History
Locke Lord has forged long-standing business relationships and built a world-renowned reputation for providing clients comprehensive legal counsel since the late 19th century. From those modest origins, the Firm has evolved into a global leader providing counsel to a host of Fortune 500 companies and positioning itself for continued success throughout the 21st century.
The timeline below provides a snapshot of our history that has led to a unique culture driven by strategic growth — allowing us to partner with our clients to help provide solutions to the challenges they face.
| 1887 | Moorfield Storey, John Larkin Thorndike and Sherman Hoar form Storey, Thorndike & Hoar in Boston. Storey was a former Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney, while Thorndike’s work contributed to the Firm’s early extensive practice in corporate finance. Hoar went on to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. |
| 1891 | Maurice Locke, a former mathematics professor at Valparaiso University, begins practicing law in Dallas. Prominent business lawyer Bradley W. Palmer, recognized for his service to the U.S. government during World War I, becomes a name Partner in Boston, establishing Storey, Thorndike & Palmer. |
| 1894 | Stephen O. Edwards and Walter Foster Angell, both Brown University graduates active in the business and civic life of Rhode Island, form a partnership in Providence known as Edwards & Angell. |
| 1909 | Moorfield Storey becomes inaugural President of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), a position he holds until his death in 1929. |
| 1910 | Noted trial lawyer Robert G. Dodge, one of the original organizers of the Massachusetts Bar Association, joins in Boston establishing Storey, Thorndike, Palmer & Dodge. |
| 1914 | Donald R. Richberg, Harold Ickes and John Lord form one of the first groups of lawyers that would become the basis of the Firm's Chicago office. Richberg would head the National Recovery Administration and Ickes would later become Secretary of the Interior in President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration. |
| 1916 | The Houston office opens when William Huggins and Paul Kayser form a partnership known as Huggins & Kayser. The first client is Jesse Jones, the owner of the Houston Chronicle and countless other business interests, who later served as the Secretary of Commerce in President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration. |
| 1921 | Frank Liddell becomes a Partner in the Firm's Houston office and is quickly recognized as an outstanding trial lawyer. |
| 1924 | With Partners Charles L. Cobb and George Wire, John Lord opens Lord, Wire & Cobb in Chicago. |
| 1929 | The Firm files Lloyd's first financial statement in Illinois. The Lloyd's underwriting market subsequently increases exponentially in the United States. |
| 1931 | Cushman Bissell Sr. and L. Duncan Lloyd become name Partners in Chicago, creating Lord, Lloyd & Bissell. |
| 1936 | Former Illinois Assistant Attorney General David J. Kadyk joins the Chicago partnership and becomes a name Partner two years later. |
| 1945 | The Chicago office, composed of nine Partners and 15 Associates, focuses on the substantial real estate development brought on by the end of World War II. |
| 1946 | Charles Sapp joins the Firm in Houston and helps create one of the first national law school recruiting programs. |
| 1950 | Edwards & Angell hires first female lawyer, Beverly Long, who was admitted to the partnership in 1959. |
| 1951 | Janice M. Richardson becomes the first female lawyer to join the Firm's Chicago office. The same year, Cushman Bissell takes the helm as President of the Chicago Bar Association. |
| 1954 | In Chicago, Herbert Brook becomes a name Partner, changing the name of the firm from Lord, Bissell & Kadyk to Lord, Bissell & Brook. |
| 1959 | In Dallas, Locke, Locke & Purnell becomes Locke, Purnell, Boren, Laney & Neely. |
| 1965 | Six attorneys form Rain, Harrell, Emery, Young & Doke — another predecessor firm — in Dallas. |
| 1967 | Wildman, Harrold, Allen & Dixon, another predecessor firm, is established in Chicago. |
| 1969 | Palmer & Dodge admits the first female lawyer, Virginia Aldrich, to its partnership, the first woman Partner of any major Boston law firm. Walter P. Zivley joins the Houston office and the predecessor firm’s name becomes Liddell, Dawson, Sapp & Zivley. |
| 1974 | The Firm opens its Austin office to offer government relations services and represent Austin's growing business sector. |
| 1976 | Fleischman and Walsh is established in Washington, D.C., later becomes Fleischman and Harding. |
| 1978-2005 |
The predecessor firms establish offices in Los Angeles, New York, Florida, Connecticut, New Jersey, Atlanta, New Orleans and Washington, D.C. |
| 1987 | The merger between Locke, Purnell, Boren, Laney & Neely and Rain, Harrell, Emery, Young & Doke forms Locke Purnell Rain Harrell in Dallas and creates one of the largest law firms in the Southwest. The Firm's London office opens to expand the insurance and reinsurance practices internationally. |
| 1996 | Harriet Miers becomes the first woman to lead predecessor firm Locke Purnell Rain Harrell as Firm President. More than 25 years earlier, she was the first woman to join Locke, Purnell, Boren, Laney & Neely. |
| 1999 | Locke Purnell Rain Harrell and Liddell Sapp Zivley Hill & LaBoon merge to form Locke Liddell & Sapp, then the largest law firm merger in U.S. history. Miers and Bruce LaBoon become Co-Managing Partners of the Firm. |
| 2001 | Miers joins the Bush Administration as Assistant to the President & Staff Secretary to President George W. Bush. She later serves as White House Counsel before returning to the Firm in 2007. |
| 2005 | Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge is established with the merger of Edwards & Angell and Palmer & Dodge. |
| 2007 | Lord Bissell & Brook and Locke Liddell & Sapp combine to form Locke Lord. Jerry Clements becomes Chair of the combined Firm and the second woman at the helm in the Firm's history. |
| 2009 | Locke Lord opens a San Francisco office and significantly increases the size of its New York office to increase the depth of its already strong IP practice. |
| 2011 | Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge merges with Fleischman and Harding. Edwards Wildman Palmer is established with the merger of Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge and Wildman, Harrold, Allen & Dixon. |
| 2012 | Locke Lord expands its London office, providing full-service offerings in the UK as well as a gateway to the Firm's international work in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. |
| 2015 | Locke Lord combines with Edwards Wildman Palmer, significantly expanding its footprint in key strategic U.S. and international markets. |
| 2016 | Locke Lord opens a Cincinnati office as part of the Firm’s continued expansion of its Public Finance Practice Group. |
| 2018 | Unanimously nominated by Locke Lord’s Leadership Succession Committee and then by the Firm’s Executive Committee before being ratified by the Firm’s Partners, David Taylor is named Locke Lord Chair. |
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