Legal community sees new firms, facilities

by Karen E. Culp

SBJ Staff

Most attorneys in Springfield knew each other in 1980. Lee Gannaway remembers a close-knit community of lawyers during that time, whose members ran into each other in the courtroom and as they conducted business over the phone and by mail, without the omnipresent fax machines of today.

"There were 266 lawyers, and I knew every one of them. We were friendly and courteous to each other, and there was a great sense of comradery among us. Things began to change, though, and now there are so many lawyers it's hard to know even half of them," Gannaway said.

Ray Whiteaker, who has practiced in Springfield for 45 years, was once a partner in the Woolsey Fisher law firm, which once boasted 25 attorneys, and was one of Springfield's largest firms.

That firm has since broken into smaller firms, as have some other large firms, but many firms, such as Miller & Sanford and the Daniel Clampett firm, are still a significant part of the Springfield legal community. Neale & Newman and the Mann Walter firm were also large firms that are still around, Whiteaker said.

Both Gannaway and Whiteaker, and Miller & Sanford's Frank Evans, worked in downtown Springfield until the end of the 1970s, when many law firms started moving south.

Evans, who has practiced law in Springfield since 1974, had his office in the Woodruff Building, where the U.S. Court of Appeals was located until it moved to the John Q. Hammons office building in the mid-1980s.

By the end of the 1980s, nearly all of the law firms that were downtown had moved south. Other changes were occurring in that time frame, as the Federal Courthouse was completed and occupied in 1987, moving federal court proceedings from the fourth floor of what is now the Busch Building to the new building.

"I have some very fond memories of that courtroom. It was one of the most beautiful courtrooms in the area," Gannaway said. Gannaway now conducts weekly City Council luncheons where the courtroom was.

The Greene County Judicial Courts facility at 1010 N. Boonville was completed in 1996, and county proceedings then moved from the historic courthouse.

"The new facility has made things much more efficient for conducting a trial, especially a jury trial, though the old courthouse certainly has its historical significance," Evans said.

Perhaps the most significant change in the legal field has been in technology. Many attorneys described a love-hate relationship with the fax machine, which now demands that attorneys analyze and respond to documents immediately.

"Before, you could control your pace and schedule a little better. When someone sends you a fax now, it's not a week later that they want a response[[In-content Ad]]