Butzel Long
Encyclopedia
Founded in 1854, Butzel Long is one of the oldest law firms in Michigan. Based in Detroit, Michigan
, the firm has 170 attorneys throughout the State, in New York City
, and Washington, D.C.
. It has alliance offices in Mexico
and China
. Butzel Long is listed at number 215 in the 2010 NLJ 250.
The firm is a founding member of Lex Mundi
, one of the first and largest networks of leading independent law firms located in 160 separate jurisdictions around the world.
was the specialty of founding senior partner William Austin Moore. He was called to Buffalo
, Cleveland, Milwaukee, and Chicago
to handle some of the most important cases of his time.
Moore played a prominent role in politics and served as president of the Detroit Board of Education
. His political activism attracted Don M. Dickinson to the firm in 1867. Dickinson developed a national reputation as a lawyer and gained prominence in national politics as an adviser to Grover Cleveland
. He managed Cleveland's successful campaign for president in 1884 and went on to serve as United States Postmaster General
. Another member of the firm, Henry Thurber, served as Cleveland's personal secretary at the start of his second term as president in 1893.
The firm's political leanings attracted another top lawyer and Democratic activist, Elliot G. Stevenson, in 1887. He served as chairman of the Democratic State Central Committee in the 1890s. He represented all five Detroit newspapers in libel matters and established a national reputation as a libel lawyer. The Chicago Tribune
called on him when Henry Ford
filed his famous libel suit in 1918. Ford won the suit, but Stevenson won the day when the jury awarded damages of just six cents.
Stevenson tangled with Ford again when he represented brothers John
and Horace Dodge
in their successful suit over withheld dividends. The Dodge brothers went on to create their own automotive empire, while Ford took his company private in order to prevent further meddling in his affairs.
In 1910, Will Durant
turned to Stevenson to untangle the legal complexities involved in consolidating many companies into what became General Motors
. The law firm provided a sound legal, financial and corporate platform for the newly recast venture.
The law firm is named for Leo Butzel, who joined in 1896, and Thomas Long, who joined in 1909. Long worked on the General Motors restructuring and in 1920 tried the only matter of litigation that arose out of the entire reorganization. Butzel's list of clients included Durant, the Dodge Brothers, Chrysler, Ford, Kelsey and the Fishers in the auto industry, and the Scripps and the Booths in the publishing field. The firm also represented several prominent financial institutions, railroads, and other significant businesses during the height of Detroit's industrial growth.
Another prominent Democrat joined the firm in the 1920s. Frank Eaman served as chairman of the state Democratic Central Committee and held several high-profile public posts, including Detroit civil service commissioner and state prison commissioner. When he served as Detroit's police commissioner, Eaman fired the superintendent and abolished the jobs of 10 other ranking officers in an attempt to eliminate corruption in the department. He was one of the founders of the Legal Aid Society in Detroit.
Butzel Long now takes a more neutral stance on party politics, working with both Republican and Democratic officials on behalf of clients.
The firm has maintained its close ties to the automotive industry and represents a number of American, European and Asian manufacturers and suppliers.
Butzel Long attorneys have been involved in major transactions in other industries. The firm helped create the Michigan Bell Telephone Company (now part of AT&T
), and a senior partner went on to become President of the Burrough's Corporation (now part of Unisys
). The firm served as counsel for the acquisition of the Jos. Schlitz Brewing Company by the Stroh Brewing Company in 1982, and later the Heileman Brewing Company.
Office Locations
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, the firm has 170 attorneys throughout the State, in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. It has alliance offices in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. Butzel Long is listed at number 215 in the 2010 NLJ 250.
The firm is a founding member of Lex Mundi
Lex Mundi
Lex Mundi is a professional services network. It is the largest law firm networks. The network was established in 1989. As of 2011 it had 160 member firms which have 21,100 attorneys...
, one of the first and largest networks of leading independent law firms located in 160 separate jurisdictions around the world.
History
Butzel Long traces its roots to 1854 when Detroit's economy was based on the Great Lakes shipping trade. Admiralty lawAdmiralty law
Admiralty law is a distinct body of law which governs maritime questions and offenses. It is a body of both domestic law governing maritime activities, and private international law governing the relationships between private entities which operate vessels on the oceans...
was the specialty of founding senior partner William Austin Moore. He was called to Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, Cleveland, Milwaukee, and Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
to handle some of the most important cases of his time.
Moore played a prominent role in politics and served as president of the Detroit Board of Education
Detroit Public Schools
Detroit Public Schools is a school district that covers all of the city of Detroit, Michigan, United States. The student population of the Detroit Public Schools is about 65,971 , which is down about 9.7% from the previous school year. Detroit Public Charter Schools educate an additional 56,000...
. His political activism attracted Don M. Dickinson to the firm in 1867. Dickinson developed a national reputation as a lawyer and gained prominence in national politics as an adviser to Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
. He managed Cleveland's successful campaign for president in 1884 and went on to serve as United States Postmaster General
United States Postmaster General
The United States Postmaster General is the Chief Executive Officer of the United States Postal Service. The office, in one form or another, is older than both the United States Constitution and the United States Declaration of Independence...
. Another member of the firm, Henry Thurber, served as Cleveland's personal secretary at the start of his second term as president in 1893.
The firm's political leanings attracted another top lawyer and Democratic activist, Elliot G. Stevenson, in 1887. He served as chairman of the Democratic State Central Committee in the 1890s. He represented all five Detroit newspapers in libel matters and established a national reputation as a libel lawyer. The Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
called on him when Henry Ford
Henry Ford
Henry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry...
filed his famous libel suit in 1918. Ford won the suit, but Stevenson won the day when the jury awarded damages of just six cents.
Stevenson tangled with Ford again when he represented brothers John
John Francis Dodge
John Francis Dodge was an American automobile manufacturing pioneer and co-founder of Dodge Brothers Company.-Biography:...
and Horace Dodge
Horace Elgin Dodge
Horace Elgin Dodge, Sr. was an American automobile manufacturing pioneer and co-founder of Dodge Brothers Company.-Early years and business:...
in their successful suit over withheld dividends. The Dodge brothers went on to create their own automotive empire, while Ford took his company private in order to prevent further meddling in his affairs.
In 1910, Will Durant
Will Durant
William James Durant was a prolific American writer, historian, and philosopher. He is best known for The Story of Civilization, 11 volumes written in collaboration with his wife Ariel Durant and published between 1935 and 1975...
turned to Stevenson to untangle the legal complexities involved in consolidating many companies into what became General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
. The law firm provided a sound legal, financial and corporate platform for the newly recast venture.
The law firm is named for Leo Butzel, who joined in 1896, and Thomas Long, who joined in 1909. Long worked on the General Motors restructuring and in 1920 tried the only matter of litigation that arose out of the entire reorganization. Butzel's list of clients included Durant, the Dodge Brothers, Chrysler, Ford, Kelsey and the Fishers in the auto industry, and the Scripps and the Booths in the publishing field. The firm also represented several prominent financial institutions, railroads, and other significant businesses during the height of Detroit's industrial growth.
Another prominent Democrat joined the firm in the 1920s. Frank Eaman served as chairman of the state Democratic Central Committee and held several high-profile public posts, including Detroit civil service commissioner and state prison commissioner. When he served as Detroit's police commissioner, Eaman fired the superintendent and abolished the jobs of 10 other ranking officers in an attempt to eliminate corruption in the department. He was one of the founders of the Legal Aid Society in Detroit.
Butzel Long now takes a more neutral stance on party politics, working with both Republican and Democratic officials on behalf of clients.
The firm has maintained its close ties to the automotive industry and represents a number of American, European and Asian manufacturers and suppliers.
Butzel Long attorneys have been involved in major transactions in other industries. The firm helped create the Michigan Bell Telephone Company (now part of AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
), and a senior partner went on to become President of the Burrough's Corporation (now part of Unisys
Unisys
Unisys Corporation , headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, United States, and incorporated in Delaware, is a long established business whose core products now involves computing and networking.-History:...
). The firm served as counsel for the acquisition of the Jos. Schlitz Brewing Company by the Stroh Brewing Company in 1982, and later the Heileman Brewing Company.
Notable lawyers and alumni
- Donald M. DickinsonDonald M. DickinsonDonald McDonald Dickinson was a lawyer and politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.Dickinson was born in Oswego County, New York, and moved with his family to Michigan when he was two years old...
- Robert J. Battista, former National Labor Relations BoardNational Labor Relations BoardThe National Labor Relations Board is an independent agency of the United States government charged with conducting elections for labor union representation and with investigating and remedying unfair labor practices. Unfair labor practices may involve union-related situations or instances of...
Chairman - Rich StrengerRich StrengerRichard Gene Strenger is a former All-Big Ten American football offensive tackle who played for the University of Michigan Wolverines and Detroit Lions . He is now working as a lawyer in Lake Orion, Michigan....
, former National Football LeagueNational Football LeagueThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
offensive tackle - Barbara L. McQuade, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan
- Leonard Niehoff, Law Professor at University of Michigan Law School
- Kurtis T. Wilder , Judge, Michigan Court of Appeals
- William M. Saxton, National prominence in labor and employment law
Offices
- Detroit, MichiganDetroit, MichiganDetroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
- Bloomfield Hills, MichiganBloomfield Hills, MichiganBloomfield Hills is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan, northwest of downtown Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 3,869...
- Ann Arbor, MichiganAnn Arbor, MichiganAnn Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
- Lansing, MichiganLansing, MichiganLansing is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located mostly in Ingham County, although small portions of the city extend into Eaton County. The 2010 Census places the city's population at 114,297, making it the fifth largest city in Michigan...
- New York, New York
- Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Office Locations