1894
Foote & Havens opens in the Ellwanger & Barry Building in the Four Corners neighborhood of downtown Rochester. At eight stories, it is one of the city's first skyscrapers.
1894 - 1919
In 1894, during an eventful year in the boomtown of Rochester N.Y., two prominent lawyers, Nathaniel Foote and James S. Havens, formed a law partnership that evolved into today’s Harter Secrest & Emery LLP. Foote & Havens opened its office downtown in the newly constructed Ellwanger & Barry Building, colorfully described by one historian as “resplendent with blue and yellow tile floors, imitation brick walls, and potted rubber plants and ferns”- a decorating style not exactly shared by the Firm today. The Firm’s founding coincided with the opening of the Seneca Park Zoo, the laying of the cornerstone at the Monroe County Courthouse (now the County Office Building), and the initial manufacturing of Zeiss patented optical goods by John Jacob Bausch and Henry Lomb.
1895
Nathaniel Foote serves as the first elected president of the Rochester Bar Association (now the Monroe County Bar Association).
1898
James Breck Perkins joins Foote & Havens and enters politics while practicing law. He is elected to the New York State Assembly and then to the U.S. Congress where he served for ten years.
1905
The Firm changes the name to Perkins & Havens.
1906
Susan B. Anthony, a pioneer leader of the women's suffrage movement, dies in Rochester at the age of 86.
1907
James S. Havens, and new associate William F. Strang, merge the Firm with Harris & Harris, changing the name to Harris, Havens, Beach & Harris.
1913
The Memorial Art Gallery on the University of Rochester's Prince Street Campus is founded. It was a gift from Emily Sibley Watson as a memorial to her son, architect James Averell.
1917
James S. Havens achieves fame for his political leadership in the State Democratic Party, and for his courtroom victories defending major newspapers in libel actions. In 1917, he accepts an offer by his friend, George Eastman, to serve as the first General Counsel of Eastman Kodak Company.
1918
George Eastman founded the War Chest and raised $4.8 million to aid the war effort. In 1919, the War Chest was renamed the Community Chest and later became what we now know as the United Way of Greater Rochester.
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1919
Previous Quarter
During its second quarter, the Firm endured the national and global challenges presented by Prohibition, the excesses of the Roaring Twenties, the extreme hardship of the Depression, and the horrors and upheaval of World War II. Through it all, the Firm held its course and maintained its culture, led by the quietly forceful, unpretentious, and visionary leader, William F. Strang.
1920
Nathaniel Foote retires from the bench, and at the age of 70 rejoins the firm he started, then known as Mann, Strang, Bodine & Wright.
1926
The Firm helped Eastman Kodak Company obtain U.S. Patent No. 1,606,447 for the photographic shutter, and assisted Bausch & Lomb Optical Company in obtaining U.S. Patent No. 1,612,693 for a magnifying glass.
1928
The Firm changes its name to Mann, Strang, Bodine, Wright & Combs. William F. Strang is elected president of the Rochester Bar Association.
1929
This era enjoys a blossoming of higher education institutions in the Rochester area (most of which the Firm currently represents), including the dedication of the University of Rochester’s River Campus.
1933
Franklin D. Roosevelt becomes the 32nd President of the United States and launches the New Deal to help the country recover from the Great Depression.
1936
C. Vincent (Bud) Wiser becomes a partner in the Firm. His work on the City Planning Commission set his reputation as the dean of real estate lawyers. His lectures on real estate practices are compiled into a booklet that became a standard reference for Monroe County real estate lawyers.
1920
1926
1928
1929
1933
1936
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1942
The end of World War II gave rise to a booming economy. Low interest rates, newly built suburban homes, urban renewal, and corporate growth led to brisk business for the Firm, then known as Strang, Wright, Combs, Wiser & Shaw.
1949
After a highly decorated military career, Richard (Dick) B. Secrest joins the Firm and becomes a partner in a record three years.
1953
Partner Hyman B. Freeman is elected president of the Monroe County Bar Association. The Firm is now known as Strang, Wright, Combs, Wiser & Shaw.
1954
Aided by the arrivals of R. Clinton (Clint) Emery (pictured) in 1954, and Nathan (Nick) J. Robfogel and Thomas A. Solberg in 1959, Harter Secrest & Emery becomes the “go-to” Firm for closely held corporations in the region.
1955
Rosa Parks refuses to relinquish her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus, an important precursor to the civil rights movement.
1961
President John F. Kennedy creates the Peace Corps. By September, over 1,000 volunteers are providing assistance in underdeveloped countries.
1962
Lawrence (Larry) R. Palvino (pictured) and Bud Wiser serve as legal architects for Midtown Plaza, the nation’s first indoor downtown shopping mall, and Midtown Tower, its adjoining 18-story office building.
1964
President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law, preventing employment discrimination due to race, color, sex, religion or national origin.
1967
As part of continuing urban renewal, Xerox Corporation begins construction of a 30-story office tower (Xerox Tower) at Broad Street East and Clinton Avenue South.
1968
The Firm, known as Wiser, Shaw, Freeman, Van Graafeiland, Harter & Secrest, moves from The Powers Building to Midtown Tower.
1969
Upon her death, longtime client Margaret Woodbury Strong left a remarkably flexible will drafted by Don Harter. As a result, Mrs. Strong’s eclectic collections of dolls, doll houses, and toys were transformed into The Strong, National Museum of Play and the National Toy Hall of Fame. (photo provided by The Strong)
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1969
By 1970, the Firm was among Rochester’s largest law firms, having grown to more than 40 lawyers as new, specialized practice groups formed to serve clients in developing areas of the law. In 1975, Ellsworth Van Graafeiland, a recent president of the New York State Bar Association and the leader of the Firm’s litigation practice, was appointed by President Gerald Ford to serve as a judge on the prestigious United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. As a result, a name change was in order, and the Firm became Harter Secrest & Emery.
1974
Gerald Ford becomes the 38th president, declaring "our long national nightmare is over," after Richard Nixon resigned.
1977
Margaret A. Catillaz forms the Firm’s Immigration practice. She and the group would go on to receive national recognition for excellence by Chambers USA. Since 2012, the Immigration group continues to be one of only 12 immigration practice groups in New York State to be ranked by Chambers USA.
1980
Robert N. Latella, a partner in the corporate group, is chosen as the first Managing Partner of Harter Secrest & Emery.
1981
The Firm merges with local firm Brennan, Centner, Palermo & Blauvelt.
1984
HSE partners adopted a new and unique “lockstep” compensation structure. Under that system, which is still in place today, HSE partners are compensated based on their seniority at the Firm, rather than client billings or similar measures. This system differentiates the Firm from our competition and is at the core of the Firm’s culture of collaboration and commitment to always putting client needs first and ensuring that the most appropriately experienced and cost-efficient attorneys are assigned to each matter.
1984
After receiving an offer from the Firm in the early 1970s, Susan M. Brandt pursued her legal career in New York City before joining HSE and later becoming the firm’s first female partner in 1984.
1987
Louise M. Slaughter, D-Fairport, is elected to Congress, defeating incumbent Fred J. Eckert. She served 31 years until her death in 2018.
1988
The Monroe County Bar Association awards the Adolph J. Rodenbeck Award to Nathan (Nick) J. Robfogel.
1992
Edward F. Premo participates in a successful United States Supreme Court appeal, overturning a New York law regulating low-level radioactive waste disposal.
1993
The Firm grows to 100 attorneys for the first time in its history.
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1984
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1987
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1994 - 2019
With offices in Albany, Buffalo, Corning, Rochester, and New York City, Harter Secrest & Emery proudly represents a wide range of clients from start-ups to Fortune 100 companies, municipalities to human services organizations, universities, retail merchants, not-for-profits and more, from sole proprietorships to companies with over 150,000 employees.
1995
The Firm opens an office in Buffalo, New York. Over the next 25 years, the office, led by partners such as John G. Horn (pictured left) and Anthony D. Mancinelli (pictured right) grows to more than 30 attorneys. The firm has taken its place among the most influential Buffalo law firms, representing many of the most significant companies and institutions throughout the Buffalo Niagara region.
1998
Harter Secrest & Emery partner James C. Moore becomes president of the New York State Bar Association.
2001
Harter Secrest & Emery moves its headquarters from Midtown Plaza to Bausch & Lomb Place, now known as Legacy Tower.
2001
Militants associated with the Islamic group al-Qaeda hijack four airplanes and carry out suicide attacks against targets in the United States, killing nearly 3,000 people and injuring 6,000 others.
2004
Maureen T. Alston is elected as the first female Managing Partner. She served in that role for eight years.
2006
For the third year in a row, Harter Secrest & Emery receives the #1 ranking in The American Lawyer Midlevel Associates Survey.
2007
Harter Secrest & Emery partner Thomas G. Smith becomes president of the Monroe County Bar Association.
2008
Barack H. Obama defeats John S. McCain to become the 44th President, making him the first African-American president in the history of the United States of America.
2016
The Buffalo office experiences significant growth with the addition of 11 attorneys, including three partners: Rowland Richards (pictured left) and Michael J. Berchou (pictured right) who joined in August, and Patrick M. Tomovic, who joined three months later.
2017
Harter Secrest & Emery receives the President’s Award from the United Way of Greater Rochester. Picture L-R Melissa Lyons, Maura C. McGuire, Barbara Tydings, Kimberly I. Shimomura, Joseph G. Casion, Rhonda Noto, and Rayza Santiago.
2018
Harter Secrest & Emery’s Securities and Capital Markets team, led by partner James M. Jenkins (pictured third from left) helps Jerash Holdings (US), Inc. become the first Jordanian company to be listed on a major U.S. stock exchange.
2018
Partner and founder of the Firm’s Government and Internal Investigations practice group, Brian M. Feldman, was selected by the New York Law Journal as a recipient of the Rising Stars award.
2019
Harter Secrest & Emery receives 35 U.S. News - Best Lawyers® 2019 "Best Law Firms" top tier practice group rankings–more Western New York rankings than any other law firm. The Firm also earns national rankings in Corporate Law and Land Use & Zoning Law.
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