Orrick History Timeline

1863
As San Francisco was emerging from the Gold Rush as a center of commerce amidst the wilderness of the western United States, a pioneering lawyer named John R. Jarboe became the general counsel of a new financial institution, the German Savings and Loan Society, which would later become part of the First Interstate Bank of California.

1885
Jarboe, an authority on real estate titles, founded Jarboe, Harrison & Goodfellow, the beginning of present-day Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, which would, as it evolved over the next 100+ years, participate in many of the most significant events in San Francisco's history.

1891
Ralph C. Harrison was appointed justice to the California Supreme Court, and the partnership of Jarboe, Harrison & Goodfellow was dissolved.

1901
W. S. Goodfellow formed a new partnership with Charles Eells, named Goodfellow & Eells.

1905
Ralph Harrison assembled the corporations that became the Pacific Gas & Electric Company.

1906
Charles Eells was instrumental in the reorganization of Fireman's Fund Insurance Company after the devastating 1906 earthquake and fire in San Francisco. Eells saved the business from collapse by devising an innovative plan to pay unpaid claims with company stock. Goodfellow & Elles also counted among its clients the first two San Francisco firms to engage in investment banking.

1910
William H. Orrick began his 50-year tenure with the firm. Goodfellow & Eells was involved in litigation surrounding the controversial development of hydroelectric power and water-use rights in the Truckee River/Lake Tahoe region. Mr. Goodfellow, representing business interests, met with President William Howard Taft, who opened the interview by saying, "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.

1914
Stanley Moore joined the firm, and the name was changed to Goodfellow, Eells, Moore & Orrick.

1927
Ralph Palmer, Tom Dahlquist, George Herrington and Mitchell Neff became partners. In the following years, the most famous of the firm's bond matters was the issuance of bonds to help finance the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge. Despite many attempts by numerous parties to block the bonds, the bond issue passed with overwhelming public support, and George Herrington established his reputation as a premier West Coast bond attorney.

1932
Eric Sutcliffe joined the firm and conducted extensive research for Golden Gate Bridge bond matters, as did all associates who assisted W.H. Orrick with the research he conducted himself well into his 80s, before retiring in 1960.

1934
Eric Sutcliffe worked on PG&E registration statements, completing the first in 1934, which was one of the first registrations processed by the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Act of 1933.

1947
Eric Sutcliffe was chosen by W.H. Orrick to become managing partner, a position he held for more than 30 years.

1980
The firm's name was changed to Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.

1983
Orrick began its expansion outside of San Francisco with an office in Sacramento, California.

1984
Orrick opened its first non-California location, establishing an office in New York.

1985
Orrick opened its third California office, located in Los Angeles.

1990
Ralph H. Baxter, Jr. became chairman and CEO of Orrick.

1993
Orrick opened its second office on the East Coast of the United States in Washington, D.C.

1995
Orrick opened its fourth California office, located in Silicon Valley.

1996
Orrick developed and adopted the core values that continue to govern the firm today:

• Excellence and Integrity
• Cooperation and Individual Respect
• Enthusiasm and the Pursuit of Improvement

1997
Orrick opened an office Tokyo with two U.S. qualified lawyers. Two years later, Orrick formed a joint enterprise with Sho Kokusai Law Offices (known today as Orrick Tokyo Law Offices).

1998
Orrick opened an office in London and expanded the New York office with the addition of the entire litigation department of Donovan, Leisure, Newton & Irvine.

2000
Orrick opened an office in Seattle, Washington, which grew to include an office in Portland, Oregon, two years later.

2002
Orrick opened an office in Paris and its fifth California office, located in Orange County, along with its Global Operations Center (GOC) in Wheeling, West Virginia. The GOC is the hub of Orrick's day to day administrative operations. No other firm has a 24/7 facility that rivals it.

2003
Orrick opened an office in Milan and expanded its presence in the Pacific Northwest of the United States with an office in Portland, Oregon.

2004
Orrick opened an office in Rome and significantly expanded its Tokyo office with the addition of six bengoshi lawyers and a partner focused on South Korea. Orrick’s San Francisco office moved into the Orrick Building on Howard Street, and the majority of Clifford Chance's West Coast Securities Litigation Group joined Orrick.

2005
Orrick opened offices in Hong Kong, Moscow and Taipei, and the firm doubled the number of lawyers in the London office. Ten partners joined Orrick from Heller Ehrman Venture Law Group, expanding the firm’s Emerging Companies Group.

2006
Orrick opened offices in Beijing and Shanghai with pioneering lawyers from Coudert Brothers (the first foreign law firm in Hong Kong and China) and increased the Paris office by nearly 100 lawyers through a merger with Rambaud Martel. The highly-rated bankruptcy team from Swidler Berlin joined Orrick's office in Washington, D.C.

2007
Orrick grew to more than 1,000 lawyers in 18 offices throughout the world. A five-member global compliance team joined Orrick’s New York office to help clients master the complex international regulatory environment for a range of issues, including equity compensation, corporate governance and corporate secretary services.

2008
Orrick's Washington, D.C., office expanded its Middle East practice capabilities with the hire of the first non-Qatari attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Qatar. The Düsseldorf, Berlin and Frankfurt offices opened in 2008 when Orrick merged with the highly regarded German firm of Hölters & Elsing.

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