Modern Era
With the arrival of John C. Elam, Arthur I. Vorys, Edgar A. Strause, Charles D. Minor, William W. Ellis, Richard G. Ison, and Russell P. Herrold, our firm embarked upon a period of growth that ultimately led us to our current size of more than 350 attorneys. Mr. Elam was a formidable trial lawyer who was elected a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers; he succeeded Webb Vorys as presiding partner in the 1960s and led the firm into the 1990s. Mr. Vorys was the firm’s leading corporate lawyer and also served as the Superintendent of the Ohio Department of Insurance. Mr. Strause was a gifted and dogged trial lawyer, Mr. Minor was a brilliant labor and employment attorney, Mr. Ellis was the firm’s leading tax lawyer, and Mr. Herrold helped to build the firm’s extensive workers’ compensation practice.
These lawyers all proved to have extraordinary abilities to attract, serve, and retain clients, which allowed our firm to recruit and hire additional lawyers who continued to fuel our growth. During this period, our firm became a leader in hiring women and minorities, and further established a warm and welcoming firm culture that focuses on inclusion, collegiality, and professionalism. Eventually, the firm developed an extensive client list that numbered more than 10,000 active clients, ranging from individuals to charitable institutions to Fortune 500 companies.
During this period of growth, our firm remained firmly rooted to our original location on the third floor of a three-story office building at 52 East Gay Street in Columbus. As the years passed, the firm acquired that entire building, as well as five neighboring buildings. We took over space formerly occupied by a stable, a hardware store, a dance studio, a telephone company, and a school of cosmetology – making for unique office space that is connected by a sprawling network of stairways, steps, and ramps.
Our firm has now grown to new locations outside Columbus. The Washington, D.C. office was founded in the 1970s, the Cleveland and Cincinnati offices were founded in the 1980s, and the Akron office was established in 2004. Our newest office, in Houston, Texas, opened in February 2009.
Although many decades have passed since our firm was created, the four founders – and the many other individuals who have contributed immensely to the growth and development of the firm – remain a strong presence through the traditions they helped to create and foster. Those traditions continue to grow and evolve, through the efforts of new generations of Vorys lawyers. Interested readers may click on the links below to read more about the firm’s enviable record of leadership in the areas of pro bono legal work, community involvement, service to the bar, and diversity.