Firm History

BY W. HOUSTON KENYON, JR.

“Within the span of a single generation – from 1875 to 1895 – the electric power and light industry came into existence in the United States. In 1875, all offices and homes had been lighted by gas or kerosene. Twenty years later, electric lamps were being installed as fast as they could be made. In 1875, mass transportation had been powered by horse or steam. Twenty years later, hundreds of electric trolley cars were hauling commuters to work and plans were in hand to electrify the New York “El”. In 1875, power at the factory bench had come from overhead shafts and belts powered by steam engines or water wheels. Twenty years later, individual electric motors drove the machinery on many a bench and would soon supersede the older power completely.”

Power and light evolved from separate inventions but soon grew to be parts of the same industry. Light development is associated with the names of Charles F. Brush and Thomas A. Edison. Brush invented the arc light and a rechargeable storage battery. Edison invented the incandescent electric lamp. Edison’s first public demonstration of his remarkable device occurred in the same month of December 1879 in which Brush switched on his arc lights along New York’s Broadway from 14th to 26th Street. Charles Van DePoele, Frank J. Sprague and Nicola Tesla are inventors associated with power development. Van Depoele invented the trailing trolley pole, which brought current down from the overhead wire. Sprague invented the “wheel-barrow” mount for an electric motor on a car to convert this current into propulsion. Tesla invented a different form of motor which could run on alternating currents. Each of these inventors applied for a patent. They were true pioneer patents, but soon other inventors came along to improve the original devices. Then strangers sought to meet the huge demand for devices that these inventions brought into existence.

“Urgent questions soon arose amongst bitter competitors. At the forefront were whether pioneer patents met the requirements of law, and what forms of device they covered. Under our constitutional system, only the federal courts could answer these questions. To make clear to judges sitting on the US Circuit Courts the “how and why” of these strange things posed a challenge to the legal profession. As the 20-year period unfolded, the power and light inventions began a wholly new kind of litigation in the federal courts – a litigation that put a premium on younger men able to grasp the new technology and to explain it in understandable terms.”

At the time, some of the key electrical inventions were beginning to appear. In January 1879, a young patent attorney named William C. Witter, a future partner of William H. Kenyon, formed a new law firm in New York City. His firm commenced operations with 4 partners at 32 Park Place. Within a quarter of a century, Witter or his partners had led litigation in Federal court involving the validity of each of the pioneer patents of Van Depoele, Sprague, Tesla, Brush and Edison.

Since the original firm was founded, it has maintained its presence as a downtown New York firm. Kenyon & Kenyon LLP opened a Washington DC office in 1983 and a Silicon Valley office in 1996. Through the years, industries have grown and new ones have been developed, and we have met this challenge head-on by always maintaining our presence at the intersection of cutting edge technology and the law. Kenyon likes to think of itself as the same organization in spirit and tradition that began more than 130 years ago.