Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP (Cadwalader), a leading counselor to global financial institutions and corporations, today announced that Steven G. Eckhaus, one of the preeminent figures in U.S. executive compensation and employment law, has joined the Firm as Partner.
“Steve is an outstanding lawyer who has attracted a following among some of the best companies in America and their senior executives,” remarked W. Christopher White, Chairman of Cadwalader. “Our corporate and financial services sector clients will undoubtedly benefit from Steve’s unparalleled depth of experience and strategic insight.”
Eckhaus will chair Cadwalader’s Executive Compensation and Benefits practice as part of the Firm’s Corporate Department in New York City. He is joining from Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, where he was chair of the Executive Employment practice. He will be joined by several colleagues from his previous firm as well as Cadwalader corporate attorneys to form the new practice.
On the appointment, Jim Woolery, Deputy Chairman and Co-Chair of Cadwalader’s Corporate Department, commented: “Steve’s practice is strategic to the model the Firm is implementing. He has a ‘decision-maker’ practice. Every CEO is focused on talent. Steve will combine with our Corporate Department to develop a strategic, value-driven practice that complements our existing platform exceptionally well.”
Over the past four decades, Eckhaus has advised executives from a range of industries, including financial services, real estate, technology and sports, negotiating over $5 billion in employment contracts and other agreements. He is also an experienced litigator in employment disputes and has gained visibility protecting worker rights in several precedent-setting cases, including:
- In the Matter of Trezza (1998 U.S. Dist. Lexis 20206 (S.D.N.Y.)), which established the right of mothers to equal treatment in employment.
- Goldstick v. The Hartford, Inc. (2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15247 (S.D.N.Y.)), in which he heralded flexible work arrangements.
- Morelli v. Cedel (141 F. 3d 39 (2d Cir. 1998)), which overturned more than a decade of adverse precedent and expanded the jurisdiction of the courts to protect US workers employed by foreign corporations.
“I have long admired Cadwalader’s reputation as a top tier highly focused firm with depth of expertise in the financial services and corporate sector. I look forward to working with the Cadwalader team to continue to provide counsel of the highest quality to our clients,” stated Eckhaus.
Over the course of his career, Eckhaus has received numerous professional accolades including being named one of Human Resources Executive’s Top 20 in Employee Benefits and ERISA (2011 – 2013), his inclusion in SuperLawyers for seven consecutive years (2007 – 2013) and in the World Justice Project’s Rule of Law Index from 2011 – 2013.
Admitted to both the New York and New Jersey bars, he also holds memberships to the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, Cornell University’s Library Advisory Council and the University of California-Hastings Law School Center for WorkLife Law Advisory Board. Eckhaus received his law degree from Cornell University, where he also completed his undergraduate studies.
