Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP

Origins

In the 1930s, after saving up $300, Joseph Howard Hinshaw,^[4] a World War I veteran and legendary trial lawyer, decided to establish his own law firm. In 1934, Hinshaw and James G. Culbertson, a renowned banking and corporate transactional lawyer who was referred by Clarence Darrow, began a law firm partnership on LaSalle Street in Chicago called "Hinshaw & Culbertson." The unique coupling of Hinshaw's trial expertise and Culbertson's "flair for the numbers" was a potent force.

Early Expansion

In 1963, the firm opened its second office in Wheaton, Illinois (now the Lisle, Illinois office).^[5] The firm continued to open offices throughout Illinois and the surrounding states of Missouri and Wisconsin.^[6]

Hinshaw, Culbertson, Moelmann, Hoban & Fuller

By the mid-1980s, the firm established groups specializing in appeals, corporate law, health care law, insurance coverage, labor and employment law, legal malpractice, medical malpractice, products liability and real estate. During this time, the firm began its expansion beyond the midwest, opening an office in Miami, Florida.

That period of expansion, and the formative years that preceded it, saw several new faces join the firm. The firm's name expanded in kind. From 1980 to 1993, the firm had five name partners and was known as "Hinshaw, Culbertson, Moelmann, Hoban & Fuller."

One of those additional name partners, John M. Moelmann,^[7] was one of the leading litigators in Illinois, specializing in the area of medical malpractice.

George S. Hoban,^[8] the fourth name partner of the firm, followed in the steps of Culbertson as the firm's most prominent corporate attorney. He first began his practice with Hinshaw in 1938 and eventually became a managing partner of the firm. In that role, he shepherded much of Hinshaw's early growth until he retired in 1979.

The fifth name partner, Perry Fuller,^[9] was a protégé of Hinshaw. Fuller became a highly successful litigator who argued cases before the Illinois and United States Supreme Courts, among many other trial and appellate courts. Following in the steps of his mentor, Fuller imparted his own knowledge to countless lawyers in the firm for more than 40 years.

Hoban's efforts toward growing the firm were continued and expanded upon by Dennis M. Horan,^[10] who was responsible for opening the Springfield and Miami offices. Horan died in 1988. He was followed as Chairman of the firm by Donald L. Mrozek.^[11] Under Mrozek's stewardship, the firm greatly expanded its practice areas, and began representing a higher caliber of clients. Likewise, Mrozek oversaw the firm's expansion from a handful of states, to 12 states, from New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island to California and Oregon.^[12]

Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP

In 2004, the firm established itself as a limited liability partnership and the firm's name was reverted to "Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP."

In time, the firm gained stature as one of the largest in the United States (NLJ 250),^[13] ranking in the top 200 list of profitable firms (the AmLaw 200),^[14] in the country. The firm began providing regular counsel to Fortune 500 companies and advising state and local governments. It provided representation in several important and high-profile cases; in doing so, the firm played a critical role in forming the law in several areas.^[15]

In January 2014, the attorneys comprising the Portland, Oregon office of Hinshaw left to join the international firm Holland & Knight, establishing that firm's first professional ethics practice group.^[16]

In October, 2014, Hinshaw announced a merger with Barger & Wolen LLP, a prominent, California-based insurance and regulatory firm.^[17] The merger brought Hinshaw's lawyer count to 500, and lifted its insurance, reinsurance, and government regulatory practices to among the country's most profitable.^[18] The merger also represented the firm's entry into international law practice, adding an office in London. The combined firms retained the name Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP. Building on its insurance and reinsurance services practice group, the firm added an additional team of coverage litigators from Meckler Bulger Tilson following the merger of MBT and Cozen O'Connor in April 2015.^[19]

On June 1, 2015, Donald L. Mrozek stepped down as Chairman of Hinshaw. He is succeeded by Kevin Joseph Burke, litigation partner and former Vice Chairman of the firm. The move marked the first change to Hinshaw's leadership in nearly three decades.^[20] The change in Hinshaw's top post was accompanied by a unilateral shake-up of the nationwide management committee and practice groups leadership, a strategy rarely seen absent a partnership vote in similarly sized law firms.^[21]

Nearly one year into his role as Chairman of Hinshaw, Burke appointed a new managing partner (Robert T. Shannon), four new management committee members (Richard G. De La Mora, Michael M. Marick, Maura K. McKelvey and Schuyler B. Kraus), five new practice group leaders (Sergio E. Acosta, Ronald L. Kammer, Scott M. Seaman, Ellen B. Silverman and J. Richard Supple Jr.), and seven new partners-in-charge (Lora L. Zimmer in Appleton, Wisconsin; Diane E. Webster in Chicago; Spencer Y. Kook in Los Angeles; Karen A. Brimmer and Ronald L. Kammer in Miami; Noah D. Fiedler in Milwaukee; and Matthew M. Hevrin in Rockford, Illinois) in March 2016.^[3]

The firm has stated its intentions of expanding further internationally, with an emphasis on growth in South America and Asia.^[22]