150 Years of Community and Client Service
From firm patriarchs Charles Woods and Joseph Kingman to the recently departed John Mooty, a look back on the people and stories who shaped a firm, a culture, and a family today known as Gray Plant Mooty.
Charles Henry Woods
Charles Henry Woods was born Oct. 8, 1838 in Newport, New Hampshire, the youngest of 10 children. He was raised by his widower father, a minister who emphasized self-reliance, piety, and hard work. Though his father had marked him for the pulpit, Charles opted to study law. He passed the bar in 1862, but his practice was interrupted by President Lincoln’s call for Union troops. Woods volunteered and was made captain of Company F, 16th New Hampshire Infantry, a unit that saw “trying service” during the conflict. (Of the 98 men who departed for war, only 37 returned.)* Woods married during the war, and shortly after the conflict’s conclusion the couple set out for Minnesota on the suggestion of David Heaton, a Minnesota man with whom he had served. In 1866, Woods arrived in Minneapolis and began to practice law. The following year he was elected Justice of the Peace, and soon thereafter he established his own office. He took on partners and created a successful and reputable legal practice. Among his early partners: E. A. Merrill, founder of the Minnesota Loan and Trust Co., former probate judge P. M. Babcock, and former state Attorney General William J. Hahn. Woods taught law to “office boy” and future firm patriarch Joseph Kingman, who would later become his partner. Woods was praised by colleagues and friends for his brilliance as a lawyer and humility in life. He died in 1899.
*Malaria, not enemy bullets accounted for the unit’s high casualty rate. Woods himself contracted the disease but survived (though he never fully recovered). He was transferred to Washington, D.C., where he worked as a government clerk, and then Raleigh, North Carolina, where he maintained his post during a yellow fever epidemic that claimed the lives of one- third of a white population of 4,500.
“I remember first meeting Judge Woods when I was a small boy about five years of age. I recall how cordial he was, and how distinguished looking with his white beard. He lived on the south side of Tenth Street in a small two-story house between Nicollet Avenue and Mary Place (now La Salle).”
— Henry S. Kingman, son of J.R. Kingman“He was the best story teller I ever knew. No one had a keener sense of the humorous side of life. I think he could make anyone laugh if he tried.”
— John M. Parker, speaking of Charles Woods, with whom he served during the Civil War.Our firm’s history begins in the summer of 1866 when Charles Woods, a 29-year-old former Civil War captain, moves from New Hampshire to Minneapolis. Shortly after arriving, he begins to practice law and is elected Justice of the Peace. Over the next three decades, Judge Woods (as he became known) would take on partners and represent clients in various legal matters, primarily real estate.
Read MoreOur firm’s history begins in the summer of 1866 when Charles Woods, a 29-year-old former Civil War captain, moves from New Hampshire to Minneapolis. Shortly after arriving, he begins to practice law and is elected Justice of the Peace. Over the next three decades, Judge Woods (as he became known) would take on partners and represent clients in various legal matters, primarily real estate.
Charles Henry Woods
Charles Henry Woods was born Oct. 8, 1838 in Newport, New Hampshire, the youngest of 10 children. He was raised by his widower father, a minister who emphasized self-reliance, piety, and hard work. Though his father had marked him for the pulpit, Charles opted to study law. He passed the bar in 1862, but his practice was interrupted by President Lincoln’s call for Union troops. Woods volunteered and was made captain of Company F, 16th New Hampshire Infantry, a unit that saw “trying service” during the conflict. (Of the 98 men who departed for war, only 37 returned.)* Woods married during the conflict, and shortly after its conclusion the couple set out for Minnesota on the suggestion of David Heaton, a Minnesota man whom Woods had met during the war. In 1866, Woods arrived in Minneapolis and began to practice law. The following year he was elected Justice of the Peace, and soon thereafter he established his own office. He took on partners and created a successful and reputable law office. Among his early partners E. A. Merrill, founder of the Minnesota Loan and Trust Co., former probate judge P. M. Babcock, and former state Attorney General William J. Hahn. Woods taught law to “office boy” and future firm patriarch Joseph Kingman, who would later become his partner. Woods was praised by colleagues and friends for his brilliance as a lawyer and humility in life. He died in 1899. Joseph Kingman would write of him: “Few men had so many and such friends as he. To whom he gave his friendship he gave ungrudgingly — not riches nor talents were necessary to command it. He exacted little in return — only that a man should have high ideals and be true to them.”
*Malaria, not enemy bullets accounted for the unit’s high casualty rate. Woods himself contracted the disease but survived (though he never fully recovered). He was transferred to Washington, D.C., where he worked as a government clerk, and then Raleigh, North Carolina, where he maintained his post during a yellow fever epidemic that claimed the lives of one- third of a white population of 4,500.
“I cannot think it is a matter of speculation to say that this is bound to become a business point of first importance in the Northwest…The country is rapidly filling up. New railroads are in process of construction and new towns [are] springing into existence in all directions. Natural causes alone, I apprehend, are sufficient to make this a central point.”
— Charles H. Woods, 1866, in a letter on his new home of Minneapolis“Few men had so many and such friends as he. To whom he gave his friendship he gave ungrudgingly — not riches nor talents were necessary to command it. He exacted little in return — only that a man should have high ideals and be true to them.”
— Joseph R. KingmanCharles Woods takes on Eugene Merrill as partner, forming Woods & Merrill. The partners work out of a building on Johnston Block on the corner of Washington and Hennepin Avenues. Much has changed in Minneapolis since Woods’ arrival. A charter was approved, and the city now encompasses 20 square miles and houses some 24,000 residents following its merger with St. Anthony. A horse-drawn street car routinely runs down Washington Avenue, which is now peppered with gas-lit lights. The Woods & Merrill partnership was brief, however. Mr. Merrill would soon depart to found the Minnesota Loan and Trust Co., which would become the trust of the Northwestern National Bank.
Read MoreCharles Woods takes on Eugene Merrill as partner, forming Woods & Merrill. The partners work out of a building on Johnston Block on the corner of Washington and Hennepin Avenues. Much has changed in Minneapolis since Woods’ arrival. A charter was approved, and the city now encompasses 20 square miles and houses some 24,000 residents following its merger with St. Anthony. A horse-drawn street car routinely runs down Washington Avenue, which is now peppered with gas-lit lights. The Woods & Merrill partnership was brief, however. Mr. Merrill would soon depart to found the Minnesota Loan and Trust Co., which would become the trust of the Northwestern National Bank.
Joseph R. Kingman
Joseph Ramsdell Kingman was born in Chicago on April 15, 1860. He later moved to Minneapolis, where he would graduate from Central high school and eventually study law under the tutelage of Charles H. Woods, the senior partner of Woods & Hahn. In 1886, after passing his bar examination, he became partner, beginning in earnest a law career that would last until his death nearly 60 years later. An astute and energetic businessman, Mr. Kingman led the firm through its formative years, which saw the practice grow from a pair of attorneys in a single office to 16. He was a lover of poetry and the outdoors, a student of history and student glass. His pastimes included camping trips to the Canadian Rockies and summer outings to the north shore of Lake Superior. His friends and colleagues noted his remarkable mind, which remained “keen and alert up to almost the day of his death.” For many years before and after his passing, the firm was widely known simply as “the Kingman firm,” notable for its unwavering commitment to professionalism, excellence and integrity.
“Joe Kingman was a wonderful and typical New Englander, a very small man, spare of frame and spare of speech. But he struck us young ones as very down to earth and kindly.”
— Frank PlantJoseph R. Kingman joins partners Woods and William J. Hahn, a former Minnesota Attorney General who joined the firm the previous year following the departure of P.B. Babcock, a former probate judge with whom Woods had briefly practiced. Kingman’s “law school” consists of reading legal texts under the supervision of Mr. Woods. His duties include sweeping floors and building fires to provide warmth during the cold winter months, as well as greeting and gossiping with clients who enter the office. Though the office has a telephone—#100—the invention is rarely used because it is “almost unknown” in households.
Read MoreJoseph R. Kingman joins partners Woods and William J. Hahn, a former Minnesota Attorney General who joined the firm the previous year following the departure of P.B. Babcock, a former probate judge with whom Woods had briefly practiced. Kingman’s “law school” consists of reading legal texts under the supervision of Mr. Woods. His duties include sweeping floors and building fires to provide warmth during the cold winter months, as well as greeting and gossiping with clients who enter the office. Though the office has a telephone—#100—the invention is rarely used because it is “almost unknown” in households.
A year after Kingman passes the bar, the firm becomes Woods, Hahn & Kingman. The examination consisted of a four-hour oral examination in the presence of a committee gathered in the Supreme Court Room in St. Paul. Mr. Kingman would write that the new partner’s responsibilities were “pretty much the same duties he had before” but now included 20 percent of profits. As it turned out, this “would have yielded him less than his former salary of $100 per month had he not stipulated that he should receive at least that amount.”
Read MoreA year after Kingman passes the bar, the firm becomes Woods, Hahn & Kingman. The examination consisted of a four-hour oral examination in the presence of a committee gathered in the Supreme Court Room in St. Paul. Mr. Kingman would write that the new partner’s responsibilities were “pretty much the same duties he had before” but now included 20 percent of profits. As it turned out, this “would have yielded him less than his former salary of $100 per month had he not stipulated that he should receive at least that amount.”
The firm receives a $15,000 fee—the largest in its history to date—for serving as trustee of a large bond issue from Fidelity Insurance Trust & Safe Deposit Company of Philadelphia. Woods’ legal career spanned the prosperous era known as the Gilded Age, and the young frontier town of Minneapolis was in many ways an ideal location to practice law. Among the firm’s clients was George Brackett, a capitalist and industrial pioneer of the West who helped construct the Northern Pacific Railroad and served as the sixth mayor of Minneapolis.
Read MoreThe firm receives a $15,000 fee—the largest in its history to date—for serving as trustee of a large bond issue from Fidelity Insurance Trust & Safe Deposit Company of Philadelphia. Woods’ legal career spanned the prosperous era known as the Gilded Age, and the young frontier town of Minneapolis was in many ways an ideal location to practice law. Among the firm’s clients was George Brackett, a capitalist and industrial pioneer of the West who helped construct the Northern Pacific Railroad and served as the sixth mayor of Minneapolis.
Thomas F. Wallace becomes a clerk for the firm, now known as Woods & Kingman following the departure of Mr. Hahn, who left the practice to become general counsel for the Minnesota Loan & Trust Co. Mr. Wallace would soon be named partner, beginning a long and prosperous career with the firm. The following year, the partners relocated to the 9th floor of the New York Life Building on Fifth Street and Second Avenue South.
Read MoreThomas F. Wallace becomes a clerk for the firm, now known as Woods & Kingman following the departure of Mr. Hahn, who left the practice to become general counsel for the Minnesota Loan & Trust Co. Mr. Wallace would soon be named partner, beginning a long and prosperous career with the firm. The following year, the partners relocated to the 9th floor of the New York Life Building on Fifth Street and Second Avenue South.
Charles Henry Woods
Charles Henry Woods was born Oct. 8, 1838 in Newport, New Hampshire, the youngest of 10 children. He was raised by his widower father, a minister who emphasized self-reliance, piety, and hard work. Though his father had marked him for the pulpit, Charles opted to study law. He passed the bar in 1862, but his practice was interrupted by President Lincoln’s call for Union troops. Woods volunteered and was made captain of Company F, 16th New Hampshire Infantry, a unit that saw “trying service” during the conflict. (Of the 98 men who departed for war, only 37 returned.)* Woods married during the conflict, and shortly after its conclusion the couple set out for Minnesota on the suggestion of David Heaton, a Minnesota man whom Woods had met during the war. In 1866, Woods arrived in Minneapolis and began to practice law. The following year he was elected Justice of the Peace, and soon thereafter he established his own office. He took on partners and created a successful and reputable law office. Among his early partners E. A. Merrill, founder of the Minnesota Loan and Trust Co., former probate judge P. M. Babcock, and former state Attorney General William J. Hahn. Woods taught law to “office boy” and future firm patriarch Joseph Kingman, who would later become his partner. Woods was praised by colleagues and friends for his brilliance as a lawyer and humility in life. He died in 1899. Joseph Kingman would write of him: “Few men had so many and such friends as he. To whom he gave his friendship he gave ungrudgingly — not riches nor talents were necessary to command it. He exacted little in return — only that a man should have high ideals and be true to them.”
*Malaria, not enemy bullets accounted for the unit’s high casualty rate. Woods himself contracted the disease but survived (though he never fully recovered). He was transferred to Washington, D.C., where he worked as a government clerk, and then Raleigh, North Carolina, where he maintained his post during a yellow fever epidemic that claimed the lives of one- third of a white population of 4,500.
“Neither at the bar nor in social life did he play for applause. He simply recognized the fact that he had been given a job to do, and his aim was to do that work well, and accept the reward which ever attends faithful service.”
— Judge A. H. Young, on Charles H. Woods“As a lawyer he was thoughtful, discriminating, logical, terse and clear in thought and statement, able in argument, safe in counsel, helpful to court and jury, courteous, manly and sincerely kind to opposing counsel, never forgetting in the heat and stress of conflict his manhood and Christian duty.”
— William J. Hahn, former law partner of Charles H. WoodsCharles Woods dies on April 16. The firm remains Woods, Kingman & Wallace for another nine years. Though the firm’s most financially prosperous years lay ahead, the foundation of the firm’s culture and reputation—one “reeking with respectability,” as rival attorney Charles Fowler once quipped at a dinner reception—had been formed.
Read MoreCharles Woods dies on April 16. The firm remains Woods, Kingman & Wallace for another nine years. Though the firm’s most financially prosperous years lay ahead, the foundation of the firm’s culture and reputation—one “reeking with respectability,” as rival attorney Charles Fowler once quipped at a dinner reception—had been formed.
Dayton Company opens on Seventh Street and Nicollet following the sale of R.S. Goodfellow & Co, highlighting the continuation of huge growth in Minneapolis. The city had nearly quadrupled in population during the previous two decades—growing from 47,000 in 1880 to 203,000 by the end of 1899—a pace that would continue in the first decade of the new century. This growth reflected the city’s emergence as a commercial and financial center in the Midwest, and the firm was able to assist in and capitalize on that growth.
Read MoreDayton Company opens on Seventh Street and Nicollet following the sale of R.S. Goodfellow & Co, highlighting the continuation of huge growth in Minneapolis. The city had nearly quadrupled in population during the previous two decades—growing from 47,000 in 1880 to 203,000 by the end of 1899—a pace that would continue in the first decade of the new century. This growth reflected the city’s emergence as a commercial and financial center in the Midwest, and the firm was able to assist in and capitalize on that growth.
John Crosby
John Crosby, a Yale law school graduate and one of the incorporators of the Washburn Crosby Company (today General Mills), joined the firm as partner in 1908. Mr. Crosby left the firm after only two years to become general counsel for Washburn-Crosby Company, a corporation on whose board he had long served; in 1928, as chairman of the board, Mr. Crosby would oversee the company’s transition to General Mills Co. Though he did not practice law, for the remainder of his life Mr. Crosby maintained an office at the firm—even when the practice moved to the Roanoke Building in 1955, at which point he was approaching 90 years of age.
Joseph Ramsdell Kingman
Joseph Ramsdell Kingman was born in Chicago on April 15, 1860. He later moved to Minneapolis, where he would graduate from Central high school and eventually study law under the tutelage of Charles H. Woods, the senior partner of Woods & Hahn. In 1886, after passing his bar examination, he became partner, beginning in earnest a law career that would last until his death nearly 60 years later. An astute and energetic businessman, Mr. Kingman led the firm through its formative years, which saw the practice grow from a pair of attorneys in a single office to 16. He was a lover of poetry and the outdoors, a student of history and student glass. His pastimes included camping trips to the Canadian Rockies and summer outings to the north shore of Lake Superior. His friends and colleagues noted his remarkable mind, which remained “keen and alert up to almost the day of his death.” For many years before and after his passing, the firm was widely known simply as “the Kingman firm,” notable for its unwavering commitment to professionalism, excellence and integrity.
One of our best clients was the Washburn Crosby Company (now General Mills) of which Mr. Crosby had been one of the incorporators. Mr. James S. Bell (father of James F. Bell), the president of that company, had long wished to have Mr. Crosby an active member of his organization. Finally he was successful in persuading Mr. Crosby to become one of the officers and general counsel of the Washburn Crosby Company.
The firm relocates to the newly-built Security Building (Midland Bank Building) on Second Avenue and Fourth Street. The following year, John Crosby, a young entrepreneur who held an adjacent office and affiliations with one of the firm’s most prominent clients (Washburn-Crosby Company), joins the firm, forming Kingman, Crosby & Wallace. “It was a happy partnership. Business was good and the partners found themselves most congenial,” Mr. Kingman later wrote. “But, it was not to last.”
Read MoreThe firm relocates to the newly-built Security Building (Midland Bank Building) on Second Avenue and Fourth Street. The following year, John Crosby, a young entrepreneur who held an adjacent office and affiliations with one of the firm’s most prominent clients (Washburn-Crosby Company), joins the firm, forming Kingman, Crosby & Wallace. “It was a happy partnership. Business was good and the partners found themselves most congenial,” Mr. Kingman later wrote. “But, it was not to last.”
John Crosby
John Crosby, a Yale law school graduate and one of the incorporators of the Washburn Crosby Company (today General Mills), joined the firm as partner in 1908. Mr. Crosby left the firm after only two years to become general counsel for Washburn-Crosby Company, a corporation on whose board he had long served; in 1928, as chairman of the board, Mr. Crosby would oversee the company’s transition to General Mills Co. Though he did not practice law, for the remainder of his life Mr. Crosby maintained an office at the firm—even when the practice moved to the Roanoke Building in 1955, at which point he was approaching 90 years of age.
The firm reverts to Kingman & Wallace after Mr. Crosby accepts an offer from James S. Bell, president of Washburn Crosby Company, to serve as officer and general counsel of the company. Two decades later, Bell’s son, James F. Bell, would lead a successful merger with other milling companies to create one of America’s most enduring brands: General Mills. Mr. Crosby, however, would maintain a warm and familial relationship with the firm throughout his long, illustrious career.
Read MoreThe firm reverts to Kingman & Wallace after Mr. Crosby accepts an offer from James S. Bell, president of Washburn Crosby Company, to serve as officer and general counsel of the company. Two decades later, Bell’s son, James F. Bell, would lead a successful merger with other milling companies to create one of America’s most enduring brands: General Mills. Mr. Crosby, however, would maintain a warm and familial relationship with the firm throughout his long, illustrious career.
Henry W. Haverstock
A life-long resident of Minneapolis, Henry Haverstock was born March 27, 1884 to a Nova Scotian barrel-maker. Like Mr. Kingman, who hired him, Henry rose from “office boy” to senior partner in the firm over a legal career spanning some 60 years. Mr. Haverstock joined the firm as an attorney in 1916 after graduating from the University of Minnesota with an L.L.B. degree, but was soon shipped off to France where he fought in the First World War, serving as second lieutenant in an artillery regiment. He returned after the war and quickly became an integral component to a growing legal practice, resulting in a promotion to partner in 1927. As an attorney he was distinguished by his incredible fairness, integrity, prudent judgment, work ethic and business acumen. He was also known for his gregarious nature, passion for world travel, and a Hemingway-esque love for fishing and game hunting. Mr. Haverstock enjoyed escaping the city to rendezvous with colleagues–young and old–to test their skill in the woods or on the water, at the horseshoe pit or the card table. (His gentler pursuits included photography and raising roses.) His love of the outdoors earned him a nickname from Frank Gray: “the Old Trapper.”
“Henry Haverstock, affectionately known as “The Old Trapper” had a close relationship with many of his clients and often would invest in Minneapolis real estate while carrying on his practice in probate and real estate law.”
— Clinton A. SchroederHenry W. Haverstock, 17, the son of a Nova Scotian immigrant, joins the firm as an office boy. Except for his military service in France during World War I, in which he served as a second lieutenant in an artillery regiment, he would remain with the firm until his death some 65 years later.
Read MoreHenry W. Haverstock, 17, the son of a Nova Scotian immigrant, joins the firm as an office boy. Except for his military service in France during World War I, in which he served as a second lieutenant in an artillery regiment, he would remain with the firm until his death some 65 years later.
Norton M. Cross
Norton M. Cross was a longtime partner with the firm. He came to Minnesota from Iowa in 1877 with his father, a former Civil War soldier and POW who later became city attorney of Minneapolis. The younger Cross was salutatorian of his 1887 class at the University of Minnesota and graduated from Columbia Law School in 1889. Mr. Cross, who came to the practice with Arthur Keith in 1916, was the firm’s “tower of strength” as a trial lawyer, according to Joseph Kingman. He was a voracious reader of literature, history, and poetry, and possessed a “wonderful” memory, according to his colleagues. He was also an avid golfer and skilled water color painter. During his lifetime Mr. Cross held seats on the board of the Lincoln National Bank and the city’s Public Library Board. He died of heart complications in January 1944 shortly after retiring from his practice to be with his daughter, Marion, who lived in Mexico.
“He was always willing to share his wisdom and his experience with other lawyers, not only with those who by reason of their association with him had a right to ask it, but with others who found themselves confronted with new and puzzling problems.”
Henry W. Haverstock
A life-long resident of Minneapolis, Henry Haverstock was born March 27, 1884 to a Nova Scotian barrel-maker. Like Mr. Kingman, who hired him, Henry rose from “office boy” to senior partner in the firm over a legal career spanning some 60 years. Mr. Haverstock joined the firm as an attorney in 1916 after graduating from the University of Minnesota with an L.L.B. degree, but was soon shipped off to France where he fought in the First World War, serving as second lieutenant in an artillery regiment. He returned after the war and quickly became an integral component to a growing legal practice, resulting in a promotion to partner in 1927. As an attorney he was distinguished by his incredible fairness, integrity, prudent judgment, work ethic and business acumen. He was also known for his gregarious nature, passion for world travel, and a Hemingway-esque love for fishing and game hunting. Mr. Haverstock enjoyed escaping the city to rendezvous with colleagues–young and old–to test their skill in the woods or on the water, at the horseshoe pit or the card table. (His gentler pursuits included photography and raising roses.) His love of the outdoors earned him a nickname from Frank Gray: “the Old Trapper.”
Harold G. “Casey” Cant
Harold Cant, known to his partners and associates as “Casey,” joined “the Kingman Firm” in 1915 along with Arthur Keith, following the untimely deaths of Mr. Keith’s three partners. A Duluth native and the son of William A. Cant, a federal judge appointed by Warren G. Harding, Casey was a graduate of the University of Minnesota (1909) and the University of Michigan Law School (1912). In 1919, shortly after the departure of Mr. Kingman’s longtime partner Mr. Wallace, the firmed was renamed Kingman, Cross & Cant. Mr. Cant quickly became a crucial arm of the firm’s litigated business and, for a time, its primary office manager. Over the years Cant distinguished himself as a dedicated, principled, and invaluable attorney, and by 1954 the firm was renamed named Cant, Taylor, Haverstock, Beardsley & Gray. By the mid 1960s, it was known simply as Cant, Taylor, and the senior partner had “reached the point where he is not burdened with work because he had passed along to others most of the clients whom he has served so long and faithfully. He graces the corner office in our suite and continues to give us the dignity and ‘image’ that the ‘Kingman Firm’ should have.” Yet even after he had ceased practicing full-time, Mr. Cant continued to call upon friends and colleagues at the firm’s annual retreats, a practice that separated him from some of the “more staid and loftier partners” but greatly endeared him to his juniors. Mr. Cant died in 1973. Today partners of this firm still recall his gentlemanly qualities.
“I thought he brought to the firm the idea that everyone has a duty to their community, but that lawyers have a particularly strong duty to community and it was a very significant part of a person’s role as a lawyer to participate in community activities and it was something that not only was not frowned upon by the firm but was encouraged and I think if anyone were responsible for that particular aspect of it, I think that would have been Casey Kant.”
“I never witnessed him angry, cold, aloof, critical or anything akin any of those adjectives. He was the absolute picture of a gentleman.”
Two prominent local litigators, Arthur M. Keith and Norton M. Cross, join the firm, forming Keith, Kingman, Cross & Wallace. Though Kingman and Wallace had received previous offers to join large firms—including an earlier invitation from Keith—they had declined, being “a bit shy about tying up with large aggregations”; but the circumstances at hand “compelled attention,” Kingman wrote. Cross, a salutatorian of his 1887 University of Minnesota class and a Columbia Law School grad, was left solo when his partner (the first cousin of Mr. Wallace’s wife) left their practice to pursue real estate opportunities. Keith, meanwhile, had had the misfortune of losing three partners to untimely deaths. The skilled litigators brought a new dimension to the firm. With the addition of Henry Haverstock, who became an associate the following year after receiving his LL.B. from the University of Minnesota, and the three young associates who came with Mr. Keith—Harold Cant, Keith Merrill, and Stanley Thompson—the firm was soon the largest in the city.
Read MoreTwo prominent local litigators, Arthur M. Keith and Norton M. Cross, join the firm, forming Keith, Kingman, Cross & Wallace. Though Kingman and Wallace had received previous offers to join large firms—including an earlier invitation from Keith—they had declined, being “a bit shy about tying up with large aggregations”; but the circumstances at hand “compelled attention,” Kingman wrote. Cross, a salutatorian of his 1887 University of Minnesota class and a Columbia Law School grad, was left solo when his partner (the first cousin of Mr. Wallace’s wife) left their practice to pursue real estate opportunities. Keith, meanwhile, had had the misfortune of losing three partners to untimely deaths. The skilled litigators brought a new dimension to the firm. With the addition of Henry Haverstock, who became an associate the following year after receiving his LL.B. from the University of Minnesota, and the three young associates who came with Mr. Keith—Harold Cant, Keith Merrill, and Stanley Thompson—the firm was soon the largest in the city.
Joseph R. Kingman
Joseph Ramsdell Kingman was born in Chicago on April 15, 1860. He later moved to Minneapolis, where he would graduate from Central high school and eventually study law under the tutelage of Charles H. Woods, the senior partner of Woods & Hahn. In 1886, after passing his bar examination, he became partner, beginning in earnest a law career that would last until his death nearly 60 years later. An astute and energetic businessman, Mr. Kingman led the firm through its formative years, which saw the practice grow from a pair of attorneys in a single office to 16. He was a lover of poetry and the outdoors, a student of history and student glass. His pastimes included camping trips to the Canadian Rockies and summer outings to the north shore of Lake Superior. His friends and colleagues noted his remarkable mind, which remained “keen and alert up to almost the day of his death.” For many years before and after his passing, the firm was widely known simply as “the Kingman firm,” notable for its unwavering commitment to professionalism, excellence and integrity.
“Arthur Keith was not only a very able lawyer, but a gentleman in every way, always thoughtful and considerate of others and especially helpful to all of his associates in solving their various problems.” – Joseph Kingman
— Joseph Kingman“The new firm worked out well. The partners found themselves congenial to each other and net returns were satisfactory. Its clientele was very considerable.” – Joseph Kingman on joining Kingman & Wallace with the legal practices of Arthur Keith and Norton Cross
— Joseph KingmanLess than one year after the U.S. enters World War I, Arthur Keith dies of pneumonia after visiting his son at a U.S. Army camp in New Mexico. Later that year, N.F. Hawley, a friend of Mr. Kingman, also dies of pneumonia. The deaths would have a profound impact on the firm. The loss of Mr. Keith—described by Mr. Kingman as “a gentleman in every way”— was “a great blow to the firm.” To compound matters, Mr. Hawley’s death would result in the loss of another partner, Mr. Wallace, who accepted a prominent bank managing position that had been occupied by Mr. Hawley. Mr. Wallace’s departure ended a partnerships that had endured more than 20 years.
Read MoreLess than one year after the U.S. enters World War I, Arthur Keith dies of pneumonia after visiting his son at a U.S. Army camp in New Mexico. Later that year, N.F. Hawley, a friend of Mr. Kingman, also dies of pneumonia. The deaths would have a profound impact on the firm. The loss of Mr. Keith—described by Mr. Kingman as “a gentleman in every way”— was “a great blow to the firm.” To compound matters, Mr. Hawley’s death would result in the loss of another partner, Mr. Wallace, who accepted a prominent bank managing position that had been occupied by Mr. Hawley. Mr. Wallace’s departure ended a partnerships that had endured more than 20 years.
Norton M. Cross
Norton M. Cross was a longtime partner with the firm. He came to Minnesota from Iowa in 1877 with his father, a former Civil War and POW who later became city attorney of Minneapolis. The younger Cross was salutatorian of his 1887 class at the University of Minnesota, graduated from Columbia Law School in 1889. Mr. Cross, who came to the practice with Arthur Keith in 1916, was the firm’s “tower of strength” as a trial lawyer, according to Joseph Kingman. He was a voracious reader literature, history, and poetry, and possessed a “wonderful” memory, according to his colleagues. He was also an avid golfer a skilled water color painter. During his lifetime held seats on the board of the Lincoln National Bank and the city’s Public Library Board. Mr. Cross died of heart complications in January 1944 shortly after retiring from his practice to be with his daughter, Marion, who lived in Mexico.
“His sense of responsibility to his clients was profound and often weighted heavily upon him.”
Frank J. Morley
Frank J. Morley, the son of a Sioux City minister, graduated from the University of Minnesota School of Law in 1900. Following a stint in the publishing business, he came to the firm as partner in 1920 following a tenure with Benton & Molyneaux. The practice was greatly strengthened by his vigor and talent. Mr. Morley practiced law for 56 years, and for a quarter-century he was director and general counsel of General Mills. His colleagues hailed his analytical mind, painstaking application of the law, and robust constitution (he “seemed to have the health and strength of ten, rarely ever missing a day at the office,” one colleague wrote). He enjoyed golf and gardening and the occasional game of scrabble, and exhibited interest in history and biography; but those who knew him said it was the law that immersed him. Mr. Morley left the firm in 1959 to move to Pasadena, California, to be near his son, William. He died the following year. He was 85.
“His painstaking habits of work, his unexcelled execution of policy, and the high degree of honor, integrity and ethics instilled into his every act made him both a very scholarly and careful lawyer and a brilliant advocate.”
“Frank Morley contributed much to the prestige of the Kingman Firm.”
Kenneth Taylor
Kenneth Taylor joined the firm shortly after the conclusion of the First World War. He received a B.S. degree from Carleton College in 1907 and a Bachelor of Law from George Washington University in 1910. After graduation, he became associated with the Soo Line Legal Department, the law firm of Vanderlip and Lum, and with the editorial department of the West Publishing Company. During World War I he served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army. Immediately after the war, he took employment with the Missouri Code Revision Committee before joining the firm at the behest of Frank J. Morley, a former colleague and the firm’s newest partner. Taylor, a brilliant and terse man, quickly established himself as the firm’s primary expert on tax law. He was named partner in 1927. Mr. Taylor practiced with the firm for several more decades. In advanced age he moved with the firm to the Roanoke Building, where he practiced until he fell ill. On Jan. 8, 1960, Mr. Taylor “almost literally ‘died with his boots on.’” He was 77.
“His intense application and conscientious devotion to his work left little time for conversation and might almost entitle him to be called the ‘silent partner,’ but those qualities more than make up for anything that might be lacking in “glad-handing” and “’back slapping.’”
It’s a period of change, for the country and the firm. The era brings a host of new ideas: women’s liberation, jazz music, prohibition. In response to the alcohol embargo, Minneapolis Brewing Co. would withdraw its Grain Belt beer from the marketplace, replacing it with soda pop and “near beer.” Seeking to keep pace with burgeoning legal work and increasingly complex tax codes, the firm, at the suggestion of Mr. Cross, takes in as partner Frank. J. Morley, an attorney of a rival firm who will become general counsel for General Mills. At the recommendation of Mr. Morley, the firm also brings in a new associate attorney: Kenneth Taylor, a former Army officer and George Washington University Law School grad. The firm becomes Kingman, Cross, Morley & Cant, a name it would hold for the next 15 years.
Read MoreIt’s a period of change, for the country and the firm. The era brings a host of new ideas: women’s liberation, jazz music, prohibition. In response to the alcohol embargo, Minneapolis Brewing Co. would withdraw its Grain Belt beer from the marketplace, replacing it with soda pop and “near beer.” Seeking to keep pace with burgeoning legal work and increasingly complex tax codes, the firm, at the suggestion of Mr. Cross, takes in as partner Frank. J. Morley, an attorney of a rival firm who will become general counsel for General Mills. At the recommendation of Mr. Morley, the firm also brings in a new associate attorney: Kenneth Taylor, a former Army officer and George Washington University Law School grad. The firm becomes Kingman, Cross, Morley & Cant, a name it would hold for the next 15 years.
Henry W. Haverstock
A life-long resident of Minneapolis, Henry Haverstock was born March 27, 1884 to a Nova Scotian barrel-maker. Like Mr. Kingman, who hired him, Henry rose from “office boy” to senior partner in the firm over a legal career spanning some 60 years. Mr. Haverstock joined the firm as an attorney in 1916 after graduating from the University of Minnesota with an L.L.B. degree, but was soon shipped off to France where he fought in the First World War, serving as second lieutenant in an artillery regiment. He returned after the war and quickly became an integral component to a growing legal practice, resulting in a promotion to partner in 1927. As an attorney he was distinguished by his incredible fairness, integrity, prudent judgment, work ethic and business acumen. He was also known for his gregarious nature, passion for world travel, and a Hemingway-esque love for fishing and game hunting. Mr. Haverstock enjoyed escaping the city to rendezvous with colleagues–young and old–to test their skill in the woods or on the water, at the horseshoe pit or the card table. (His gentler pursuits included photography and raising roses.) His love of the outdoors earned him a nickname from Frank Gray: “the Old Trapper.”
Kenneth Taylor
Kenneth Taylor joined the firm shortly after the conclusion of the First World War. He received a B.S. degree from Carleton College in 1907 and a Bachelor of Laws degree from George Washington University in 1910. After graduation, he became associated with the Soo Line Legal Department, the law firm of Vanderlip and Lum, and with the editorial department of the West Publishing Company. During World War I he served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army. Immediately after the war, he took employment with the Missouri Code Revision Committee before joining the firm at the behest of Frank J. Morley, a former colleague and the firm’s newest partner. Taylor, a brilliant and terse man, quickly established himself as the firm’s primary expert on tax law. He became partner in 1927. Mr. Taylor practiced with the firm for several more decades. In advanced age he moved with the firm to the Roanoke Building, where he practiced until he fell ill. On Jan. 8, 1960, Mr. Taylor “almost literally ‘died with his boots on.’” He was 77.
The last significant land annexation brings the city’s total area to 58 square miles and its population to some 450,000, a nearly ten-fold increase from the days when a young Joseph Kingman read law under Mr. Woods some 45 years before. The firm, too, continues to grow—thanks in part to new partners Henry Haverstock and Kenneth Taylor, who had entrenched himself as the firm’s primary tax expert.
Read MoreThe last significant land annexation brings the city’s total area to 58 square miles and its population to some 450,000, a nearly ten-fold increase from the days when a young Joseph Kingman read law under Mr. Woods some 45 years before. The firm, too, continues to grow—thanks in part to new partners Henry Haverstock and Kenneth Taylor, who had entrenched himself as the firm’s primary tax expert.
Franklin D. Gray
Frank Gray joined the firm in 1929. Born in Minneapolis, he graduated from the University of Minnesota before moving to England, where he spent three years as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, where he received a degree in law. A lover of the arts, Mr. Gray excelled in writing and held a deep fondness for literature and theater, interests that served him well during his legal career. After joining Kingman, Cross, Morley & Cant shortly before the Crash of ’29, Mr. Gray distinguished himself as an adept trial attorney. He became partner in 1942 and later was elected to the American College of Trial Lawyers. In the 1960s, as lead trial counsel for General Motors, he defended the car manufacturer over a series of trials brought forth by consumer advocate Ralph Nader, who alleged that the company’s Corvair was “unsafe at any speed.” Mr. Gray ultimately would prevail in court, vindicating his client. Over the course of his professional career, Mr. Gray was many things—professor, bank director, elected official. Those who worked with him said it was his simple and abiding care and respect for people that made him so unique.
“He would come around each floor in the morning and say ‘good morning.’ He would know people’s names, and if they had children he would ask about them. He was just a really neat man. He had a great sense of humor and he was really bright and he gave wonderful presentations to the firm.”
“He was just such a decent person. He had so many unique characteristics. He was extremely intelligent, spoke with such articulation. He was entertaining, and he was an example of what made this firm so unique.”
A. Lyman Beardsley
A. Lyman Beardsley came to the firm in October 1929, nine days before Black Tuesday sparked the Great Depression. A graduate of the University of South Dakota School of Law, Beardsley came to the firm after practicing law in South Dakota, first as partner in a private law office and then as state’s attorney for Edmunds County. His peers described Mr. Beardsley as soft-spoken and gentle of soul, though a man of competitive spirit. Many decades after his retirement in 1966, partners of the firm would still fondly recall Mr. Beardsley’s Fourth of July parties at his Lake Minnetonka home, where as young associates they and other firm employees had gathered to celebrate.
Wilbur Foshay
A real-life Jay Gatsby, Wilbur Foshay had invited more than 20,000 people to the extravagant dedication, which included cannonades, gifts, and a musical performance conducted by John Philip Sousa. Sousa that day received from Foshay a $20,000 check—which promptly bounced. Three years later, Foshay, overextended and crushed by debt, was sentenced to Leavenworth Penitentiary for mail fraud. He would serve several years in prison before his sentence was commuted by Franklin Roosevelt. He died in a Minneapolis nursing home in 1957.
In July, Franklin D. Gray, a University of Minnesota graduate and Rhodes Scholar who had received his law degree at Oxford University, joins the firm as an associate. In mid-October, he is joined by Lyman Beardsley, a former state attorney from South Dakota who also takes up residence in the firm’s office on Second Avenue. Eight days later, on a rainy Tuesday, panic hits Wall Street, as investors trade a record 16,410,030 shares on the New York Stock Exchange. On Nov 2., three days after “Black Tuesday,” thousands gather around 9th Street and Marquette Avenue for the dedication of the Foshay Tower. Six weeks after the dedication ceremony, the tower is in receivership.
Read MoreIn July, Franklin D. Gray, a University of Minnesota graduate and Rhodes Scholar who had received his law degree at Oxford University, joins the firm as an associate. In mid-October, he is joined by Lyman Beardsley, a former state attorney from South Dakota who also takes up residence in the firm’s office on Second Avenue. Eight days later, on a rainy Tuesday, panic hits Wall Street, as investors trade a record 16,410,030 shares on the New York Stock Exchange. On Nov 2., three days after “Black Tuesday,” thousands gather around 9th Street and Marquette Avenue for the dedication of the Foshay Tower. Six weeks after the dedication ceremony, the tower is in receivership.
The nation is mired in its fourth year of Depression, yet the firm has grown substantially. With the recent additions of Harry E. Howlett (1930), Alfred D. Lindley (1930), Alfred A. Stoll (1933), and John deLaittre (1933), 15 attorneys now make up Kingman, Cross, Morley & Cant compared to just six at the onset of the preceding decade.
Read MoreThe nation is mired in its fourth year of Depression, yet the firm has grown substantially. With the recent additions of Harry E. Howlett (1930), Alfred D. Lindley (1930), Alfred A. Stoll (1933), and John deLaittre (1933), 15 attorneys now make up Kingman, Cross, Morley & Cant compared to just six at the onset of the preceding decade.
Kenneth Taylor
Kenneth Taylor joined the firm shortly after the conclusion of the First World War. He received a B.S. degree from Carleton College in 1907 and a Bachelor of Law from George Washington University in 1910. After graduation, he became associated with the Soo Line Legal Department, the law firm of Vanderlip and Lum, and with the editorial department of the West Publishing Company. During World War I he served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army. Immediately after the war, he took employment with the Missouri Code Revision Committee before joining the firm at the behest of Frank J. Morley, a former colleague and the firm’s newest partner. Taylor, a brilliant and terse man, quickly established himself as the firm’s primary expert on tax law. He was named partner in 1927. Mr. Taylor practiced with the firm for several more decades, and in his advanced age moved with the firm to the Roanoke Building until he fell ill. On Jan. 8, 1960, Mr. Taylor “almost literally ‘died with his boots on.’” He was 77.
“His intense application and conscientious devotion to his work left little time for conversation and might almost entitle him to be called the ‘silent partner,’ but those qualities more than make up for anything that might be lacking in “glad-handing” and “’back slapping.’”
— Joseph Kingman“Ken was an unusual fellow with an unusually brilliant and analytical mind. When consulted about some tax problem, he would often sit silently studying the problem. He had a large head, and this writer used to imagine that the thought machinery was grinding away in that head until finally the answer would come forth all laid out in logical and detailed form.”
— Lyman BeardsleyThe firm becomes Kingman, Cross, Morley, Cant & Taylor. Around this time, the firm holds its first annual retreat. The event is precipitated by the acquisition of a “capacious house” on the shore of Lake Mille Lacs by Henry Haverstock. Each spring for the next several decades, partners escape the city to enjoy the outdoors, fishing, cards, and camaraderie.
Read MoreThe firm becomes Kingman, Cross, Morley, Cant & Taylor. Around this time, the firm holds its first annual retreat. The event is precipitated by the acquisition of a “capacious house” on the shore of Lake Mille Lacs by Henry Haverstock. Each spring for the next several decades, partners escape the city to enjoy the outdoors, fishing, cards, and camaraderie.
Frank W. Plant
Frank Plant joined the firm in 1936. The son of proud progressives and devout Catholics, Mr. Plant grew up on a quiet but prosperous Minneapolis street. During his teenage years, two events struck—the death of his father and the Crash of ’29—that changed his life profoundly. By the early 1930s his family’s rubber business had been liquidated, compelling young Frank to temporarily drop out of Princeton to take a job at a local bus company. He resumed his studies, however, and after graduating from Princeton he returned home to pursue a degree in law at the University of Minnesota, where he became president of the college’s Law Review. Upon graduation, he set his sights on the Kingman firm, which offered him a job. He would leave the firm to fight in World War II, and was among the first wave of Marines to land on Tarawa, Saipan, and Tinian in the Pacific Theater, where he assisted in the development of tactical air support strategies for ground troops. He returned to the firm following the war’s end and gained a reputation for problem-solving, leadership, and unwavering dedication to his clients. He became managing partner in 1968, during which time he contributed tremendously to the development and performance of several practice areas by increasing specialization. A devoted champion of the disadvantaged, for many years Mr. Plant was the firm’s leader in creating opportunities for women, minorities, and the economically underprivileged, trailblazing efforts to improve their condition through pro bono work, social activities, and his personal generosity. The Frank W. Plant Equal Justice Award is named in his honor.
“He possessed a moral compass that he never set aside. It guided him through his career. It also led him to champion the needs of people in distress, in hospices, halfway houses and prison cells. And it led him to the bedsides of his Hillcrest neighbors, whom he sat with in his dying hours.”
— Frank Clifford, nephew to Frank PlantFrank W. Plant, a 23-year-old Princeton alumnus who graduated from the University of Minnesota School of Law, joins the firm. He would remain with the firm for the next six decades, with the exception of the three years he spent as a Marine Corps officer in World War II, a conflict in which he stormed the beaches of Tarawa, Saipan, and Tinian.
Read MoreFrank W. Plant, a 23-year-old Princeton alumnus who graduated from the University of Minnesota School of Law, joins the firm. He would remain with the firm for the next six decades, with the exception of the three years he spent as a Marine Corps officer in World War II, a conflict in which he stormed the beaches of Tarawa, Saipan, and Tinian.
Franklin D. Gray
Frank Gray joined the firm in 1929. Born in Minneapolis, he graduated from the University of Minnesota before moving to England, where he spent three years as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, where he received a degree in law. A lover of the arts, Mr. Gray excelled in writing and held a deep fondness for literature and theater, interests that served him well during his legal career. After joining Kingman, Cross, Morley & Cant shortly before the Crash of ’29, Mr. Gray distinguished himself as an adept trial attorney. He became partner in 1942 and later was elected to the American College of Trial Lawyers. In the 1960s, as lead trial counsel for General Motors, he defended the car manufacturer over a series of trials brought forth by consumer advocate Ralph Nader, who alleged that the company’s Corvair was “unsafe at any speed.” Mr. Gray ultimately would prevail in court, vindicating his client. Over the course of his professional career, Mr. Gray was many things—professor, bank director, elected official. Those who worked with him said it was his simple and abiding care and respect for people that made him so unique.
Frank W. Plant
Frank Plant joined the firm in 1936. The son of proud progressives and devout Catholics, Mr. Plant grew up on a quiet but prosperous Minneapolis street. During his teenage years, two events struck—the death of his father and the Crash of ’29—that changed his life profoundly. By the early 1930s his family’s rubber business had been liquidated, compelling young Frank to temporarily drop out of Princeton to take a job at a local bus company. He resumed his studies, however, and after graduating from Princeton he returned home to pursue a degree in law at the University of Minnesota, where he became president of the college’s Law Review. Upon graduation, he set his sights on the Kingman firm, which offered him a job. He would leave the firm to fight in World War II, and was among the first wave of Marines to land on Tarawa, Saipan, and Tinian in the Pacific Theater, where he assisted in the development of tactical air support strategies for ground troops. He returned to the firm following the war’s end and gained a reputation for problem-solving, leadership, and unwavering dedication to his clients. He became managing partner in 1968, during which time he contributed tremendously to the development and performance of several practice areas by increasing specialization. A devoted champion of the disadvantaged, for many years Mr. Plant was the firm’s leader in creating opportunities for women, minorities, and the economically underprivileged, trailblazing efforts to improve their condition through pro bono work, social activities, and his personal generosity. The Frank W. Plant Equal Justice Award is named in his honor.
“Pearl Harbor changed life for many of us. For me it became almost unthinkable for a single, 28 year-old to go on practicing law.”
“Frank was an extremely gentle man. A gentle soul, that’s why nobody can imagine him storming that bloody beach.”
Franklin Gray, Edwin Strand, Lyman Beardsley, Alfred Stoll, and Harry E. Howlett are now partners. War, however, has called abroad four of the firm’s men: U.S. Navy Lt. Com. Alfred D. Lindley, U.S. Navy Lt. Richard T. Angell, U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Frank W. Plant and Lt. Thomas A. McCann.
Read MoreFranklin Gray, Edwin Strand, Lyman Beardsley, Alfred Stoll, and Harry E. Howlett are now partners. War, however, has called abroad four of the firm’s men: U.S. Navy Lt. Com. Alfred D. Lindley, U.S. Navy Lt. Richard T. Angell, U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Frank W. Plant and Lt. Thomas A. McCann.
NORTON M. CROSS
Norton M. Cross was a longtime partner with the firm. He came to Minnesota from Iowa in 1877 with his father, a former Civil War soldier and POW who later became city attorney of Minneapolis. The younger Cross was salutatorian of his 1887 class at the University of Minnesota and graduated from Columbia Law School in 1889. Mr. Cross, who came to the practice with Arthur Keith in 1916, was the firm’s “tower of strength” as a trial lawyer, according to Joseph Kingman. He was a voracious reader of literature, history, and poetry, and possessed a “wonderful” memory, according to his colleagues. He was also an avid golfer and skilled water color painter. During his lifetime Mr. Cross held seats on the board of the Lincoln National Bank and the city’s Public Library Board. He died of heart complications in January 1944 shortly after retiring from his practice to be with his daughter, Marion, who lived in Mexico.
“His sense of responsibility to his clients was profound and often weighted heavily upon him.”
“He was always willing to share his wisdom and his experience with other lawyers, not only with those who by reason of their association with him had a right to ask it, but with others who found themselves confronted with new and puzzling problems.”
JOSEPH R. KINGMAN
Joseph Ramsdell Kingman was born in Chicago on April 15, 1860. He later moved to Minneapolis, where he would graduate from Central high school and eventually study law under the tutelage of Charles H. Woods, the senior partner of Woods & Hahn. In 1886, after passing his bar examination, he became partner, beginning in earnest a law career that would last until his death nearly 60 years later. An astute and energetic businessman, Mr. Kingman led the firm through its formative years, which saw the practice grow from a pair of attorneys in a single office to 16. He was a lover of poetry and the outdoors, a student of history and student glass. His pastimes included camping trips to the Canadian Rockies and summer outings to the north shore of Lake Superior. His friends and colleagues noted his remarkable mind, which remained “keen and alert up to almost the day of his death.” For many years before and after his passing, the firm was widely known simply as “the Kingman firm,” notable for its unwavering commitment to professionalism, excellence and integrity.
“Joe Kingman was a wonderful and typical New Englander, a very small man, spare of frame and spare of speech. But he struck us young ones as very down to earth and kindly.”
The firm suffers two severe losses: longtime partner Norton M. Cross and attorney Edwin L. Strand die months apart. Mr. Cross, who had recently announced his retirement from the law, died in January following a severe heart attack. Mr. Strand succumbed to a seemingly minor bronchial infection that steadily worsened. “They are both greatly missed by their associates,” Mr. Kingman would write in October the following year. Two months after the writing, Mr. Kingman would die. He was 85.
Read MoreThe firm suffers two severe losses: longtime partner Norton M. Cross and attorney Edwin L. Strand die months apart. Mr. Cross, who had recently announced his retirement from the law, died in January following a severe heart attack. Mr. Strand succumbed to a seemingly minor bronchial infection that steadily worsened. “They are both greatly missed by their associates,” Mr. Kingman would write in October the following year. Two months after the writing, Mr. Kingman would die. He was 85.
John Mooty
John Mooty was born on Nov. 17, 1922 in Adrian, Minn., a small town in the state’s southwest corner. Like many of his generation, Mr. Mooty’s childhood was marked by the hardships of the Great Depression; his parents, a banker and a teacher who also managed farmland, struggled to make ends meet for John and his brother Melvin. In 1944, he graduated first in his class from the University of Minnesota Law School, and shortly thereafter he joined the firm that would eventually bear his name: Gray Plant Mooty. By 1954, Mr. Mooty had become a partner at the firm. He quickly made a name for himself as a leader in the Twin Cities legal and business communities, with major transactions involving companies such as National Car Rental, International Dairy Queen, the Minnesota Vikings, Culligan, Schwan’s, the Bureau of Engraving, and Western Oil. He served as chairman of International Dairy Queen for 20 years, overseeing the company’s $575 million sale to Berkshire Hathaway in 1997. Mr. Mooty was also deeply involved with the Minnesota Republican Party, serving as vice chairman and acting chairman, as well as statewide chairman of multiple gubernatorial, senatorial, and presidential campaigns. In 2003, he was inducted into the Minnesota Business Hall of Fame. Mr. Mooty died on April 17, 2015 after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He was 92.
The firm receives news that Lt. Angell, one of the promising young attorneys in the firm fighting in World War II, is among the 800 crewmen lost at sea following a March 19 kamikaze strike on the USS Franklin, an Essex-class aircraft carrier stationed in the South Pacific. Angell, a graduate of the University of Michigan School of Law who had received the highest marks anyone at the school had ever received up to that time, was described as an especially bright and gifted young man. “He had an extremely attractive personality and was as articulate a speaker as anyone I had ever known,” Frank Plant would later write. The firm’s total number of attorneys, once 16, is reduced to 10. This figure includes a young law clerk and University of Minnesota alumnus named John Mooty, who had graduated top in his law school class.
Read MoreThe firm receives news that Lt. Angell, one of the promising young attorneys in the firm fighting in World War II, is among the 800 crewmen lost at sea following a March 19 kamikaze strike on the USS Franklin, an Essex-class aircraft carrier stationed in the South Pacific. Angell, a graduate of the University of Michigan School of Law who had received the highest marks anyone at the school had ever received up to that time, was described as an especially bright and gifted young man. “He had an extremely attractive personality and was as articulate a speaker as anyone I had ever known,” Frank Plant would later write. The firm’s total number of attorneys, once 16, is reduced to 10. This figure includes a young law clerk and University of Minnesota alumnus named John Mooty, who had graduated top in his law school class.
Melvin Mooty
Mr. Mooty came to the firm in 1951. He was born in Adrian, Minnesota, and grew up in nearby Worthington. The son of a banker who also managed farmland, Mooty joined the Army shortly before the end of World War II, serving in Germany. Following the war, he attended the University of Minnesota Law School. After joining the firm, Mooty quickly established himself as one of the firm’s go-to attorneys on real estate matters, including the deal that created the Southdale Mall, America’s first enclosed shopping mall. In 1956, he was made partner. Colleagues said Mr. Mooty’s prudent, soft-spoken nature made it easy to forget he was almost always the smartest person in a room, capable analyzing and dissecting technical aspects of even the most complex legal matters. Away from the firm, Mr. Mooty was a devoted family man who championed causes for the underprivileged and those with learning disabilities. Mr. Mooty died in 2012.
“No matter how high-pressure or difficult the situation was with opposing counsel or a challenging client, Mel was invariably courteous. As a younger attorney, I’d come out of situations where I was ready to come unglued, and he’d calmly coach me through it.”
— Wade AndersonThe firm is renamed Morley, Cant, Taylor & Haverstock. It’s the first time in six decades it does not bear the name Kingman in its title. Locals, however, continue to refer to the practice as “the Old Kingman Firm.” Meanwhile, Minneapolis reaches some 520,000 residents—the apex of its population—making it the seventeenth largest city in the United States. The firm, which had slimmed down during the war years, also begins to grow, adding several promising young associates, including Edward M. Arundel (1952), Robert F. Henson (1952), and Melvin R. Mooty (1951), who soon establishes himself as one of the firm’s primary counselors on real estate matters.
Read MoreThe firm is renamed Morley, Cant, Taylor & Haverstock. It’s the first time in six decades it does not bear the name Kingman in its title. Locals, however, continue to refer to the practice as “the Old Kingman Firm.” Meanwhile, Minneapolis reaches some 520,000 residents—the apex of its population—making it the seventeenth largest city in the United States. The firm, which had slimmed down during the war years, also begins to grow, adding several promising young associates, including Edward M. Arundel (1952), Robert F. Henson (1952), and Melvin R. Mooty (1951), who soon establishes himself as one of the firm’s primary counselors on real estate matters.
Kenneth Taylor
Kenneth Taylor joined the firm shortly after the conclusion of the First World War. He received a B.S. degree from Carleton College in 1907 and a Bachelor of Laws degree from George Washington University in 1910. After graduation, he became associated with the Soo Line Legal Department, the law firm of Vanderlip and Lum, and with the editorial department of the West Publishing Company. During World War I he served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army. Immediately after the war, he took employment with the Missouri Code Revision Committee before joining the firm at the behest of Frank J. Morley, a former colleague and the firm’s newest partner. Taylor, a brilliant and terse man, quickly established himself as the firm’s primary expert on tax law. He became partner in 1927. Mr. Taylor practiced with the firm for several more decades. In advanced age he moved with the firm to the Roanoke Building, where he practiced until he fell ill. On Jan. 8, 1960, Mr. Taylor “almost literally ‘died with his boots on.’” He was 77.
Breck Overstreet, an attorney recently returned to the firm from the Korean War, dies from heart complications related to an injury he suffered during the conflict. A bright, well-liked, and collegial young man, his death is a “sad blow” to the firm, Lyman Beardsley would write. The following year, Kenneth M. Anderson of the University of Minnesota is hired on a part-time basis to practice tax law, lightening the load of Kenneth Taylor, who had been the firm’s primary tax attorney for several decades.
Read MoreBreck Overstreet, an attorney recently returned to the firm from the Korean War, dies from heart complications related to an injury he suffered during the conflict. A bright, well-liked, and collegial young man, his death is a “sad blow” to the firm, Lyman Beardsley would write. The following year, Kenneth M. Anderson of the University of Minnesota is hired on a part-time basis to practice tax law, lightening the load of Kenneth Taylor, who had been the firm’s primary tax attorney for several decades.
John Mooty
John Mooty joined the firm in 1945. John Mooty was born on Nov. 17, 1922 in Adrian, Minn., a small town in the state’s southwest corner. Like many of his generation, Mr. Mooty’s childhood was marked by the hardships of the Great Depression; his parents, a banker and a teacher who also managed farmland, struggled to make ends meet for John and his brother Melvin. In 1944, he graduated first in his class from the University of Minnesota Law School, and shortly thereafter he joined the firm that would eventually bear his name: Gray Plant Mooty. By 1954, Mr. Mooty had become a partner at the firm. He quickly made a name for himself as a leader in the Twin Cities legal and business communities, with major transactions involving companies such as National Car Rental, International Dairy Queen, the Minnesota Vikings, Culligan, Schwan’s, the Bureau of Engraving, and Western Oil. He served as chairman of International Dairy Queen for 20 years, overseeing the company’s $575 million sale to Berkshire Hathaway in 1997. Mr. Mooty was also deeply involved with the Minnesota Republican Party, serving as vice chairman and acting chairman, as well as statewide chairman of multiple gubernatorial, senatorial, and presidential campaigns. In 2003, he was inducted into the Minnesota Business Hall of Fame. Mr. Mooty died on April 17, 2015 after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He was 92.
Russell M. Bennett
Russell Bennett joined the firm in 1954 following his service in the U.S. Navy, beginning a career in corporate and estate planning that lasted 55 years. A tireless and devoted leader with a gregarious disposition, Mr. Bennett was named partner in 1961 and saw his named added to the firm’s title in 1977. He served as chair or member on an untold number of nonprofits and charitable boards, and was a key fundraiser for the University of Minnesota, leading a pair of capital drives that would net more than $2 billion. Mr. Bennett, an avid sailor, crossed the Atlantic Ocean twice – once by himself and once at age 70. Those who knew him say he is most remembered for “buoying others with his generosity and compassion.”
“[Russ] gave exceptional judgment to clients. He was greatly respected and kind to everybody.”
“Russell was a giant in every sense of the word. He was tall in stature and had a personality and presence that overtook any room he was in. He had an enormous and unqualified love for his family and friends. He had a huge heart filled with compassion for all.”
John Mooty is named partner. The following year, the firm hires as associate Russell M. Bennett, a University of Minnesota Law School graduate who had served as a trial officer in the U.S. Navy.
Read MoreJohn Mooty is named partner. The following year, the firm hires as associate Russell M. Bennett, a University of Minnesota Law School graduate who had served as a trial officer in the U.S. Navy.
John Crosby
John Crosby, a Yale law school graduate and one of the incorporators of the Washburn Crosby Company (today General Mills), joined the firm as partner in 1908. Mr. Crosby left the firm after only two years to become general counsel for the Washburn Crosby, a company on whose board he had long served; in 1928, as chairman of the board, Mr. Crosby would oversee the company’s transition to General Mills Co. Though he did not practice law, for the remainder of his life he maintained an office at the firm—even when the practice moved to the Roanoke Building in 1955, at which point Mr. Crosby was approaching 90 years of age.
On July 1, the firm—13 attorneys and supporting staff— relocates to 220 Roanoke Building at 7th Street and Marquette Avenue. The firm’s former partner and loyal friend John Crosby also makes the move. The decision to relocate was the result of both the condition of the Midland Bank Building, which had fallen into disrepair, and the realization that the firm’s financial future hinged on corporate, tax and real estate matters, each of which involved a great deal of litigation, specialization and departmentalization. This in turn required more attorneys, more staff, and more space. “While our new space was not perfect we were all very happy about our move and felt that we had taken a step in the right direction; that is, closer to the center of business activity,” Lyman Beardsley would later write of the move.
Read MoreOn July 1, the firm—13 attorneys and supporting staff— relocates to 220 Roanoke Building at 7th Street and Marquette Avenue. The firm’s former partner and loyal friend John Crosby also makes the move. The decision to relocate was the result of both the condition of the Midland Bank Building, which had fallen into disrepair, and the realization that the firm’s financial future hinged on corporate, tax and real estate matters, each of which involved a great deal of litigation, specialization and departmentalization. This in turn required more attorneys, more staff, and more space. “While our new space was not perfect we were all very happy about our move and felt that we had taken a step in the right direction; that is, closer to the center of business activity,” Lyman Beardsley would later write of the move.
James Simonson
James Simonson was born in Wisconsin in 1934 and grew up on a farm east of Madison. He joined the firm in 1959 after graduating from Harvard Law School, and by the early 1970s he was named Chair of the firm’s Litigation department. An attorney’s attorney, Mr. Simonson excelled at oral argument, complex trials, and appellate representation of various clients, among them: auto and fire manufacturers, railroads, tobacco companies, food producers, and textile manufacturers. In 1981 he was elected to the American College of Trial Lawyers. Over the course of his six decades of legal practice, he represented clients of all walks of life, big and small, defendants and plaintiffs. Mr. Simonson’s resolute and winning courtroom skills were matched only by his tender and gentlemanly nature, love of people and animals, and commitment to teaching young people, whether through mentorship at the firm or the wrestlers he instructed while coaching more than 30 years as a volunteer in the Kenwood neighborhood and at the Phyllis Wheatley Community Center in North Minneapolis.
Clint Schroeder
Clint Schroeder joined the firm in October 1957, when the firm was known as Cant Taylor Haverstock Beardsley and Gray. Minnesota born and bred, Mr. Schroeder grew up in Fergus Fall before spending seven years at the U, graduating in 1955 with a law degree. He joined the Army following his graduation and served two years as a legal officer at Fort Bliss, Texas, before returning to the Gopher State to join a law firm. At age 26, he was offered and accepted a position by Ken Anderson, the firm’s senior tax attorney. Mr. Schroeder quickly became a specialist in several areas of tax law, particularly charitable giving, and would later become a board member of the American Council on Gift Annuities. In 1981, he became president of the Minnesota State Bar Association. In 2008, he received the inaugural Clinton A. Schroeder Distinguished Service Award from the Minnesota Planned Giving Council. Outside of his practice, Mr. Schroeder displays a passion for charitable work and sports, particularly, Gopher football and Edina athletics. He enjoys vacationing in St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, and Florida. His colleagues praised his nimble mind, unwavering loyalty, great discipline, and indefatigable work ethic. Mr. Schroeder retired at the end of 2015.
“Through his work with individuals, families, and charities, Clint has guided philanthropy in the Twin Cities for decades. I believe he is responsible for providing more charitable dollars to this community than any other person in the history of Minneapolis.”
“He has forgotten more about tax law than most tax attorneys ever learn. He has enormous affection for this firm and has been one of its biggest cheerleaders for its work and success.”
FRANK J. MORLEY
Frank J. Morley, the son of a Sioux City minister, graduated from the University of Minnesota School of Law in 1900. Following a stint in the publishing business, he came to the firm as partner in 1920 following a tenure with Benton & Molyneaux. The practice was greatly strengthened by his vigor and talent. Mr. Morley practiced law for 56 years, and for a quarter-century he was director and general counsel of General Mills. His colleagues hailed his analytical mind, painstaking application of the law, and robust constitution (he “seemed to have the health and strength of ten, rarely ever missing a day at the office,” one colleague wrote). He enjoyed golf and gardening and the occasional game of scrabble, and exhibited interest in history and biography; but those who knew him said it was the law that immersed him. Mr. Morley left the firm in 1959 to move to Pasadena, California, to be near his son, William. He died the following year. He was 85.
“Frank Morley was more dedicated to his work and responsibilities than almost anyone [I have] ever known.”
KENNETH TAYLOR
Kenneth Taylor joined the firm shortly after the conclusion of the First World War. He received a B.S. degree from Carleton College in 1907 and a Bachelor of Laws degree from George Washington University in 1910. After graduation, he became associated with the Soo Line Legal Department, the law firm of Vanderlip and Lum, and with the editorial department of the West Publishing Company. During World War I he served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army. Immediately after the war, he took employment with the Missouri Code Revision Committee before joining the firm at the behest of Frank J. Morley, a former colleague and the firm’s newest partner. Taylor, a brilliant and terse man, quickly established himself as the firm’s primary expert on tax law. He became partner in 1927. Mr. Taylor practiced with the firm for several more decades. In advanced age he moved with the firm to the Roanoke Building, where he practiced until he fell ill. On Jan. 8, 1960, Mr. Taylor “almost literally ‘died with his boots on.’” He was 77.
The firm helps close the real estate transaction that results in the creation of the Southdale Mall, the nation’s first enclosed shopping mall. In subsequent years, to meet the demands of its growing litigation and tax practices, the firm hires James Simonson, a recent Harvard Law School graduate, and University of Minnesota Law School graduates Clinton A. Schroeder and Robert L. Helland. Melvin Mooty, Robert Henson, Edward Arundel, and Ken Anderson are all made partners. Frank Morley and Kenneth Taylor retire.
Read MoreThe firm helps close the real estate transaction that results in the creation of the Southdale Mall, the nation’s first enclosed shopping mall. In subsequent years, to meet the demands of its growing litigation and tax practices, the firm hires James Simonson, a recent Harvard Law School graduate, and University of Minnesota Law School graduates Clinton A. Schroeder and Robert L. Helland. Melvin Mooty, Robert Henson, Edward Arundel, and Ken Anderson are all made partners. Frank Morley and Kenneth Taylor retire.
FRANK J. MORLEY
Frank J. Morley, the son of a Sioux City minister, graduated from the University of Minnesota School of Law in 1900. Following a stint in the publishing business, he came to the firm as partner in 1920 following a tenure with Benton & Molyneaux. The practice was greatly strengthened by his vigor and talent. Mr. Morley practiced law for 56 years, and for a quarter-century he was director and general counsel of General Mills. His colleagues hailed his analytical mind, painstaking application of the law, and robust constitution (he “seemed to have the health and strength of ten, rarely ever missing a day at the office,” one colleague wrote). He enjoyed golf and gardening and the occasional game of scrabble, and exhibited interest in history and biography; but those who knew him said it was the law that immersed him. Mr. Morley left the firm in 1959 to move to Pasadena, California, to be near his son, William. He died the following year. He was 85.
KENNETH TAYLOR
Kenneth Taylor joined the firm shortly after the conclusion of the First World War. He received a B.S. degree from Carleton College in 1907 and a Bachelor of Laws degree from George Washington University in 1910. After graduation, he became associated with the Soo Line Legal Department, the law firm of Vanderlip and Lum, and with the editorial department of the West Publishing Company. During World War I he served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army. Immediately after the war, he took employment with the Missouri Code Revision Committee before joining the firm at the behest of Frank J. Morley, a former colleague and the firm’s newest partner. Taylor, a brilliant and terse man, quickly established himself as the firm’s primary expert on tax law. He became partner in 1927. Mr. Taylor practiced with the firm for several more decades. In advanced age he moved with the firm to the Roanoke Building, where he practiced until he fell ill. On Jan. 8, 1960, Mr. Taylor “almost literally ‘died with his boots on.’” He was 77.
“Ken was an unusual fellow with an unusually brilliant and analytical mind. When consulted about some tax problem, he would often sit silently studying the problem. He had a large head, and this writer used to imagine that the thought machinery was grinding away in that head until finally the answer would come forth all laid out in logical and detailed form.”
John Crosby
John Crosby, a Yale law school graduate and one of the incorporators of the Washburn Crosby Company (today General Mills), joined the firm as partner in 1908. Mr. Crosby left the firm after only two years to become general counsel for the Washburn Crosby, a company on whose board he had long served; in 1928, as chairman of the board, Mr. Crosby would oversee the company’s transition to General Mills Co. Though he did not practice law, for the remainder of his life he maintained an office at the firm—even when the practice moved to the Roanoke Building in 1955, at which point Mr. Crosby was approaching 90 years of age.
The firm welcomes Richard N. Flint and Larry R. Henneman. Mr. Flint, fresh out of Northwestern University Law School, would depart to serve a two-plus year stint in the Army, but would return to the firm in April 1964. Mr. Henneman, who received his LL.B. from the University of Wisconsin the previous year, begins to concentrate his efforts in the probate and trust field. The firm says goodbye to Frank Morley and Kenneth Taylor. The two recently retired senior partners die months apart after practicing law together for some 40 years. They are soon followed by the firm’s beloved friend and office resident, John Crosby.
Read MoreThe firm welcomes Richard N. Flint and Larry R. Henneman. Mr. Flint, fresh out of Northwestern University Law School, would depart to serve a two-plus year stint in the Army, but would return to the firm in April 1964. Mr. Henneman, who received his LL.B. from the University of Wisconsin the previous year, begins to concentrate his efforts in the probate and trust field. The firm says goodbye to Frank Morley and Kenneth Taylor. The two recently retired senior partners die months apart after practicing law together for some 40 years. They are soon followed by the firm’s beloved friend and office resident, John Crosby.
Michael Sullivan, Sr.
Michael P. Sullivan, Sr. was born in Minneapolis in 1934. He received his Bachelor degree in 1956 from Marquette University, which he attended under a Navy scholarship program and upon graduation served for 3 years on sea duty in the Pacific Fleet. Upon completion of his service he enrolled in the University of Minnesota Law School, from which he graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1962. He joined the firm presently known as Gray Plant Mooty the same year, practiced corporate law for the next 25 years, 10 of which he served as managing officer. During his time at the firm he did a stint as a legal writing instructor at the University of Minnesota Law School, held the Opus Distinguished Chair in Family Business at the University of St. Thomas, was the founding Board Chair of Minnesota Continuing Legal Education, and served as a Minnesota special assistant attorney general. For more than 40 years he was a Uniform Law Commissioner for Minnesota and is a past President of the National Uniform Law Commission. In 1987 he left the practice of law and became CEO of International Dairy Queen, Inc. Upon his retirement from IDQ in 2001, he returned to Gray Plant Mooty as Of Counsel. Throughout his career he served on multiple professional, educational, nonprofit and for-profit corporate boards.
It’s a period of rapid growth at the firm, attributable in part to a thriving Trust & Estates practice. (This earns the practice a new nickname: “the blue stocking firm,” a reference to the patrician taste, class and wealth of its estate clients.) Michael P. Sullivan, a former U.S. Navy officer who graduated top in his 1962 law class at the University of Minnesota, is among the many attorneys hired to meet the legal demands. He’d practice in the firm’s Corporate and Franchise groups for the next 25 years, before becoming CEO of International Dairy Queen in 1987.
Read MoreIt’s a period of rapid growth at the firm, attributable in part to a thriving Trust & Estates practice. (This earns the practice a new nickname: “the blue stocking firm,” a reference to the patrician taste, class and wealth of its estate clients.) Michael P. Sullivan, a former U.S. Navy officer who graduated top in his 1962 law class at the University of Minnesota, is among the many attorneys hired to meet the legal demands. He’d practice in the firm’s Corporate and Franchise groups for the next 25 years, before becoming CEO of International Dairy Queen in 1987.
The firm has gone “big time.” It employs 25 attorneys (13 partners, 11 associates and one of counsel attorney). It also employs one office manager, an accountant, a bookkeeper, 13 secretaries, a receptionist, a messenger, a librarian and a time charge recorder. The salary and overhead expenses exceed total gross receipts in 1945, Mr. Kingman’s final year. The salary of a new attorney is roughly $750 per month, more than ten times the amount senior partners Mr. Cant and Mr. Haverstock made when they began to practice law.
Read MoreThe firm has gone “big time.” It employs 25 attorneys (13 partners, 11 associates and one of counsel attorney). It also employs one office manager, an accountant, a bookkeeper, 13 secretaries, a receptionist, a messenger, a librarian and a time charge recorder. The salary and overhead expenses exceed total gross receipts in 1945, Mr. Kingman’s final year. The salary of a new attorney is roughly $750 per month, more than ten times the amount senior partners Mr. Cant and Mr. Haverstock made when they began to practice law.
A. LYMAN BEARDSLEY
A. Lyman Beardsley came to the firm in October 1929, nine days before Black Tuesday sparked the Great Depression. A graduate of the University of South Dakota School of Law, Beardsley came to the firm after practicing law in South Dakota, first as partner in a private law office and then as state’s attorney for Edmunds County. His peers described Mr. Beardsley as soften spoken and gentle of soul, though a man of competitive spirit. Many decades after his retirement in 1966, partners of the firm would still fondly recall Mr. Beardsley’s Fourth of July parties at his Lake Minnetonka home, where as young associates they and other firm employees had gathered to celebrate.
John Mooty
John Mooty joined the firm in 1945. John Mooty was born on Nov. 17, 1922 in Adrian, Minn., a small town in the state’s southwest corner. Like many of his generation, Mr. Mooty’s childhood was marked by the hardships of the Great Depression; his parents, a banker and a teacher who also managed farmland, struggled to make ends meet for John and his brother Melvin. In 1944, he graduated first in his class from the University of Minnesota Law School, and shortly thereafter he joined the firm that would eventually bear his name: Gray Plant Mooty. By 1954, Mr. Mooty had become a partner at the firm. He quickly made a name for himself as a leader in the Twin Cities legal and business communities, with major transactions involving companies such as National Car Rental, International Dairy Queen, the Minnesota Vikings, Culligan, Schwan’s, the Bureau of Engraving, and Western Oil. He served as chairman of International Dairy Queen for 20 years, overseeing the company’s $575 million sale to Berkshire Hathaway in 1997. Mr. Mooty was also deeply involved with the Minnesota Republican Party, serving as vice chairman and acting chairman, as well as statewide chairman of multiple gubernatorial, senatorial, and presidential campaigns. In 2003, he was inducted into the Minnesota Business Hall of Fame. Mr. Mooty died on April 17, 2015 after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He was 92.
Franklin D. Gray
Frank Gray joined the firm in 1929. Born in Minneapolis, he graduated from the University of Minnesota before moving to England, where he spent three years as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, where he received a degree in law. A lover of the arts, Mr. Gray excelled in writing and held a deep fondness for literature and theater, interests that served him well during his legal career. After joining Kingman, Cross, Morley & Cant shortly before the Crash of ’29, Mr. Gray distinguished himself as an adept trial attorney. He became partner in 1942 and later was elected to the American College of Trial Lawyers. In the 1960s, as lead trial counsel for General Motors, he defended the car manufacturer over a series of trials brought forth by consumer advocate Ralph Nader, who alleged that the company’s Corvair was “unsafe at any speed.” Mr. Gray ultimately would prevail in court, vindicating his client. Over the course of his professional career, Mr. Gray was many things—professor, bank director, elected official. Those who worked with him said it was his simple and abiding care and respect for people that made him so unique.
Frank W. Plant
Frank Plant joined the firm in 1936. The son of proud progressives and devout Catholics, Mr. Plant grew up on a quiet but prosperous Minneapolis street. During his teenage years, two events struck—the death of his father and the Crash of ’29—that changed his life profoundly. By the early 1930s his family’s rubber business had been liquidated, compelling young Frank to temporarily drop out of Princeton to take a job at a local bus company. He resumed his studies, however, and after graduating from Princeton he returned home to pursue a degree in law at the University of Minnesota, where he became president of the college’s Law Review. Upon graduation, he set his sights on the Kingman firm, which offered him a job. He would leave the firm to fight in World War II, and was among the first wave of Marines to land on Tarawa, Saipan, and Tinian in the Pacific Theater, where he assisted in the development of tactical air support strategies for ground troops. He returned to the firm following the war’s end and gained a reputation for problem-solving, leadership, and unwavering dedication to his clients. He became managing partner in 1968, a position he held until ( ), during which time he contributed tremendously to the development and performance of several practice areas by increasing specialization. A devoted champion of the disadvantaged, for many years Plant was the firm’s leader in creating opportunities for women, minorities, and the economically underprivileged, trailblazing efforts to improve their condition through pro bono work, social activities, and his personal generosity. The Frank W. Plant Equal Justice Award is named in his honor.
“He possessed a moral compass that he never set aside. It guided him through his career. It also led him to champion the needs of people in distress, in hospices, halfway houses and prison cells. And it led him to the bedsides of his Hillcrest neighbors, whom he sat with in his dying hours.”
The firm forms its first executive committee. It consists of Lyman Beardsley, John Mooty, Frank Gray, Frank Plant, and Ken Anderson. Meanwhile, a young lawyer and consumer advocate named Ralph Nader, fresh off the publication of his book Unsafe at Any Speed, appears before Congress to testify on alleged safety issue of General Motors’ Corvair. The matter would result in one of the largest consumer cases in history, which would find Mr. Gray representing the defendant as lead trial attorney. General Motors, over the course of several years and trials, would eventually prevail in the historic consumer matter.
Read MoreThe firm forms its first executive committee. It consists of Lyman Beardsley, John Mooty, Frank Gray, Frank Plant, and Ken Anderson. Meanwhile, a young lawyer and consumer advocate named Ralph Nader, fresh off the publication of his book Unsafe at Any Speed, appears before Congress to testify on alleged safety issue of General Motors’ Corvair. The matter would result in one of the largest consumer cases in history, which would find Mr. Gray representing the defendant as lead trial attorney. General Motors, over the course of several years and trials, would eventually prevail in the historic consumer matter.
Russell Bennett, who had replaced Frank Gray as managing partner of the firm in 1966, is in turn replaced by Frank Plant. Mr. Plant would hold the position nearly three years, contributing “tremendously to the development and performance of our estate planning, probate and trust section,” according to Mr. Gray. One of the firm’s first hires under Mr. Plant is Lindley S. Branson, a young attorney who had practiced on Wall Street law representing underwriters in public financings.
Read MoreRussell Bennett, who had replaced Frank Gray as managing partner of the firm in 1966, is in turn replaced by Frank Plant. Mr. Plant would hold the position nearly three years, contributing “tremendously to the development and performance of our estate planning, probate and trust section,” according to Mr. Gray. One of the firm’s first hires under Mr. Plant is Lindley S. Branson, a young attorney who had practiced on Wall Street law representing underwriters in public financings.
Marvin J. Anderson, a graduate of Hastings College of Law in San Francisco who served in the Peace Corps, joins the firm. He is the firm’s first African American attorney. He’d leave the firm in 1974 and go on to become the state’s top law librarian.
Read MoreMarvin J. Anderson, a graduate of Hastings College of Law in San Francisco who served in the Peace Corps, joins the firm. He is the firm’s first African American attorney. He’d leave the firm in 1974 and go on to become the state’s top law librarian.
John Mooty
John Mooty joined the firm in 1945. John Mooty was born on Nov. 17, 1922 in Adrian, Minn., a small town in the state’s southwest corner. Like many of his generation, Mr. Mooty’s childhood was marked by the hardships of the Great Depression; his parents, a banker and a teacher who also managed farmland, struggled to make ends meet for John and his brother Melvin. In 1944, he graduated first in his class from the University of Minnesota Law School, and shortly thereafter he joined the firm that would eventually bear his name: Gray Plant Mooty. By 1954, Mr. Mooty had become a partner at the firm. He quickly made a name for himself as a leader in the Twin Cities legal and business communities, with major transactions involving companies such as National Car Rental, International Dairy Queen, the Minnesota Vikings, Culligan, Schwan’s, the Bureau of Engraving, and Western Oil. He served as chairman of International Dairy Queen for 20 years, overseeing the company’s $575 million sale to Berkshire Hathaway in 1997. Mr. Mooty was also deeply involved with the Minnesota Republican Party, serving as vice chairman and acting chairman, as well as statewide chairman of multiple gubernatorial, senatorial, and presidential campaigns. In 2003, he was inducted into the Minnesota Business Hall of Fame. Mr. Mooty died on April 17, 2015 after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He was 92.
Michael R. Cunningham
Michael Cunningham joined the firm in 1971. A graduate of the University of Iowa College of Law and former law clerk for the Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, Cunningham joined the firm’s General Litigation practice (arriving without “a pot to piss in,”) and quickly established himself as a distinguished trial attorney and, soon, a leader of the firm. In the early 1980s, he was elected to the firm’s Executive Committee; later he’d help guide the firm in its transition to a formal Board of Directors made up of elected committee members. In 1987, Mr. Cunningham became the firm’s managing officer and chair of its board of directors, a position he held until 2000. Described as uniquely bright and devoid of pretense, colleagues praised Mr. Cunningham’s reflective mind and committed leadership.
“When I came to this firm, I came from Iowa. I didn’t have a pot to piss in, if that’s an appropriate phrase. This was not only where I worked but it was my family in some respects.”
“He is very down to earth. He doesn’t seek attention or praise or laurels. He thinks before he speaks and is very dedicated to the traditions of this firm.”
John Mooty is named co-managing partner, along with Ken Anderson, the firm’s lead tax attorney. It’s a position Mooty would hold for the next two decades, in both a solo and co-managing capacity. Daniel Shulman, a Harvard Law School graduate who studied English literature at Yale, joins the firm. The following year, he is joined by Michael Cunningham, a graduate of the University of Iowa College of Law who begins practicing in the General Litigation group.
Read MoreJohn Mooty is named co-managing partner, along with Ken Anderson, the firm’s lead tax attorney. It’s a position Mooty would hold for the next two decades, in both a solo and co-managing capacity. Daniel Shulman, a Harvard Law School graduate who studied English literature at Yale, joins the firm. The following year, he is joined by Michael Cunningham, a graduate of the University of Iowa College of Law who begins practicing in the General Litigation group.
Richard A. Moore, Jr., a University of Minnesota Law School graduate, joins the firm. In the Minneapolis downtown area, the IDS Center opens, ending the Foshay Tower’s reign as the tallest building in the city. The opening is just one of many significant construction projects of the period, the biggest boom the city’s downtown area witnessed since the 1880s. The expansion is driven by (and reinforces) an increase in financial and commercial activity. Now nationally prominent, with more non-legal support staff and enhanced technology, the firm grows its business substantially. Much of this robust growth during the period is the result of its increasing expertise in antitrust and liability law.
Read MoreRichard A. Moore, Jr., a University of Minnesota Law School graduate, joins the firm. In the Minneapolis downtown area, the IDS Center opens, ending the Foshay Tower’s reign as the tallest building in the city. The opening is just one of many significant construction projects of the period, the biggest boom the city’s downtown area witnessed since the 1880s. The expansion is driven by (and reinforces) an increase in financial and commercial activity. Now nationally prominent, with more non-legal support staff and enhanced technology, the firm grows its business substantially. Much of this robust growth during the period is the result of its increasing expertise in antitrust and liability law.
Henry W. Haverstock
A life-long resident of Minneapolis, Henry Haverstock was born March 27, 1884 to a Nova Scotian barrel-maker. Like Mr. Kingman, who hired him, Henry rose from “office boy” to senior partner in the firm over a legal career spanning some 60 years. Mr. Haverstock joined the firm as an attorney in 1916 after graduating from the University of Minnesota with an L.L.B. degree, but was soon shipped off to France where he fought in the First World War, serving as second lieutenant in an artillery regiment. He returned after the war and quickly became an integral component to a growing legal practice, resulting in a promotion to partner in 1927. As an attorney he was distinguished by his incredible fairness, integrity, prudent judgment, work ethic and business acumen. He was also known for his gregarious nature, passion for world travel, and a Hemingway-esque love for fishing and game hunting. Pretension was a foreign concept to Mr. Haverstock, who enjoyed escaping the city and the firm to rendezvous with associates of the practice, desiring to test their skill in the woods or on the water, at the horseshoe pit or the card table. (His gentler pursuits included photography and raising roses.) His love of the outdoors and his hobbies earned him a nickname from his colleagues: “the Old Trapper.”
Harold G. “Casey” Cant
Harold Cant, known to his partners and associates as “Casey,” joined “the Kingman Firm” in 1915 along with Arthur Keith, following the untimely deaths of Mr. Keith’s three partners. A Duluth native and the son of William A. Cant, a federal judge appointed by Warren G. Harding, Casey was a graduate of the University of Minnesota (1909) and the University of Michigan Law School (1912). In 1919, shortly after the departure of Mr. Kingman’s longtime partner Mr. Wallace, the firmed was renamed Kingman, Cross & Cant. Mr. Cant quickly became a crucial arm of the firm’s litigated business and, for a time, its primary office manager. Over the years Cant distinguished himself as a dedicated, principled, and invaluable attorney, and by 1954 the firm was renamed named Cant, Taylor, Haverstock, Beardsley & Gray. By the mid 1960s, it was known simply as Cant, Taylor, and the senior partner had “reached the point where he is not burdened with work because he had passed along to others most of the clients whom he has served so long and faithfully. He graces the corner office in our suite and continues to give us the dignity and ‘image’ that the ‘Kingman Firm’ should have.” Yet even after he had ceased practicing full-time, Mr. Cant continued to call upon friends and colleagues at the firm’s annual retreats, a practice that separated him from some of the “more staid and loftier partners” but greatly endeared him to his juniors. Mr. Cant died in 1973. Today partners of this firm still recall his gentlemanly qualities.
“I never witnessed him being angry, cold, aloof, critical or anything akin any of those adjectives. He was the picture of a gentleman.”
Franklin D. Gray
Frank Gray joined the firm in 1929. Born in Minneapolis, he graduated from the University of Minnesota before moving to England, where he spent three years as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, where he received a degree in law. A lover of the arts, Mr. Gray excelled in writing and held a deep fondness for literature and theater, interests that served him well during his legal career. After joining Kingman, Cross, Morley & Cant shortly before the Crash of ’29, Mr. Gray distinguished as an adept trial attorney. He became partner in 1942 and later was elected to the American College of Trial Lawyers. In the 1960s, as lead trial counsel for General Motors, he defended the car manufacturer over a series of trials brought forth by consumer advocate Ralph Nadar, who alleged that the company’s Corvair was “unsafe at any speed.” Mr. Gray ultimately would prevail in court, vindicating his client. Over the course of his professional career, Mr. Gray was many things—professor, bank director, elected official. Those who worked with him said it was his simple and abiding care and respect for people that made him so unique.
“The Old Trapper” Henry Haverstock, whom Mr. Kingman hired as office boy six decades earlier, retires. The firm also says goodbye to the departed Harold G. “Casey” Cant, who for many years had been the firm’s senior partner. At Mr. Cant’s memorial, Mr. Gray invokes Shakespeare to explain Casey’s leadership and tender spirit: “His life was gentle, and the elements; so mixed in him that nature might stand up and say to all the world ‘this was a man.’” The following year, Kristen C. Nelson, a Boston College law school graduate, joins the firm. She is the firm’s first female attorney.
Read More“The Old Trapper” Henry Haverstock, whom Mr. Kingman hired as office boy six decades earlier, retires. The firm also says goodbye to the departed Harold G. “Casey” Cant, who for many years had been the firm’s senior partner. At Mr. Cant’s memorial, Mr. Gray invokes Shakespeare to explain Casey’s leadership and tender spirit: “His life was gentle, and the elements; so mixed in him that nature might stand up and say to all the world ‘this was a man.’” The following year, Kristen C. Nelson, a Boston College law school graduate, joins the firm. She is the firm’s first female attorney.
John Mooty
John Mooty was born on Nov. 17, 1922 in Adrian, Minn., a small town in the state’s southwest corner. Like many of his generation, Mr. Mooty’s childhood was marked by the hardships of the Great Depression; his parents, a banker and a teacher who also managed farmland, struggled to make ends meet for John and his brother Melvin. In 1944, he graduated first in his class from the University of Minnesota Law School, and shortly thereafter he joined the firm that would eventually bear his name: Gray Plant Mooty. By 1954, Mr. Mooty had become a partner at the firm. He quickly made a name for himself as a leader in the Twin Cities legal and business communities, with major transactions involving companies such as National Car Rental, International Dairy Queen, the Minnesota Vikings, Culligan, Schwan’s, the Bureau of Engraving, and Western Oil. He served as chairman of International Dairy Queen for 20 years, overseeing the company’s $575 million sale to Berkshire Hathaway in 1997. Mr. Mooty was also deeply involved with the Minnesota Republican Party, serving as vice chairman and acting chairman, as well as statewide chairman of multiple gubernatorial, senatorial, and presidential campaigns. In 2003, he was inducted into the Minnesota Business Hall of Fame. Mr. Mooty died on April 17, 2015 after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He was 92.
John Mooty becomes chairman of Dairy Queen. Mooty had been part of an investor group that had helped turn around the struggling business, and the firm’s representation of the cold treat franchise spurs the development of what would soon become a robust international franchise practice. Meanwhile, Ken Anderson leaves the firm to establish his own practice, taking with him a young partner, Craig Vollmar. John Brower, a University of Chicago Law School graduate, joins the firm, focusing on business and transactional law.
Read MoreJohn Mooty becomes chairman of Dairy Queen. Mooty had been part of an investor group that had helped turn around the struggling business, and the firm’s representation of the cold treat franchise spurs the development of what would soon become a robust international franchise practice. Meanwhile, Ken Anderson leaves the firm to establish his own practice, taking with him a young partner, Craig Vollmar. John Brower, a University of Chicago Law School graduate, joins the firm, focusing on business and transactional law.
Henry W. Haverstock
A life-long resident of Minneapolis, Henry Haverstock was born March 27, 1884 to a Nova Scotian barrel-maker. Like Mr. Kingman, who hired him, Henry rose from “office boy” to senior partner in the firm over a legal career spanning some 60 years. Mr. Haverstock joined the firm as an attorney in 1916 after graduating from the University of Minnesota with an L.L.B. degree, but was soon shipped off to France where he fought in the First World War, serving as second lieutenant in an artillery regiment. He returned after the war and quickly became an integral component to a growing legal practice, resulting in a promotion to partner in 1927. As an attorney he was distinguished by his incredible fairness, integrity, prudent judgment, work ethic and business acumen. He was also known for his gregarious nature, passion for world travel, and a Hemingway-esque love for fishing and game hunting. Pretension was a foreign concept to Mr. Haverstock, who enjoyed escaping the city and the firm to rendezvous with associates of the practice, desiring to test their skill in the woods or on the water, at the horseshoe pit or the card table. (His gentler pursuits included photography and raising roses.) His love of the outdoors and his hobbies earned him a nickname from his colleagues: “the Old Trapper.”
In September, Henry Haverstock dies. The firm is renamed Gray, Plant, Mooty, Mooty & Bennett. A year and a half later, the firm hires University of Chicago Law School graduate Richard A. Hackett, who begins carving out a practice focused on employee benefit matters.
Read MoreIn September, Henry Haverstock dies. The firm is renamed Gray, Plant, Mooty, Mooty & Bennett. A year and a half later, the firm hires University of Chicago Law School graduate Richard A. Hackett, who begins carving out a practice focused on employee benefit matters.
James Simonson
James Simonson was born in Wisconsin in 1934 and grew up on a farm east of Madison. He joined the firm in 1959 after graduating from Harvard Law School, and by the early 1970s he was named Chair of the firm’s Litigation department. An attorney’s attorney, Mr. Simonson excelled at oral argument, complex trials, and appellate representation of various clients, among them: auto and fire manufacturers, railroads, tobacco companies, food producers, and textile manufacturers. In 1981 he was elected to the American College of Trial Lawyers. Over the course of his six decades of legal practice, he represented clients of all walks of life, big and small, defendants and plaintiffs. Mr. Simonson’s resolute and winning courtroom skills were matched only by his tender and gentlemanly nature, love of people and animals, and commitment to teaching young people, whether through mentorship at the firm or the wrestlers he instructed while coaching more than 30 years as a volunteer in the Kenwood neighborhood and at the Phyllis Wheatley Community Center in North Minneapolis.
Clint Schroeder
Clint Schroeder joined the firm in October 1957, when the firm was known as Cant Taylor Haverstock Beardsley and Gray. Minnesota born and bred, Mr. Schroeder grew up in Fergus Fall before spending seven years at the U, graduating in 1955 with a law degree. He joined the Army following his graduation and served two years as a legal officer at Fort Bliss, Texas, before returning to the Gopher State to join a law firm. At age 26, he was offered and accepted a position by Ken Anderson, the firm’s senior tax attorney. Mr. Schroeder quickly became a specialist in several areas of tax law, particularly charitable giving, and would later become a board member of the American Council on Gift Annuities. In 1981, he became president of the Minnesota State Bar Association. In 2008, he received the inaugural Clinton A. Schroeder Distinguished Service Award from the Minnesota Planned Giving Council. Outside of his practice, Mr. Schroeder displays a passion for charitable work and sports, particularly, Gopher football and Edina athletics. He enjoys vacationing in St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, and Florida. His colleagues praised his nimble mind, unwavering loyalty, great discipline, and indefatigable work ethic. Mr. Schroeder retired at the end of 2015.
“He was always the last one to leave the firm. He always demanded much out of himself and others.”
“He has a greater passion for his practice than anyone here. His friends are his clients and his clients are his friends.”
“He has enormous affection for the law firm. He has always been a huge cheer leader for its work and success.”
Daniel Shulman, who by this time had earned a national reputation in the field of antitrust law representing both plaintiffs and defendants, wins a $170.4 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson, who had allegedly purchased a rival’s pain-relieving product with the concealed intent of suppressing its distribution. (The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals would later disallow antitrust recovery, though a $6 million breach of contract penalty was later paid with interest by Johnson & Johnson.) James Simonson, a top litigator at the firm, is elected to the American College of Trial Lawyers. Clinton Schroeder, the firm’s primary attorney in tax matters, becomes president of the Minnesota State Bar Association. The firm hires Yale Law School graduate Stephen R. Eide.
Read MoreDaniel Shulman, who by this time had earned a national reputation in the field of antitrust law representing both plaintiffs and defendants, wins a $170.4 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson, who had allegedly purchased a rival’s pain-relieving product with the concealed intent of suppressing its distribution. (The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals would later disallow antitrust recovery, though a $6 million breach of contract penalty was later paid with interest by Johnson & Johnson.) James Simonson, a top litigator at the firm, is elected to the American College of Trial Lawyers. Clinton Schroeder, the firm’s primary attorney in tax matters, becomes president of the Minnesota State Bar Association. The firm hires Yale Law School graduate Stephen R. Eide.
Mike Flom, a University of Michigan Law School graduate, joins the firm, focusing his practice on disputes and litigation. The GPM Foundation is established.
Read MoreMike Flom, a University of Michigan Law School graduate, joins the firm, focusing his practice on disputes and litigation. The GPM Foundation is established.
Russell Bennett
Russell Bennett joined the firm in 1954 following his service in the U.S. Navy, beginning a career in corporate and estate planning that lasted 55 years. A tireless and devoted leader with a gregarious disposition, Mr. Bennett was named partner in 1961 and saw his named added to the firm’s title in 1977. He served as chair or member on an untold number of nonprofits and charitable boards, and was a key fundraiser for the University of Minnesota, leading a pair of capital drives that would net more than $2 billion. Mr. Bennett, an avid sailor, crossed the Atlantic Ocean twice – once by himself and once at age 70. Those who knew him say he is most remembered for “buoying others with his generosity and compassion.”
“He loved nothing more than presenting the opportunity to invest in building one of the world’s greatest universities. He believed that [the U] was important for Minnesota’s future, economic vitality and quality of life.”
— Jerry Fisher, former president and CEO of the University of Minnesota Foundation, on Russ Bennett“He felt a moral duty to give back to the community.”
— Robin Schoenwetter on her father, Russ BennettThe firm moves to the Minneapolis City Center. The following year, Russell Bennett chairs the first of what would be two historic capital campaigns for the University of Minnesota, which would bring in more than $2 billion for scholarships, endowments, and facilities. Phil Bohl, a University of Michigan Law School graduate, and Sally Stolen Grossman, a University of Minnesota Law School grad, join the firm. The following year they are joined by Virginia S. Schubert, a University of Wisconsin graduate.
Read MoreThe firm moves to the Minneapolis City Center. The following year, Russell Bennett chairs the first of what would be two historic capital campaigns for the University of Minnesota, which would bring in more than $2 billion for scholarships, endowments, and facilities. Phil Bohl, a University of Michigan Law School graduate, and Sally Stolen Grossman, a University of Minnesota Law School grad, join the firm. The following year they are joined by Virginia S. Schubert, a University of Wisconsin graduate.
Tamara Olsen
Tamara Olsen joined Gray Plant Mooty in 1986 after graduating cum laude from Harvard Law School, where she served as editor of the Harvard Women’s Law Journal. Before enrolling in law school, Ms. Olsen worked as a high school English teacher and debate coach at Fargo North High School, where she brought the same patience and intellectual curiosity that she would take wither into her legal practice. Her accomplishments at GPM were numerous. In 1992, she was instrumental in the launching of GPM’s employment law practice. In 1994, her colleagues elected her to the firm’s board of directors. That same year, she served on GPM’s Gender Task Force, which aided in the development of female attorneys around the firm. In 1999, she launched GPM’s higher education practice group. And in 2007, the firm elected her managing officer—the first woman to serve in the role in GPM’s history. Ms. Olsen died on July 4, 2011, at the age of 51. To those at the firm who knew her, hers was an accomplished life cut too short.
My grandfather found it to be a particularly moving experience because he just never imagined that one of his granddaughters–a girl!–would be sitting up at counsel table and talking to the judge and asking questions.
— Tamara Lynn Hjelle Olsen reflecting on her family watching her first trialTamara Olsen, a recent graduate of Harvard Law School, joins the firm’s Litigation Practice Group. She quickly becomes a force of leadership, helping in the launch of the firm’s Employment Law practice and leading a task force to support female attorneys.
Read MoreTamara Olsen, a recent graduate of Harvard Law School, joins the firm’s Litigation Practice Group. She quickly becomes a force of leadership, helping in the launch of the firm’s Employment Law practice and leading a task force to support female attorneys.
Michael Sullivan, Sr.
Michael P. Sullivan, Sr. was born in Minneapolis in 1934. He received his Bachelor degree in 1956 from Marquette University, which he attended under a Navy scholarship program and upon graduation served for 3 years on sea duty in the Pacific Fleet. Upon completion of his service he enrolled in the University of Minnesota Law School, from which he graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1962. He joined the firm presently known as Gray Plant Mooty the same year, practiced corporate law for the next 25 years, 10 of which he served as managing officer. During his time at the firm he did a stint as a legal writing instructor at the University of Minnesota Law School, held the Opus Distinguished Chair in Family Business at the University of St. Thomas, was the founding Board Chair of Minnesota Continuing Legal Education, and served as a Minnesota special assistant attorney general. For more than 40 years he was a Uniform Law Commissioner for Minnesota and is a past President of the National Uniform Law Commission. In 1987 he left the practice of law and became CEO of International Dairy Queen, Inc. Upon his retirement from IDQ in 2001, he returned to Gray Plant Mooty as Of Counsel. Throughout his career he served on multiple professional, educational, nonprofit and for-profit corporate boards.
Michael Cunningham
Michael Cunningham joined the firm in 1971. A graduate of the University of Iowa College of Law and former law clerk for the Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, Cunningham joined the firm’s General Litigation practice (arriving without “a pot to piss in,”) and quickly established himself as a distinguished trial attorney and, soon, a leader of the firm. In the early 1980s, he was elected to the firm’s Executive Committee; later he’d help guide the firm in its transition to a formal Board of Directors made up of elected committee members. In 1987, Mr. Cunningham became the firm’s managing officer and chair of its board of directors, a position he held until 2000. Described as uniquely bright and devoid of pretense, colleagues praised Mr. Cunningham’s reflective mind and committed leadership.
“I’ve never seriously considered leaving this firm. I like my work. I like the people.”
“Mike is a very effective and efficient litigator who inspires confidence on the part of clients.”
Wade T. Anderson, a University of Minnesota Law School graduate, joins the firm. The starting annual salary of a firm associate is $45,000, roughly five times the annual income just two decades earlier. Michael Sullivan Sr., who had served as the firm’s co-managing partner with John Mooty since 1978, leaves the firm to become president of Dairy Queen. Michael Cunningham replaces Mr. Sullivan as co-managing officer and becomes chair of the board of directors. Two years later, the firm formally adopts a reduced workload policy.
Read MoreWade T. Anderson, a University of Minnesota Law School graduate, joins the firm. The starting annual salary of a firm associate is $45,000, roughly five times the annual income just two decades earlier. Michael Sullivan Sr., who had served as the firm’s co-managing partner with John Mooty since 1978, leaves the firm to become president of Dairy Queen. Michael Cunningham replaces Mr. Sullivan as co-managing officer and becomes chair of the board of directors. Two years later, the firm formally adopts a reduced workload policy.
Franklin D. Gray
Frank Gray joined the firm in 1929. Born in Minneapolis, he graduated from the University of Minnesota before moving to England, where he spent three years as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, where he received a degree in law. A lover of the arts, Mr. Gray excelled in writing and held a deep fondness for literature and theater, interests that served him well during his legal career. After joining Kingman, Cross, Morley & Cant shortly before the Crash of ’29, Mr. Gray distinguished himself as an adept trial attorney. He became partner in 1942 and later was elected to the American College of Trial Lawyers. In the 1960s, as lead trial counsel for General Motors, he defended the car manufacturer over a series of trials brought forth by consumer advocate Ralph Nader, who alleged that the company’s Corvair was “unsafe at any speed.” Mr. Gray ultimately would prevail in court, vindicating his client. Over the course of his professional career, Mr. Gray was many things—professor, bank director, elected official. Those who worked with him said it was his simple and abiding care and respect for people that made him so unique.
Gray Plant Mooty merges with Harstad & Rainbow, adding eight attorneys to its ranks, including managing partner Blaine Harstad, litigator Nick Nierengarten and labor attorney Dean LeDoux. The firm now has some 90 attorneys practicing across nearly a dozen major practices. The success, however, is dampened by the passing of the beloved Franklin Gray, who had spent his entire professional career—a total of 61 years—practicing at the firm that carries his name: Gray, Plant, Mooty, Mooty & Bennett. An annual scholarship is established in Mr. Gray’s honor. Michael Cunningham becomes managing officer of the firm, a position he’d occupy for the next 10 years.
Read MoreGray Plant Mooty merges with Harstad & Rainbow, adding eight attorneys to its ranks, including managing partner Blaine Harstad, litigator Nick Nierengarten and labor attorney Dean LeDoux. The firm now has some 90 attorneys practicing across nearly a dozen major practices. The success, however, is dampened by the passing of the beloved Franklin Gray, who had spent his entire professional career—a total of 61 years—practicing at the firm that carries his name: Gray, Plant, Mooty, Mooty & Bennett. An annual scholarship is established in Mr. Gray’s honor. Michael Cunningham becomes managing officer of the firm, a position he’d occupy for the next 10 years.
Tom Johnson, a former prosecutor with the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, and Gaylen Knack, a former Larkin Hoffman attorney, join the firm. They are joined the following year by Jennifer Reedstrom Bishop, a recent graduate from the University of Minnesota Law School, and J.C. Anderson, a lateral attorney from Larkin Hoffman.
Read MoreTom Johnson, a former prosecutor with the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, and Gaylen Knack, a former Larkin Hoffman attorney, join the firm. They are joined the following year by Jennifer Reedstrom Bishop, a recent graduate from the University of Minnesota Law School, and J.C. Anderson, a lateral attorney from Larkin Hoffman.
Bruce Mooty
After graduating with honors from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1980, Bruce Mooty spent the first 14 years of his career practicing at Briggs and Morgan, developing a sizable practice in corporate transactions and other general business matters. In 1994, Mr. Mooty joined his father, John, and uncle, Melvin, at Gray Plant Mooty. In Mr. Mooty’s 20-plus years at the firm, he has represented a wide range of clients and organizations, including the buyer of the Minnesota Timberwolves, the seller of the Minnesota Vikings, and the Joint Legislative Committee tasked with investigating the 35-W bridge collapse. Between 2001 and 2007, he served as GPM’s managing officer. Mr. Mooty’s colleagues described him as a genuine, fair-minded man and a committed leader, someone able to digest information, hear all sides, and then reach sound, decisive decisions. In addition to his roles within the firm, Mr. Mooty remains actively involved in the community, including with the University of Minnesota Alumni Association, for which he served as national president from 2009 to 2010.
“Bruce has very high EQ or emotional intelligence. He can read people and what motivates them—which facilitates his ability to find creative solutions to issues.”
— David Bahls“He bleeds Gray Plant Mooty. Like his father, he also loves being a business advisor and finding win-win solutions for clients.”
— David Bahls on Bruce MootyGPM establishes a clerkship program for minority first-year law students, the first program of its kind in the Twin Cities. The following year, Bruce Mooty, a shareholder and board member at Briggs & Morgan, joins the firm. A specialist in mergers and acquisitions, Mooty would go on to represent buyers and sellers in several high-profile transactions, including those involving the Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Vikings.
Read MoreGPM establishes a clerkship program for minority first-year law students, the first program of its kind in the Twin Cities. The following year, Bruce Mooty, a shareholder and board member at Briggs & Morgan, joins the firm. A specialist in mergers and acquisitions, Mooty would go on to represent buyers and sellers in several high-profile transactions, including those involving the Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Vikings.
David Lebedoff, a Harvard Law School graduate and former Assistant Attorney General for the State of Minnesota, joins the firm. The following year, Michael Sullivan, Jr., a recent graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School, joins the firm.
Read MoreDavid Lebedoff, a Harvard Law School graduate and former Assistant Attorney General for the State of Minnesota, joins the firm. The following year, Michael Sullivan, Jr., a recent graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School, joins the firm.
The first GPMemorandum is published. The memo, spearheaded by franchise attorney Quentin Wittrock, is received by approximately 100 local franchisors. Designed to demonstrate the firm’s expertise on the latest developments of interest to franchisors, the memo would go on to become a dependable franchise resource reaching more than 2,000 readers. The same year, four lateral attorneys join the firm: John Fitzgerald and Kirk Reilly from Mackall Crounse & Moore; Mark Williamson from Dorsey & Whitney; and Nevin Hardwood of Jacobson Harwood & Erickson. The firm receives the Leadership Award from the Minnesota Women Lawyers for its support of women in the workplace.
Read MoreThe first GPMemorandum is published. The memo, spearheaded by franchise attorney Quentin Wittrock, is received by approximately 100 local franchisors. Designed to demonstrate the firm’s expertise on the latest developments of interest to franchisors, the memo would go on to become a dependable franchise resource reaching more than 2,000 readers. The same year, four lateral attorneys join the firm: John Fitzgerald and Kirk Reilly from Mackall Crounse & Moore; Mark Williamson from Dorsey & Whitney; and Nevin Hardwood of Jacobson Harwood & Erickson. The firm receives the Leadership Award from the Minnesota Women Lawyers for its support of women in the workplace.
Thirty-two female attorneys make up nearly 20 percent of the attorneys at Gray Plant Mooty, the highest ratio of any firm in the Twin Cities. Its low billable hour requirement—1,680 hours annually—and commitment to diversity and professionalism enhance its reputation as a desirable workplace, and the firm is recognized as one America’s Greatest Places to Work with a Law Degree. Heading into the new millennium, six attorneys formerly with Doherty, Rumble & Butler join the firm’s ranks, including Steve Grinnell, Dan Tenenbaum, and Lori Wiese-Parks.
Read MoreThirty-two female attorneys make up nearly 20 percent of the attorneys at Gray Plant Mooty, the highest ratio of any firm in the Twin Cities. Its low billable hour requirement—1,680 hours annually—and commitment to diversity and professionalism enhance its reputation as a desirable workplace, and the firm is recognized as one America’s Greatest Places to Work with a Law Degree. Heading into the new millennium, six attorneys formerly with Doherty, Rumble & Butler join the firm’s ranks, including Steve Grinnell, Dan Tenenbaum, and Lori Wiese-Parks.
Bruce Mooty
After graduating with honors from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1980, Bruce Mooty spent the first 14 years of his career practicing at Briggs and Morgan, developing a sizable practice in corporate transactions and other general business matters. In 1994, Mr. Mooty joined his father, John, and uncle, Melvin, at Gray Plant Mooty. In Mr. Mooty’s 20-plus years at the firm, he has represented a wide range of clients and organizations, including the buyer of the Minnesota Timberwolves, the seller of the Minnesota Vikings, and the Joint Legislative Committee tasked with investigating the 35-W bridge collapse. Between 2001 and 2007, he served as GPM’s managing officer. Mr. Mooty’s colleagues described him as a genuine, fair-minded man and a committed leader, someone able to digest information, hear all sides, and then reach sound, decisive decisions. In addition to his roles within the firm, Mr. Mooty remains actively involved in the community, including with the University of Minnesota Alumni Association, for which he served as national president from 2009 to 2010.
Michael Cunninghan
Michael Cunningham joined the firm in 1971. A graduate of the University of Iowa College of Law and former law clerk for the Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, Cunningham joined the firm’s General Litigation practice (arriving without “a pot to piss in,”) and quickly established himself as a distinguished trial attorney and, soon, a leader of the firm. In the early 1980s, he was elected to the firm’s Executive Committee; later he’d help guide the firm in its transition to a formal Board of Directors made up of elected committee members. In 1987, Mr. Cunningham became the firm’s managing officer and chair of its board of directors, a position he held until 2000. Described as uniquely bright and devoid of pretense, colleagues praised Mr. Cunningham’s reflective mind and committed leadership.
Bruce Mooty becomes managing officer, replacing Michael Cunningham. Mooty would serve as managing officer until 2007, after which he’d continue to serve in various leadership roles, including Chair of the Board of Directors, Co-Managing Officer, and Executive Committee member. Tim Johnson, an attorney from Leonard, Street and Deinard, joins the firm.
Read MoreBruce Mooty becomes managing officer, replacing Michael Cunningham. Mooty would serve as managing officer until 2007, after which he’d continue to serve in various leadership roles, including Chair of the Board of Directors, Co-Managing Officer, and Executive Committee member. Tim Johnson, an attorney from Leonard, Street and Deinard, joins the firm.
Gray Plant Mooty combines with Hall & Byers of St. Cloud, adding 20-plus attorneys to its ranks and nearly 40 staff. Attorneys added include Ed Laubach, Dorraine Larison, Lee Hanson, Lynn Ridgway, Paul Steil, Bob Feigh, Steve Kutscheid, Phil Kunkel, Kevin O’Driscoll, Scott Larison, Bob Walter, Chris Harmoning, Kendra Hagen, Tom Melloy, and Stan Weinberger. The same year, the firm is named “Employer of the Year” by the American Cancer Society.
Read MoreGray Plant Mooty combines with Hall & Byers of St. Cloud, adding 20-plus attorneys to its ranks and nearly 40 staff. Attorneys added include Ed Laubach, Dorraine Larison, Lee Hanson, Lynn Ridgway, Paul Steil, Bob Feigh, Steve Kutscheid, Phil Kunkel, Kevin O’Driscoll, Scott Larison, Bob Walter, Chris Harmoning, Kendra Hagen, Tom Melloy, and Stan Weinberger. The same year, the firm is named “Employer of the Year” by the American Cancer Society.
John Mooty
John Mooty joined the firm in 1945. John Mooty was born on Nov. 17, 1922 in Adrian, Minn., a small town in the state’s southwest corner. Like many of his generation, Mr. Mooty’s childhood was marked by the hardships of the Great Depression; his parents, a banker and a teacher who also managed farmland, struggled to make ends meet for John and his brother Melvin. In 1944, he graduated first in his class from the University of Minnesota Law School, and shortly thereafter he joined the firm that would eventually bear his name: Gray Plant Mooty. By 1954, Mr. Mooty had become a partner at the firm. He quickly made a name for himself as a leader in the Twin Cities legal and business communities, with major transactions involving companies such as National Car Rental, International Dairy Queen, the Minnesota Vikings, Culligan, Schwan’s, the Bureau of Engraving, and Western Oil. He served as chairman of International Dairy Queen for 20 years, overseeing the company’s $575 million sale to Berkshire Hathaway in 1997. Mr. Mooty was also deeply involved with the Minnesota Republican Party, serving as vice chairman and acting chairman, as well as statewide chairman of multiple gubernatorial, senatorial, and presidential campaigns. In 2003, he was inducted into the Minnesota Business Hall of Fame. Mr. Mooty died on April 17, 2015 after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He was 92.
John Mooty becomes the first attorney inducted into the Minnesota Business Hall of Fame.
Read MoreJohn Mooty becomes the first attorney inducted into the Minnesota Business Hall of Fame.
The firm relocates to the IDS Center, where it would occupy the fourth, fifth, and part of the sixth floors. Sheryl Morrison, an attorney formerly of Maslon LLP, joins the firm.
Read MoreThe firm relocates to the IDS Center, where it would occupy the fourth, fifth, and part of the sixth floors. Sheryl Morrison, an attorney formerly of Maslon LLP, joins the firm.
GPM opens a Washington, D.C., office in the Watergate Complex, adding some 20 staff and attorneys to its ranks, including attorneys Bob Zisk, Iris Rosario, Stephen Vaughan, and Eric Yaffe, who becomes the Managing Officer of the D.C. office.
Read MoreGPM opens a Washington, D.C., office in the Watergate Complex, adding some 20 staff and attorneys to its ranks, including attorneys Bob Zisk, Iris Rosario, Stephen Vaughan, and Eric Yaffe, who becomes the Managing Officer of the D.C. office.
Gray Plant Mooty celebrates its 140-year anniversary.
Read MoreGray Plant Mooty celebrates its 140-year anniversary.
Frank Plant
Frank Plant joined the firm in 1936. The son of proud progressives and devout Catholics, Mr. Plant grew up on a quiet but prosperous Minneapolis street. During his teenage years, two events struck—the death of his father and the Crash of ’29—that changed his life profoundly. By the early 1930s his family’s rubber business had been liquidated, compelling young Frank to temporarily drop out of Princeton to take a job at a local bus company. He resumed his studies, however, and after graduating from Princeton he returned home to pursue a degree in law at the University of Minnesota, where he became president of the college’s Law Review. Upon graduation, he set his sights on the Kingman firm, which offered him a job. He would leave the firm to fight in World War II, and was among the first wave of Marines to land on Tarawa, Saipan, and Tinian in the Pacific Theater, where he assisted in the development of tactical air support strategies for ground troops. He returned to the firm following the war’s end and gained a reputation for problem-solving, leadership, and unwavering dedication to his clients. He became managing partner in 1968, during which time he contributed tremendously to the development and performance of several practice areas by increasing specialization. A devoted champion of the disadvantaged, for many years Mr. Plant was the firm’s leader in creating opportunities for women, minorities, and the economically underprivileged, trailblazing efforts to improve their condition through pro bono work, social activities, and his personal generosity. The Frank W. Plant Equal Justice Award is named in his honor.
Tamara Olsen
Tamara Olsen joined Gray Plant Mooty in 1986 after graduating cum laude from Harvard Law School, where she served as editor of the Harvard Women’s Law Journal. Before enrolling in law school, Ms. Olsen worked as a high school English teacher and debate coach at Fargo North High School, where she brought the same patience and intellectual curiosity that she would take wither into her legal practice. Her accomplishments at GPM were numerous. In 1992, she was instrumental in the launching of GPM’s employment law practice. In 1994, her colleagues elected her to the firm’s board of directors. That same year, she served on GPM’s Gender Task Force, which aided in the development of female attorneys around the firm. In 1999, she launched GPM’s higher education practice group. And in 2007, the firm elected her managing officer—the first woman to serve in the role in GPM’s history. Ms. Olsen died on July 4, 2011, at the age of 51. To those at the firm who knew her, hers was an accomplished life cut too short.
Frank Plant dies on the first day of the New Year. Later, during rush hour on a warm summer evening, the 35-W bridge collapses, killing 13 people and leaving 145 others injured. The firm would counsel the Joint Legislative Committee in its investigation of the tragedy. Meanwhile, the firm adds eight new attorneys from Rider Bennett, a Minneapolis-based firm that closed its doors in May after 47 years. Among the attorneys are Ann Burns, Gene Hennig, Barry Clegg, Jim Lamm, Anne Paape, and Ed Arundel and Larry Henneman–both of whom left the firm in the 1970s–as well as law clerk Jessica Johnson. The same year, Tamara Olson becomes managing officer of the firm. She is the first woman to hold the position.
Read MoreFrank Plant dies on the first day of the New Year. Later, during rush hour on a warm summer evening, the 35-W bridge collapses, killing 13 people and leaving 145 others injured. The firm would counsel the Joint Legislative Committee in its investigation of the tragedy. Meanwhile, the firm adds eight new attorneys from Rider Bennett, a Minneapolis-based firm that closed its doors in May after 47 years. Among the attorneys are Ann Burns, Gene Hennig, Barry Clegg, Jim Lamm, Anne Paape, and Ed Arundel and Larry Henneman–both of whom left the firm in the 1970s–as well as law clerk Jessica Johnson. The same year, Tamara Olson becomes managing officer of the firm. She is the first woman to hold the position.
The Hennepin County Bar Association’s Diversity Committee recognizes Gray Plant Mooty with the Diversity Award for a Legal Employer. The firm is also honored with its third consecutive Minnesota Work-Life Champions™ Award.
Read MoreThe Hennepin County Bar Association’s Diversity Committee recognizes Gray Plant Mooty with the Diversity Award for a Legal Employer. The firm is also honored with its third consecutive Minnesota Work-Life Champions™ Award.
Attorneys Kermit Nash, formerly of Fredrikson and Rider Bennett, and Matt Shea, formerly of Maslon LLP and Rider Bennett, join the firm.
Read MoreAttorneys Kermit Nash, formerly of Fredrikson and Rider Bennett, and Matt Shea, formerly of Maslon LLP and Rider Bennett, join the firm.
Russell M. Bennett
Russell Bennett joined the firm in 1954 following his service in the U.S. Navy, beginning a career in corporate and estate planning that lasted 55 years. A tireless and devoted leader with a gregarious disposition, Mr. Bennett was named partner in 1961 and saw his named added to the firm’s title in 1977. He served as chair or member on an untold number of nonprofits and charitable boards, and was a key fundraiser for the University of Minnesota. Mr. Bennett, an avid sailor, crossed the Atlantic Ocean twice – once by himself and once at age 70. Those who knew him say he is most remembered for “buoying others with his generosity and compassion.”
“[Russ] loved nothing more than presenting the opportunity to invest in building one of the world’s greatest universities. He believed that [the U] was important for Minnesota’s future, economic vitality and quality of life.”
— Jerry Fisher, former president and CEO of the University of Minnesota Foundation, on Russ Bennett“Russell was a giant in every sense of the word. He was tall in stature and had a personality and presence that overtook any room he was in. He had an enormous and unqualified love for his family and friends. He had a huge heart filled with compassion for all.”
Gray Plant Mooty is named one of Minnesota’s “Best Places to Work” by The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal–the only law firm in Minnesota to receive the award for an unprecedented eight consecutive years. The firm bids farewell to Russell Bennett, who dies at age 80.
Read MoreGray Plant Mooty is named one of Minnesota’s “Best Places to Work” by The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal–the only law firm in Minnesota to receive the award for an unprecedented eight consecutive years. The firm bids farewell to Russell Bennett, who dies at age 80.
Tamara Olsen
Tamara Olsen joined Gray Plant Mooty in 1986 after graduating cum laude from Harvard Law School, where she served as editor of the Harvard Women’s Law Journal. Before enrolling in law school, Ms. Olsen worked as a high school English teacher and debate coach at Fargo North High School, where she brought the same patience and intellectual curiosity that she would take wither into her legal practice. Her accomplishments at GPM were numerous. In 1992, she was instrumental in the launching of GPM’s employment law practice. In 1994, her colleagues elected her to the firm’s board of directors. That same year, she served on GPM’s Gender Task Force, which aided in the development of female attorneys around the firm. In 1999, she launched GPM’s higher education practice group. And in 2007, the firm elected her managing officer—the first woman to serve in the role in GPM’s history. Ms. Olsen died on July 4, 2011, at the age of 51. To those at the firm who knew her, hers was an accomplished life cut too short.
The firm loses its beloved leader, Tamara Olsen, who had been diagnosed with cancer the previous year. David Bahls, one of the firm’s top tax attorneys and a University of Michigan Law School graduate who had assumed Ms. Olsen’s duties following her diagnosis, is elected her replacement. Susan Gaertner, a former County Attorney for Ramsey County and 2010 DFL gubernatorial candidate, joins the firm.
Read MoreThe firm loses its beloved leader, Tamara Olsen, who had been diagnosed with cancer the previous year. David Bahls, one of the firm’s top tax attorneys and a University of Michigan Law School graduate who had assumed Ms. Olsen’s duties following her diagnosis, is elected her replacement. Susan Gaertner, a former County Attorney for Ramsey County and 2010 DFL gubernatorial candidate, joins the firm.
Melvin Mooty
Mr. Mooty came to the firm in 1951. He was born in Adrian, Minnesota, and grew up in nearby Worthington. The son of a banker who also managed farmland, Mooty joined the Army shortly before the end of World War II, serving in Germany. Following the war, he attended the University of Minnesota Law School. After joining the firm, Mooty quickly established himself as one of the firm’s go-to attorneys on real estate matters, including the deal that created the Southdale Mall, America’s first enclosed shopping mall. In 1956, he was made partner. Colleagues said Mr. Mooty’s prudent, soft-spoken nature made it easy to forget he was almost always the smartest person in a room, capable analyzing and dissecting technical aspects of even the most complex legal matters. Away from the firm, Mr. Mooty was a devoted family man who championed causes for the underprivileged and those with learning disabilities. Mr. Mooty died in 2012.
Gray Plant Mooty is named a “Go-To Law Firm” for its expertise in intellectual property and litigation. The firm bids farewell to Melvin Mooty, who dies from complications related to Parkinson’s disease.
Read MoreGray Plant Mooty is named a “Go-To Law Firm” for its expertise in intellectual property and litigation. The firm bids farewell to Melvin Mooty, who dies from complications related to Parkinson’s disease.
John Mooty
John Mooty joined the firm in 1945. John Mooty was born on Nov. 17, 1922 in Adrian, Minn., a small town in the state’s southwest corner. Like many of his generation, Mr. Mooty’s childhood was marked by the hardships of the Great Depression; his parents, a banker and a teacher who also managed farmland, struggled to make ends meet for John and his brother Melvin. In 1944, he graduated first in his class from the University of Minnesota Law School, and shortly thereafter he joined the firm that would eventually bear his name: Gray Plant Mooty. By 1954, Mr. Mooty had become a partner at the firm. He quickly made a name for himself as a leader in the Twin Cities legal and business communities, with major transactions involving companies such as National Car Rental, International Dairy Queen, the Minnesota Vikings, Culligan, Schwan’s, the Bureau of Engraving, and Western Oil. He served as chairman of International Dairy Queen for 20 years, overseeing the company’s $575 million sale to Berkshire Hathaway in 1997. Mr. Mooty was also deeply involved with the Minnesota Republican Party, serving as vice chairman and acting chairman, as well as statewide chairman of multiple gubernatorial, senatorial, and presidential campaigns. In 2003, he was inducted into the Minnesota Business Hall of Fame. Mr. Mooty died on April 17, 2015 after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He was 92.
Gene Hennig
Gene Hennig, a Navy-trained pilot who received his J.D. from Valparaiso, joined the firm in 2007. Mr. Hennig came to Gray Plant Mooty from Rider Bennett Egan and Arundel, LLP. He represented business clients throughout the United States, engaging in a wide spectrum of business endeavors. His practice focused on mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance. Admired for his legal expertise and business acumen, Mr. Hennig’s career left a lasting impact on the local and international community. A passionate educator, Mr. Hennig taught law to more than 2,000 aspiring lawyers at the William Mitchell College of Law and the University of St. Thomas School of Law. He co-founded the Bethania Kids Foundation, a Christian mission that supports the needs of more than 1,000 destitute children in South India, and the Chicago Lake Legal Aid Clinic, which offered free assistance to disadvantaged and underserved locals. In 2014, Mr. Hennig was honored with a Lifetime Service Award from the Minnesota State Bar Association Business Law Section. He died in 2015 at age 67.
“One of the things that fascinated me was how many of his students … hired him to be their lawyer when they got out and were in business.”
Clint Schroeder
Clint Schroeder joined the firm in October 1957, when the firm was known as Cant Taylor Haverstock Beardsley and Gray. Minnesota born and bred, Mr. Schroeder grew up in Fergus Fall before spending seven years at the U, graduating in 1955 with a law degree. He joined the Army following his graduation and served two years as a legal officer at Fort Bliss, Texas, before returning to the Gopher State to join a law firm. At age 26, he was offered and accepted a position by Ken Anderson, the firm’s senior tax attorney. Mr. Schroeder quickly became a specialist in several areas of tax law, particularly charitable giving, and would later become a board member of the American Council on Gift Annuities. In 1981, he became president of the Minnesota State Bar Association. In 2008, he received the inaugural Clinton A. Schroeder Distinguished Service Award from the Minnesota Planned Giving Council. Outside of his practice, Mr. Schroeder displays a passion for charitable work and sports, particularly, Gopher football and Edina athletics. He enjoys vacationing in St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, and Florida. His colleagues praised his nimble mind, unwavering loyalty, great discipline, and indefatigable work ethic. Mr. Schroeder retired at the end of 2015.
“I accepted the offer from Gray Plant without even asking what the monthly salary would be. And I’ve never regretted that decision.”
John Mooty, the firm patriarch who served and guided the firm for six decades, dies at the age of 92. Gene Hennig, a gifted lawyer who came to the firm in 2007, also dies. Charlie Maier and Sarah Duniway are named managing officers. The firm also announces its merger with Sandin Law of Fargo, North Dakota, adding additional resources and talent to its North Dakota office, established the previous year. Clint Schroeder retires after 58 years of service. He is joined by C. Steven Wilson and Stephen F. Grinnell.
Read MoreJohn Mooty, the firm patriarch who served and guided the firm for six decades, dies at the age of 92. Gene Hennig, a gifted lawyer who came to the firm in 2007, also dies. Charlie Maier and Sarah Duniway are named managing officers. The firm also announces its merger with Sandin Law of Fargo, North Dakota, adding additional resources and talent to its North Dakota office, established the previous year. Clint Schroeder retires after 58 years of service. He is joined by C. Steven Wilson and Stephen F. Grinnell.
