Bob Giuffra participated in a program hosted by the Historical Society of the New York Courts, “Legal History From the Ground Up: Unearthing NY’s Legal Ancestors at Woodlawn Cemetery.” The program, which took place on September 29 and is available to view online, featured a panel of New York lawyers descended by birth or practice from various legal luminaries now buried at Woodlawn Cemetery. Bob Giuffra, vice chair of Sullivan & Cromwell and practice descendant of S&C co-founder William Nelson Cromwell, spoke about the ways in which his firm continues to be shaped by Cromwell’s influence. “The DNA of our law firm was shaped by Cromwell,” Bob said, citing his expertise as the first great business lawyer; his efforts to build the Firm’s leading international practice; and his emphasis on creating a merit-based culture as traits that remain core to S&C’s identity.
Other panelists at the event included Marshall L. Miller, partner at Kaplan Hecker & Fink and descendant of Hon. William Butler Hornblower; Adrian Untermyer, attorney, board member of the Woodlawn Conservancy, and descendant of Samuel Untermyer; and Hon. Troy K. Webber, co-chair of the Franklin H. Williams Judicial Commission, Associate Justice of the first department of the New York Supreme Court’s Appellate Division and judicial descendant of Hon. James S. Watson. The event was moderated by Michael T. Reynolds, partner at Cravath Swaine & Moore and chair of Woodlawn Cemetery’s Board of Trustees.