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At Husch Blackwell, we offer a unique culture for attorneys and professionals. With a commitment across our firm to empower and energize others, we are dedicated to offering an environment where attorneys can grow and thrive in their legal practices, and where associates can dive in and start building their careers.
our History
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The history of our firm is a history of uncommon partnerships, founded on an uncommonly deep respect for individuals. The firm we know today as Husch Blackwell is the result of a 2008 merger between two prominent firms: Husch & Eppenberger and Blackwell Sanders. The latter traced its roots to 1916, when retired judge Henry Long McCune formed a partnership with two young attorneys in their early 30s, founding McCune, Caldwell & Downing in Kansas City, Missouri. Judge McCune had practiced law in Kansas City since his 1890 graduation from Columbia Law School. Uncommonly for a Columbia alumnus, he had returned to the Midwest to build his career, rather than joining a New York law firm. Husch & Eppenberger’s original legacy firm, Salkey & Jones, was founded in St. Louis in 1922 by J. Sydney Salkey and Wilbur Jones. Salkey and Jones were friends who formed an unusual partnership. Salkey was Jewish, involved in local Jewish clubs, and active in Democratic politics, while Jones was a Protestant and a deeply conservative Republican whose mother was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Salkey and Jones set a tone that would endure at Husch Blackwell: anyone who was committed to serving the legal profession and the community was welcome at the firm.
1890 - 1919
1920 - 1939
1940 - 1959
1960 - 1979
1980 - 1999
2000 - 2019
2020 - Present
Uncommon Partnerships
The history of our firm is a history of uncommon partnerships and an uncommonly deep respect for individuals. The firm we know today as Husch Blackwell is the result of a 2008 merger between two prominent firms, Husch & Eppenberger and Blackwell Sanders. The latter traces its roots to the 1916 founding of McCune, Caldwell & Downing in Kansas City, Missouri, when retired judge Henry Long McCune formed a partnership with two young attorneys in their early 30s. Husch & Eppenberger’s first legacy firm, Salkey & Jones, was founded in St. Louis in 1922 by J. Sydney Salkey and Wilbur Jones. Salkey and Jones set an enduring tone for Husch Blackwell: anyone who was committed to serving the legal profession and the community was welcome at the firm.
1937 - 1946
Overview
Bold Firsts
The history of our firm is also a history of bold firsts. In 1956, Salkey & Jones hired Shulamith Simon, the first woman attorney to work at a St. Louis law firm. In 1973, Blackwell Sanders hired Shirley Keeler, the first woman associate at any major Kansas City firm. Both women would go on to become highly successful partners. Decades later, in 2007, Carrie Hermeling would be appointed chief executive officer of Husch & Eppenberger, becoming the first woman CEO at a large Missouri firm. And in 2012, Maurice Watson would become the first openly gay Black man to lead a national law firm as chair of Husch Blackwell. In the 1980s, Husch & Eppenberger became the first major firm to hire non-attorney executives, shifting the responsibility for running the firm to businesspeople so that attorneys could focus on their law practices—an uncommon model still responsible for much of Husch Blackwell’s success. In 2020, we continued our pattern of breaking new ground by opening The Link, the first virtual office at an Am Law 100 or 200 firm. Planned prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Link is a forward-thinking platform that allows attorneys and business professionals to work from anywhere: their homes, any firm office, or a client work site.
The history of our firm is also a history of growth driven by thoughtful business strategy. Throughout our history, Husch Blackwell and our legacy firms have focused on growing our footprint through new office locations that meet client demand. With a leadership team filled with experienced non-attorney executives, we have the business background to develop strategic growth plans that serve both our clients and the firm. In 2012, thanks to the vision of then-CEO Greg Smith, the firm moved to an industry-focused structure, an uncommon model that allows attorneys to better identify with clients and provide deeper insights. Today, Husch Blackwell can celebrate one of the highest organic growth rates at any Am Law 100 firm. In fact, in 2023 we were one of only five firms of our size to increase revenue net income, profits per partner, and headcount every year since 2018. We’re looking forward to another century of providing an uncommon level of service, leading to such uncommon results for our clients.
uncommon Growth
With a history of exceptional partnerships, bold firsts, and strategic growth, we've been uncommon from the very start.
1890-1920S
1890
1916
Henry Long McCune, the founder of Blackwell Sanders’ original legacy firm, begins practicing law in Kansas City after graduating from Columbia Law School. (Uncommonly for Columbia graduates, he does not stay in New York or elsewhere on the East Coast but chooses to build his career in the Midwest.)
Along with young colleagues Robert Caldwell and Blatchford Downing, Henry McCune—by this point a retired judge—forms McCune, Caldwell & Downing in Kansas City.
1890 - 1929
1950
1960 - 1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
2020
Bob Caldwell's formidable reputation played a major role in the firm's early success.
Henry L. McCune began his Kansas City law practice in 1890. He was later recognized in Kansas City and its One Hundred Foremost Men.
Blackford Downing was a meticulous lawyer who joined the firm in 1916 and returned to practice after a leave of absence to serve as a Red Cross ambulance driver in Europe during WWI. (Photo courtesy of Jean Deacy)
1890 - 1916
1922 - 1939
1946 - 1957
1960 - 1973
1981 - 1997
2001 - 2018
2020 - 2023
Firm History Timeline
1937
Peter Husch joins Salkey & Jones. A gifted businessman, Peter later established the practice of billing clients monthly, long before any other attorney in St. Louis did so.
1939
Chuck Blackwell joins McCune, Caldwell & Downing. Chuck would go on to serve in World War II and return to the firm as a decorated Army veteran, eventually serving as the head of the firm in the 1960s.
Menefee D. (Chuck) Blackwell became the ninth and final name on the firm's 1939 letterhead.
By 1932 the firm had relocated to 2000 Fidelity Bank Building in the 900 block of Walnut. (Missouri Valley Special Collections, Kansas City Public Library, Kansas City, Mo.)
1930 - 1940
1929
Fred Eppenberger, who would later become president of the Missouri Bar, joins Salkey & Jones as the firm’s first associate.
1922
J. Sydney Salkey and Wilbur Jones found Salkey & Jones, Husch & Eppenberger’s original legacy firm, in St. Louis. Salkey was active in Democratic politics and president of Westwood Country Club, a Jewish club formed by those not permitted to join non-Jewish country clubs. Jones was a Protestant and a very conservative Republican whose mother was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. In spite of their differences, both men were committed to their community and to being outstanding lawyers. Their partnership set a tone that would endure at Husch Blackwell: anyone who was committed to serving the legal profession and the community was welcome at the firm.
The Scarritt Building at 9th and Grand became the firm's home in 1919. (Missouri Valley Special Collections, Kansas City Public Library, Kansas City, Mo.)
1955
Caldwell, Downing, Noble & Garrity assists the Kansas City School District in structuring its desegregation program after Brown vs. Board of Education.
1956
A land use litigator who had graduated at the top of her class at Columbia, Shulamith Simon joins Salkey & Jones as the first woman attorney at a St. Louis law firm.
Photo courtesy of The American Bar Association
William H. Sanders came to the firm's offices for advice on where to practice law - and never left.
Caldwell, Downing, Noble & Garrity moved to 1000 Federal Reserve Bank Building in 1948, after the Fidelity Bank Building was sold to the U.S. government.
1946
William Sanders joins McCune, Caldwell & Downing (then known as Caldwell, Downing, Noble & Garrity following McCune’s death).
1950s
A team of Salkey & Jones litigators successfully defends the City of St. Louis’s historic ordinance prohibiting the use of soft coal, dramatically improving local air quality and drawing acclaim for the firm. Ed Matheny, the 10th attorney hired at Caldwell, Downing, Noble & Garrity, begins representing St. Luke’s Hospital, originating the firm’s thriving healthcare practice.
1957
Salkey & Jones becomes known as Husch, Eppenberger, Donahue, Elson and Jones.
1973
Shirley Keeler becomes the first woman associate at Blackwell Sanders—or at any major Kansas City firm. Shirley would go on to practice in education law and make partner.
Shirley Ward Keller, shown here with Tim Aylward (standing) and Steve Adams, made history by becoming the firm's first woman associate and, later, its first woman partner.
1963
Shulamith Simon becomes a partner at Husch & Eppenberger.
Former Executive Committee of (l to r) Bill Sanders, Dan Weary, and Ed Matheny, and senior partner Menefee (Chuck) Blackwell flank longtime secretary/ office manager Shirley Nelson. A firm stalwart for nearly 50 years, upon her reitrement Shirley Nelson was handed the keys to a new automobile.
1960
Caldwell, Downing, Noble & Garrity becomes known as Caldwell, Blackwell, Oliver & Sanders.
1987
Husch & Eppenberger becomes the first major law firm to hire a non-attorney executive director and additional business professionals, shifting the responsibility for running the firm to non-attorneys so that attorneys can focus on their law practices.
Jefferson City, MO
In the Crown Center offices in 1981, secretaries worked at typewriters. now replaced by computers.
1981
1982
Husch & Eppenberger opens a Kansas City office, the first St. Louis firm to do so.
1983
Sylvester “Sly” James joins Blackwell Sanders. Sly will go on to become the first Black partner at the firm, and later the mayor of Kansas City.
(l to r) Ed Matheny, Bill Sanders and Dan Weary were the executive committee during the mid-1980s.
1990: Husch & Eppenberger opens a Jefferson City office in Missouri’s capital city, combining with the law offices of Harvey Tettlebaum and Alex Bartlett—the state’s preeminent Republican and Democrat attorneys, respectively.
Omaha office
Blackwell Sanders launches a strategic plan to expand into multiple states, as well as to grow significantly in St. Louis. (At this point, large law firms had only recently begun opening offices in cities beyond their primary office and home city.)
1994
Springfield office
1995
Blackwell Sanders becomes the second largest law firm in Kansas City. Omaha office 1995: Blackwell Sanders opens an Omaha office due to client needs in the area. Partner Gary Gilson, a Nebraska native, moves from Kansas City to Omaha to open and manage the new office. Gary is determined that Omaha will be a full-service office, just as Kansas City is, rather than a satellite—creating the model for new Husch Blackwell offices today.
Shulamith Simon receives a judicial appointment to represent the public interest in a landmark St. Louis desegregation case.
In its first major merger, Blackwell Sanders merges with St. Louis firm Peper Martin to form Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin. The attorneys of Farrington & Curtis join Husch & Eppenberger, opening a Springfield, Missouri office.
1997
Sylvester “Sly” James
2007
Carrie Hermeling becomes chief executive officer of Husch & Eppenberger, the first woman CEO of one of Missouri’s larger law firms.
The firm becomes formally known as Husch Blackwell and makes the Am Law 100 list for the first time.
Carrie Hermeling
Chattanooga office
2001
Husch & Eppenberger opens a Chattanooga office—the first national firm to do so. In response to client demand for government contracts services, Blackwell Sanders opens a Washington, DC office. The office grows rapidly as clients request regulatory attorneys based in Washington. Today, the Washington office receives more internal visitors from other cities than any other Husch Blackwell location.
2002
Husch & Eppenberger appears on the Am Law 200 list for the first time, with a rank of 195.
Greg Smith
2012
Maurice Watson, the first openly gay Black man to lead a national law firm, becomes firm chair. Greg Smith becomes the firm’s first chief executive officer. He spearheads an uncommon strategic plan to become an industry-focused law firm, allowing attorneys to better identify with clients and provide deeper insights. Greg’s plan transforms Husch Blackwell into the client-focused firm it is today.
Austin, TX
Husch Blackwell merges with Brown McCarroll, one of Texas' oldest law firms, adding offices in Austin, Dallas, and Houston and bringing on board 65 Texas attorneys.
2013
Milwaukee office
2016
Husch Blackwell merges with Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek, bringing on board an additional 100 attorneys and adding offices in Madison and Milwaukee.
Paul Eberle
A businessman and former tech founder and CEO, Paul Eberle becomes chief executive, with a C-suite focused on the client experience, talent, growth, state-of-the-art technology, and operational excellence. Uncommon for a firm of its size, Husch Blackwell continues to be run by businesspeople who are accountable for results, letting attorneys practice at the highest level unencumbered by day-to-day business concerns.
2018
2008
Husch & Eppenberger and Blackwell Sanders merge, forming Husch Blackwell Sanders. Husch Blackwell Sanders acquires the Chicago intellectual property boutique Welsh & Katz, opening a Chicago office as a result. In response to demand for local legal services, Husch Blackwell Sanders opens a Denver office. Kansas City partner Winn Halverhout moves to the location, and several attorneys from Holme Roberts & Owen also join the firm and the new office.
Phoenix, AZ
2009
The firm opens a Phoenix office due to client demand for private wealth services in the area.
DC office
Madison office
Denver, CO
Chicago office
2023
The firm climbs 10 places in the Am Law 100 list to a No. 81, due in part to one of the highest organic growth rates for any Am Law 100 firm.
Minneapolis office
In an industry first that was planned prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Husch Blackwell opens an all-virtual office, The Link, which allows attorneys and business professionals to work from anywhere: their homes, any firm office, or a client work site.
2021
Los Angeles and Oakland offices open with the arrival of a 21-attorney litigation team from international law firm Dentons.
Due to client demand, the firm opens a Minneapolis office.
Husch Blackwell expands into New England by adding offices in Boston and Providence and bringing on board 11 attorneys, primarily focused on the healthcare industry, from Summit Health Law Partners.
Catherine Hanaway, a former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri and previously the first woman Speaker of Missouri’s House of Representatives, becomes the firm’s first woman chair.
Jamie Lawless, Chief Executive
Catherine Hanaway
2024
Jen Locklear joins Husch Blackwell as the firm’s first Chief People Officer, uniting all people-related functions, from human resources to employee relations to learning and training to onboarding to performance and rewards, under one leader.
Joe Glynias, Chair
Joe Glynias, a former member of the executive board and a partner who practices in employment law, becomes the firm's executive board chair,
Jamie Lawless, who has served in leadership roles at one of the world's largest law firms and as a corporate executive at a Fortune 500 company, becomes the firm's chief executive. After Paul Eberle, Jamie is Husch Blackwell's second chief executive with a business background.
Jen Locklear, Chief People Officer
The firm’s Nashville office opens in response to growing opportunities in healthcare, education, and life sciences.
