Six local Husch Blackwell partners leave to start Spencer Fane office

Six Springfield attorneys enticed by the idea of starting their own practice have left one Kansas City-based law firm to help another build its southwest Missouri presence.

On June 16, former Husch Blackwell LLP attorneys Charles Cowherd, Mike Nichols, Gary Powell, Jason Smith, Richard Walters and Shawn Whitney opened the Springfield office of Kansas City-based Spencer Fane Britt & Browne LLP. The firm’s temporary office is located at 3259 E. Ridgeview St.

Springfield office Managing Partner Walters said the group was approached about the opportunity through discussions with former Husch Blackwell co-workers who now work for Spencer Fane and had knowledge about the group’s practice areas.

“The discussions started small but grew quickly,” Walters said. “We have some synergies among our practice areas, and that helped ease the discussions. I think we were looking for some flexibility and autonomy at the local level, but we still needed that depth of a national practice.”

The six attorneys picked up by Spencer Fane all are partners of the new office, and collectively offer more than 100 years of legal experience in the areas of real estate, business, litigation, construction, estate planning and development, and incentive law.

Spencer Fane Chairman Patrick Whalen said the attorneys represent not only the experience the company was looking for, but also the personalities it was seeking to lead the law firm’s eighth regional office.

“We start every possible venture, any market we may want to expand into or any group of lawyers coming in with our first check of due diligence, which is our cultural fit – the personality fit,” Whalen said. “To me, this was a really interesting opportunity that really took hold once we got to know these six incredibly talented lawyers.”

Whalen said Spencer Fane believes the company also has a chance to better serve longstanding clients it has in the area through the local office.

“Having client relationships for decades in Springfield, in Joplin, in Branson, was something we considered,” Whalen said. “So, when this particular opportunity presented itself with these six lawyers … it seemed to make a lot of sense.”

Spencer Fane clients in southwest Missouri include the city of Branson, Reckitt-Benckiser, The Shoppes at Branson Hills, Leggett & Platt Inc. (NYSE: LEG) and Empire District Electric Co. (NYSE: EDE).

Whalen said executives at the 135-year-old law firm also felt the area was prime for development. The moves mark Spencer Fane’s work to open new offices in Springfield and Colorado Springs, Colo., and grow its foothold in its four operating states: Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado. The company currently employs some 140 attorneys, Whalen said.

“Our executive committee took a close look at the region and saw that where things really seem to be booming in the development and construction area is a sweet spot for our firm,” he said.

Powell said the decision to leave was laborious. “I think, generally, this was the first move for most of us. It’s the first move I’ve ever made in a law firm,” said Powell, an attorney with 34 years of local experience. “This is a group that has a lot of stability to it. This is a group that doesn’t jump around.

“This was a big deal. A lot of work went into this, and this is a group that doesn’t make these decisions lightly.”

Whitney said although the decisions were made individually, the six partners saw the move as one that gave them more local control in determining how to grow their practices.

“As a whole, I think we are all pretty entrepreneurial. I think we’ve all done a nice job of developing our practices,” Whitney said, adding working with this group was what excited him. “We all worked together at Husch. Jason is in litigation, but Jason was the lead litigator on some pretty complex deals for many of my clients. And so, we all had strong relationships.

“We really are starting a new business. We have the support of Spencer Fane behind, but you can look around and see this is very much a startup,” Whitney said.

As a group, they said the split was amicable.

“These developments happen in the practice of law. They happen in the development of careers. It went as smoothly as it could given the volume of six of us leaving and the number of clients we have,” Powell said.

Husch Blackwell offered few details about the departure that took its Springfield office down to 17 attorneys from 23, but in an email statement from Managing Partner Virginia Fry, the firm wished the former co-workers well.

“Our firm remains committed to meeting the needs of great clients in the vibrant Springfield market. We are fortunate to have a deep bench of talent in Springfield and throughout our firm. We can, therefore, ensure that our clients continue to receive exceptional service without interruption,” Fry said in the statement.

Through Husch Blackwell Senior Manager of Communications Susan Seilnacht, Fry declined to provide any additional information about whether or how the attorneys would be replaced.

Whalen said the business- and development-minded Spencer Fane is pleased this group of six decided to join its ranks.

“I think adding the depth of expertise that this six represents helps us not only with their existing client base and our existing client base in southwest Missouri, but also clients in other markets. These six lawyers bring a lot of expertise,” Whalen said.

Moving forward, Whitney and Walters said the partners are in preliminary discussions to secure a permanent office, but declined to say where.[[In-content Ad]]