Henry Waters Taft (May 27, 1859 – August 11, 1945) was an American lawyer and writer. He was the son of Alphonso and brother of President William Howard Taft. A renowned antitrust lawyer, he was a name partner at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft.
Contents
Biography
He graduated from Yale in 1880 with a BA, where he was a member of Skull and Bones and commencement orator of the class of 1880. Taft also studied at Cincinnati and Columbia Law Schools. He received an honorary MA from Yale in 1905.
In 1882, he was admitted to the bar, and began the practice of law in Ohio. Shortly afterward, he joined Strong & Cadwalader, in New York City, later Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft. He also became counsel to the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad. After building up a reputation as a lawyer, Taft decided to run for Justice of the New York Supreme Court. He was defeated. Two years later, he was offered the position by Theodore Roosevelt, but he declined. The following year, he was appointed to the Charter Revision Commission to revise charter of Greater New York. From 1905 to January 1907, he was a special assistant to Attorneys General William H. Moody and Charles Joseph Bonaparte to investigate and prosecute the Tobacco Trust. During the trial, Taft pushed for the Tobacco Trust to release certain books, which they refused to submit as evidence. From 1917 to 1919, he was Chairman of the Permanent Legal Advisory Board for Greater New York. He also served on the Commission on Reorganisation of the New York State Government, from 1925 to 1926. In 1926, he was appointed to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court. Taft became one of the most noted lawyers in New York.