John Christian Bullitt, a young Kentucky lawyer, arrived in Philadelphia on March 5, 1849, the day Zachary Taylor was sworn in as the 12th President of the United States. Bullitt had chosen to relocate to Philadelphia, an area with a population of 120,000, on the advice of Secretary of State James Buchanan, whom he had met on a tour in Washington, D.C. After his admission to the Philadelphia Bar on June 4, 1849, he opened the law offices of Bullitt and Fairthorne, Attorneys at Law. Bullitt’s first client was the Bank of Kentucky, for which he spent the next 40 years collecting on a judgment in a fraudulent stock case.
Among his many accomplishments, he founded the Fourth Street National Bank in 1886, the only large bank founded in the city in the last quarter of the 19th century, and spearheaded the construction of the Bullitt Building on South Fourth Street. Drinker Biddle's founding partner practiced law in Philadelphia for more than 50 years until his death in 1902. William C. Bullitt, his direct descendent, is a partner in the firm's Private Client Practice Group.
With 620 lawyers in 12 offices nationwide, we strive to provide clients with unparalleled service in matters ranging from billion-dollar deals to complex class actions, across a broad spectrum of industries.Our firm is not only the people who currently work in our offices across the country but also all those who used to work here. Our alumni are part of our history and our future. We have developed a firm wide alumni program, the Drinker Biddle Alumni Network, to offer our alumni a dynamic forum to network with former colleagues, participate in alumni and other social events, take advantage of complimentary CLE opportunities, external job postings, other professional development tools and more.