Grant Haden, a founding member of the Springfield law firm of Haden, Cowherd & Bullock LLC, died Nov. 24. He was 62.
Haden died of leukemia on Thanksgiving Day, according to the firm’s
website.
Catherine Reade, a partner with Haden, Cowherd & Bullock, said Haden moved to Springfield from Ava in 1990 and joined what was then Schroff, Glass & Newberry PC. The firm went through many iterations, including Newberry, Haden, Cowherd, Bullock & Keck LLC, before becoming Haden, Cowherd & Bullock in 2005, according to the Missouri secretary of state’s website.
Reade said the firm’s name will not change and she declined to disclose how Haden’s shares in the company will be handled. Haden served as managing partner of Haden, Cowherd & Bullock until about a year ago when he took a leave of absence after becoming ill, Reade said, noting Randy Cowherd and Rob Bullock now lead the firm.
Reade compared Haden to a real-life Atticus Finch, the fictional attorney in “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
“Grant was the consummate gentleman,” she said. “He would walk into a room and command an audience.
“Jurors loved him, opposing counsel respected him and his friends were fiercely loyal to him.”
Haden was a member of the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association and had served on the boards of Great Southern Bank, CoxHealth and the Ozarks Technical Community College Foundation. He also was president of Ozarks Trails Council of the Boy Scouts of America and an elder at First and Calvary Presbyterian Church.
Haden, Cowherd & Bullock performs civil and commercial litigation, medical malpractice, insurance, workers’ compensation, appeals, dispute resolution and strategic collaboration work. The company’s attorneys have tried over 150 jury trials, handled more than 60 appeals and worked some 200 bench trials, according to the firm’s website.
“Grant was a great man, a great lawyer and a very good friend. He defined the very best of our profession,” SMBA President Rob Palmer said in a newsletter to members. “His word was his bond. He was always courteous, civil and treated everyone fairly and with respect. He was an excellent lawyer. He will be sorely missed.”
Haden is survived by his wife CeCe, sons Jonathan and Ben, daughter Emily, and sisters Mary Ann Haden, Carola Rayburn and H. Haden Yelin, according to his obituary at
GormanScharpf.com.
Visitation will be 4-6 p.m. Nov. 30 at Gorman-Scharpf Funeral Home. Services are scheduled 11 a.m. Dec. 1 at First and Calvary Presbyterian Church.
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