125.hselaw.comHSE 125th Anniversary – Celebrating 125 Years

1894 - 1919 Our First QuarterNext Quarter 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.HSE Event1894 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.HSE Event1895 Nathaniel Foote serves as the first elected president of the Rochester Bar Association (now the Monroe County Bar Association).HSE Event1898 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.1900 Eastman Kodak Company introduces the Brownie Camera. It cost $1.00 and film cost $0.15. 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.HSE Event1907 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.HSE Event1917 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.HSE Event1918 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.HSE Event1919 As the devastating battles of World War I concluded, the Firm, then known as Havens, Mann, Strang & Whipple, celebrates its 25th anniversary. 18941895189819001905190619071913191719181919Previous Quarter 1919 - 1944 Our Second QuarterNext 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. HSE Event1920 Nathaniel Foote retires from the bench, and at the age of 70 rejoins the firm he started, then known as Mann, Strang, Bodine & Wright.HSE Event1926 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.HSE Event1928 The Firm changes its name to Mann, Strang, Bodine, Wright & Combs. William F. Strang is elected president of the Rochester Bar Association.HSE Event1929 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.HSE Event1933 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.HSE Event1936 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.1939 World War II begins following Germany’s invasion of Poland on September 1.HSE Event1942 The Firm becomes Strang, Bodine, Wright & Combs after James Mann’s death in 1941. Donald R. Harter (pictured) joins as a trusts and estates attorney. 19201926192819291933193619391942Previous Quarter 1944 - 1969 Our Third QuarterNext Quarter 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.1948 The Haloid Company, later known as Xerox, unveils the first xerographic printer.HSE Event1949 After a highly decorated military career, Richard (Dick) B. Secrest joins the Firm and becomes a partner in a record three years.HSE Event1953 Partner Hyman B. Freeman is elected president of the Monroe County Bar Association. The Firm is now known as Strang, Wright, Combs, Wiser & Shaw.HSE Event1954 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.HSE Event1955 Rosa Parks refuses to relinquish her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus, an important precursor to the civil rights movement.HSE Event1961 President John F. Kennedy creates the Peace Corps. By September, over 1,000 volunteers are providing assistance in underdeveloped countries.HSE Event1962 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.HSE Event1964 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.HSE Event1967 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.HSE Event1968 The Firm, known as Wiser, Shaw, Freeman, Van Graafeiland, Harter & Secrest, moves from The Powers Building to Midtown Tower.HSE Event1969 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) 19481949195319541955196119621964196719681969Previous Quarter 1969 - 1994 Our Fourth QuarterNext Quarter 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.HSE Event1975 The Firm becomes Harter Secrest & Emery.1976 Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne launch Apple Computers.HSE Event1977 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...