The law firm known today as Brown & Wood LLP was founded on May 15, 1914, by William M. Chadbourne, Richard C. Hunt and Albert F. Jaeckel. The original firm, Chadbourne, Hunt & Jaeckel, set up shop in the old Singer Building at 165 Broadway. William Chadbourne was not the only legal entrepreneur in his family. His cousin, Thomas Chadbourne, founded the firm now known as Chadbourne & Parke. Richard Hunt and Albert Jaeckel, both younger than Chadbourne but no less talented, were associates at Winthrop, Stimson, Putnam & Roberts. The new firm scored a major coup with the addition of Merrill Lynch & Co., then a small brokerage firm, to the client roster. Also founded in 1914, Merrill Lynch & Co. began to thrive in 1948 with the end of World War I. Charles E. Merrill, its co-founder, and Albert Jaeckel were fraternity brothers. One Saturday afternoon, when Merrill was unable to reach his attorney to handle a pressing legal matter, he called Jaeckel, who just happened to be at work that day. The rest is history. Neither Merrill nor Jaeckel could have foreseen the far-reaching consequences and the long-standing relationship that would result from that fateful phone call. Howard H. Brown, another one of Jaeckel's fraternity brothers, joined the firm as a partner in 1920. The name of the firm was accordingly changed to Chadbourne, Hunt, Jaeckel & Brown. John M. Wood, a future name partner, joined the firm in 1923 and later developed an impressive list of clients from the world of entertainment, including one of the most popular actors of Hollywood's Golden Age, Gary Cooper. With its fortunes tied to a number of Wall Street clients, the firm barely survived the stock market crash in 1929. By 1932, however, the firm's revival was marked by a move to 70 Pine Street. The enactment of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Act of 1934 especially contributed to the firm's resurgence. Although Wall Street protested this vast body of federal legislation, the firm seized the opportunity to guide securities firms through the regulatory minefield. In fact, John Wood is credited with preparing one of the first registration statements filed under the 1933 Act. The firm has gone through several moves and name changes over the years. By 1955, Jaeckel and Hunt had died and Chadbourne had left the firm to set up a separate partnership. With the departure of so many distinguished partners, the firm was renamed Brown, Wood, Fuller, Caldwell & Ivey after the remaining leaders of the firm. This firm moved in 1972 to One Liberty Plaza and to its current location at One World Trade Center ten years later. The World Trade Center offices, elegantly decorated with traditional furniture and an impressive collection of contemporary art, drew a constant parade of visitors during the firm's first few months of occupancy. In 1976 the firm became Brown, Wood, Ivey, Mitchell & Petty following a merger with the New York bond firm of Mitchell, Petty & Shetterly. The name was shortened to Brown & Wood ten years later, and in 1996, the firm became a limited liability partnership. The three-person law firm founded by William Chadbourne, Richard Hunt and Albert Jaeckel today has more than 300 lawyers in eight offices around the globe. Brown & Wood LLP is the recognized leader in the development of asset securitization programs, having first pioneered mortgage-backed securities in the 1970s. It is also one of the principal law firms providing counsel to companies and underwriters active in the domestic and global capital markets.