Mr. Orrick hired him was to make sure he (Herrington) got to work on time.

Certainly the most famous of the firm's bond matters of that time was the issuance of bonds to help finance the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge. The Southern Pacific Railroad, which owned the Golden Gate Ferry Company and stood to lose a significant source of income when the bridge was completed, contested the validity of the bonds. Southern Pacific's efforts failed and the bond issue passed. George Herrington's contribution to the bridge project was a major factor in establishing his reputation as the premier West Coast bond lawyer.

During the 1930s, the firm was home to a colorful cast of characters. Mitchell Neff had a brass spittoon in his office that held shavings from his pencils that, out of nervous habit, he whittled down to the eraser. On a few occasions, he accidentally set fire to his wastebasket and once accidentally locked himself in his closet when he stepped inside to admire the radiant dial on his new watch.

Eric Sutcliffe

Eric Sutcliffe joined the firm in 1932. He did a great deal of the research for the Golden Gate Bridge bond matters, as did all associates under the scrutiny of W. H. Orrick. He also began working on PG&E registration statements, completing the first in 1934. These statements were some of the first registrations processed by the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Act of 1933. In 1947, Mr. Orrick chose Eric Sutcliffe to become managing partner, a position he held for more than 30 years.

Orrick Today

Today, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe is a law firm of international renown. From our offices across the United States, Europe, and Asia, Orrick’s lawyers are engaged in precedent-setting deals and cases around the globe. Each of our practice areas can point to market-leading achievements, substantiated by major U.S. and international ranking agencies.

We believe our success and our longevity are due to a commitment to our core values—Excellence and Integrity, Cooperation and Individual Respect, and Enthusiasm and Pursuit of Improvement—and to knowing our clients, their businesses, and the issues they face every day. For nearly 140 years, Orrick has been helping clients achieve their objectives in the courtroom and in the boardroom. And that commitment has never been stronger.