History

Dinsmore & Shohl: A century of commitment

Little did Frank Dinsmore know that, when he met Walter Shohl in 1908, the foundation would be laid for a law firm bound to make an indelible mark on history. The legacy of Messrs. Dinsmore and Shohl would be commitment to service – of their clients, their communities and their profession.

Dinsmore and Shohl joined forces the same year Shohl graduated from Harvard Law School and passed the Ohio bar. By that time, Dinsmore was an experienced barrister, having practiced law since his graduation from Cincinnati Law School in 1891, including six years in public service as counsel for both the city of Cincinnati and Hamilton County. They would remain partners – and driving forces in the firm – until their deaths, Dinsmore in 1962 and Shohl in 1970.

Committed to clients

The partners quickly made their mark on local and legal history, taking a leading role in two of the most sensational trials in Cincinnati history: the criminal trials of George B. “Boss” Cox for violation of state banking laws. In the country’s notorious era of “bossism,” Cox and his political machine controlled 25,000 votes in Cincinnati, one of America’s largest cities. Historians claim that “no one in Cincinnati could hope to hold office without Cox’s approval – even presidents vied for his approval.” So it was quite an event when the state of Ohio charged Cox and 10 other former directors and officials of Cox's defunct bank, the Cincinnati Trust Co., with willful misapplication of bank funds and other charges. In two hotly contested and widely publicized trials during the summer of 1913, Dinsmore and Shohl won acquittals for Cox on all charges.

Ironically, 73 years after the Cox trials, the firm ended up on the other side of Ohio's misapplication of bank funds statute. Dinsmore & Shohl lawyers took the lead in prosecuting the well-publicized criminal trial following the collapse of Home State Savings & Loan. Ohio Attorney General Anthony Celebrezze appointed Dinsmore & Shohl partner Lawrence Kane as Special Prosecutor to convene a grand jury and investigate the Home State collapse. Kane and a team of the firm's lawyers successfully prosecuted the criminal charges in what was, at that time, the longest criminal trial in Hamilton County history, stretching from November 1986 to March 1987. Local financier Marvin Warner, a former Ambassador to Switzerland, was among those found guilty and sent to prison.

Just prior to World War II, the firm handled a top-secret matter for the government: the siting of the Wright Aeronautical Plant on what is now General Electric in Evendale. This facility would employ 20,000 by 1942 and manufacture the aircraft engines responsible for much of the bombing during the war. Dinsmore & Shohl attorneys handled the massive title work involving hundreds of parcels, all in total secrecy.

After the war, as the country rebounded, so did the firm, with expansion in a number of areas, including litigation and liability. Massive wage hour litigation was handled in Milan, Tenn., for the Procter & Gamble Defense Corp., a huge undertaking. The firm managed National Labor Relations Act cases for Procter & Gamble, as well as early product liability cases. Attorneys traveled around the country, racking up a remarkable number of defense verdicts and showing that Procter & Gamble would not readily bow to anyone who would make a claim.

Dinsmore & Shohl also broadened its reach as Procter & Gamble expanded into foreign markets. Attorneys formed companies throughout the world, providing an essential support to the establishment of Procter & Gamble’s vast international business in the 1950's through the 1970's. As legal practices became increasingly specialized during this same period, the firm's experience with Procter & Gamble served as an excellent foundation for its own business and transactional, tax and real estate practice areas. Today dozens of Dinsmore & Shohl attorneys work on hundreds of sophisticated business transactions each year. In 2006, for example, the firm represented long-time client Bob Castellini in his acquisition of the Cincinnati Reds from financier Carl Lindner.

In the 1980s, the firm also made a name for itself in the area of mass tort litigation, starting with the Rely Tampon, Toxic Shock Syndrome cases for Procter & Gamble and the Bendectin birth defect cases for Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals. During this period, the firm also handled a great deal of insurance coverage work for Liberty Mutual Insurance Co.

Massive litigation work continued through the end of the 20th century and into the next. Dinsmore & Shohl attorneys have provided representation in product liability cases involving Dow Corning breast implants, the diet drug Fen-phen, Brown & Williamson tobacco and popcorn flavoring.

The firm continues to serve a large number of companies, from Fortune 500 international conglomerates to small businesses, nonprofit organizations and entrepreneurs. The scope of work continues to expand with client needs, covering nearly every aspect of law as it pertains to business.

Committed to community

A long list of Dinsmore & Shohl alumni have held public office or filled governmental and judicial roles. The founding partners certainly started the tradition, with Dinsmore serving as counsel for the city and county, while Shohl served a term in the Ohio Senate and three years as judge on Ohio’s First District Court of Appeals in Cincinnati. Dinsmore’s eldest son, Joseph, also served as a representative in the Ohio General Assembly.

Charles Sawyer, who joined the firm as a partner in 1921, got an early start on a long and distinguished career in public service. At age 23, he was elected to Cincinnati City Council. He also served as lieutenant governor of Ohio (1933-1935), ambassador to Belgium and minister to Luxembourg (1944-1946), and U.S. Secretary of Commerce in the Truman administration (1948-1953). World War II brought opportunities to serve, literally. During that period, all of the firm’s associates did a tour of military service. After the war’s end, the partners – Dinsmore, Shohl, Sawyer and Dinsmore’s son Joseph – made all of the returning veterans partners in the firm.

Perhaps the firm’s most famous member was Potter Stewart, who came to Dinsmore & Shohl in 1946 as an associate. He quickly gained a reputation as a top civil litigator, though he also handled criminal matters referred to him on a pro bono basis. In 1954, at the age of 39, Stewart was appointed by President Eisenhower to the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati. Four years later, President Eisenhower elevated Stewart to the U.S. Supreme Court. He served as an associate justice for 23 years, shaping landmark rulings on vital legal issues ranging from capital punishment and First Amendment rights to government wiretapping and school desegregation.

In 1973, President Nixon appointed Don Alexander, who had joined the firm as a tax partner in 1966, Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service. In 2001, Karen Caldwell, a partner in the Louisville office, was confirmed as a U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Kentucky.

Scores of Dinsmore & Shohl attorneys have contributed time and talent to the service of local civic, church and community organizations. Again, the founding partners set the pace, both serving the University of Cincinnati for decades. Dinsmore gave 30 years of service as a board member, including the last 12 as chairman, retiring in 1952. Shohl was a board member as well, from 1941 to 1966. Today, every Dinsmore & Shohl attorney makes time, talent and monetary contributions to a wide range of community groups, from libraries and nature centers to schools and homeless shelters.

Committed to the profession

Both Dinsmore and Shohl gave back to their profession. Dinsmore led the way by serving as president of the Cincinnati Bar Association in 1923, followed over the years by Shohl, Joseph Dinsmore, Powell McHenry and Mike Hawkins.

Shohl served as trustee and president of the Cincinnati Legal Aid Society, paving the way for an interest in the charitable aspects of the legal profession. Countless hours have been contributed by Dinsmore & Shohl attorneys to the defense of the indigent. In most recent history, Frank Woodside III helped Ohio State University create the Pro Bono Resource Group (PBRG), which donates more than 1,000 hours per year of legal research to support attorneys working in public service.

Again leading the way, Shohl taught at the YMCA Law School and UC College of Law. Through the years, a number of Dinsmore & Shohl lawyers have taken on the role of teacher, sharing their experiences with countless law students. Many partners have been named masters of the American Inn of Courts, providing invaluable guidance to fellow lawyers through continuing education. The firm also supports the profession by providing its own series of continuing legal education seminars on myriad topics.

Committed to growth

Dinsmore and Shohl’s partnership was forged in a time when, at least in Cincinnati, lawyers maintained general practices, primarily working on their own. Over the past century, the firm has grown with its clients, to become a regional powerhouse with a service area unique to the legal profession, in Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia and western Pennsylvania.

The firm first ventured beyond Cincinnati when it opened an office in the neighboring Clermont County in 1979. In the 1980s, offices were opened in Northern Kentucky, Dayton and Columbus, Ohio. In the late 1990s, Dinsmore & Shohl expanded into Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky. In 2002, offices were established in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Charleston, West Virginia. Two more West Virginia locations – Morgantown and Wheeling – were added in 2007.

Today, with more than 400 attorneys, Dinsmore & Shohl is the largest law firm in its hometown of Cincinnati and one of the largest in the nation, ranking in the Am Law 200. The firm and its attorneys annually earn recognition from peers and other review organizations.

The legacy of Dinsmore and Shohl continues in the commitment each attorney and staff member makes, to their clients, to their communities, and to their profession. The founders may never have dreamed their relationship would go this far, but they certainly would be proud.