Stinson Morrison Hecker
Stinson Morrison Hecker was a Kansas City, Missouri-based law firm that was one of the 200 largest law firms in the United States based on number of lawyers. On January 1, 2014, the firm completed its merger with Minneapolis, Minn.-based Leonard Street Deinard LLP, creating Stinson Leonard Street LLP, a law firm with offices in 14 cities and more than 520 attorneys.
Stinson Morrison Hecker was headquartered at 1201 Walnut. The firm recently changed the rooftop sign to reflect the transition to Stinson Leonard Street LLP.
Prior to the 2014 merger, the firm had more than 320 attorneys and offices in St. Louis, Jefferson City, Phoenix, Denver, Washington, D.C, Omaha, Overland Park, Wichita, and Decatur, Illinois.
History
Stinson Morrison Hecker was formed by the May 1, 2002 merger between Stinson, Mag & Fizzell and Morrison & Hecker. Leaders from both firms used a coin toss to decide the order of the name of the new firm.
Stinson, Mag & Fizzell
The firm traces its history to the law firm Rozzelle, Vineyard, Thacher and Boys founded by Frank Rozzelle in 1878. Rozzelle was the personal attorney for William Rockhill Nelson and The Kansas City Star. After Nelson's death Rozzelle was instrumental in the creation of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art which was built at Nelson's former mansion. The Rozzelle Court in the art gallery is named for him.
Arthur Mag joined the firm in 1920 and took over shortly after becoming a partner in 1924 when Thacher retired, J.J. Vineyard and Rozzell died within a month and Vineyard was gravely ill. Mag was the personal attorney for Harry S. Truman from 1945 until 1967.
Paul S. Stinson joined the firm in 1924.
Morrison & Hecker
Morrison & Hecker was founded in 1909 by E.R. Morrison. The firm started with one associate, no clients and no business, but Mr. Morrison saw the need for a business law firm in the rapidly growing Midwest. Through perseverance and patience, his firm built a substantial client base. Over the years, Morrison & Hecker expanded to include offices in Johnson County, Kansas; Washington, D.C.; and Phoenix, Arizona. In 1998, Morrison & Hecker merged with Hillix, Brewer, Hoffhaus, Whittaker & Wright.
Notable attorneys
- Steve Leben, Kansas Court of Appeals Judge (formerly with Stinson, Mag)
- Arthur Mag, Harry Truman's personal lawyer (formerly with Stinson, Mag)
- Steve Owens (Missouri), General Counsel, University of Missouri System, who also served as interim chancellor of the University of Missouri-Columbia and interim president of the University of Missouri System (formerly with Stinson, Mag)
- Dan Crabtree, United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Kansas.
- Julie M. Cheslik, associate professor of law, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law (formerly with Stinson, Mag)
- Bob Fizzell, name partner, Stinson, Mag & Fizzell
- Mark Foster, former managing partner, Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP, from 2002 to 2010 (formerly with Stinson, Mag)
- Brian Gardner, former managing partner, Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP; now Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Hallmark Cards (formerly with Morrison & Hecker LLP)
- Mark Hinderks, former managing partner, Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP, from 2010 to 2014; now co-managing partner, Stinson Leonard Street LLP (formerly with Stinson, Mag)
- U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), former partner, Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP
- Allison Murdock, former deputy managing partner, Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP, from 2010 to 2014; now deputy managing partner, Stinson Leonard Street LLP
- Judge Christine Sill-Rogers, Associate Circuit Judge, 16th Circuit Court of Jackson County (formerly with Stinson, Mag)