Founded in 1924 by William Sutherland and
Elbert Tuttle, the firm of Sutherland & Tuttle first established a practice in the tax field. In the ensuing years, the firm developed practices in corporate, energy, financial services, intellectual property, litigation and real estate. In 1933, Joseph Brennan became partner and the firm became known as Sutherland, Tuttle & Brennan. The firm opened an office in Washington, DC in 1937. In 1949, Mac Asbill, Sr. joined the Washington office. In 1954, firm co-founder Elbert Tuttle accepted an appointment to the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. Upon his departure, the firm was renamed Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP, the name it was known by for more than 50 years. In the 1970s and 80s, Sutherland expanded in the fields of energy, financial services, technology and intellectual property law. The 1980s saw the firm's litigation practice expand and in the 1990s the firm reached the 300-lawyer mark and opened an office in Austin. In the early 2000s, Sutherland launched its intellectual property group and opened offices in New York and Houston. ==Merger==