by RICH CASSIDY on DECEMBER 31, 2010
I can’t close the book on 2010 without congratulating my friend and colleague, Peter Langrock, his law partners, and all the staff at Langrock, Sperry & Wool, LLP, on the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the law firm.
Peter Langrock started his law practice in Middlebury, Vermont in 1960, and his firm has grown to be one of the largest in Vermont, and in my opinion, a law firm that is as good as any firm, anywhere.
That is a substantial claim, but I can back it up. I know the firm well, as for years I have regularly worked with its lawyers and against them. I know a fair bit about the quality of law firms around and outside the country as my own work has exposed me to many, many lawyers and firms. Lots of law firms produce high quality legal work; few do it as consistently well as my colleagues at Langrock, Sperry Wool. And very few law firms demonstrate the commitment to professionalism, public service, and quality of life for firm employees that are hallmarks at Langrock, Sperry Wool.
It’s a law firm that has taken seriously the admonition that lawyers should strive to improve the law. The firm backed the sustained and successful efforts of two of its partners, Beth Robinson and Susan Murray, to bring marriage equality to our state. In doing so, the firm helped ignite a movement that stretches beyond Vermont, and even beyond the United States.
Marriage equality is only one example of the firm’s impact on the law. There are others, including the success of firm lawyers Mitchell Pearl and Peter Langrock in challenging Vermont’s restrictive campaign finance law in Randall v. Sorrell, 548 U.S. 230 (2006). Peter Langrock himself has a national reputation for his personal contributions to the improvement of the law as a longtime leader of the American Bar Association and a Vermont member (and former Vice-President) of the Uniform Laws Commission since his appointment in 1964.
The firm celebrated its 50th year in a fashion that reflects that values that have made it what it is, with its “50 for the 50th” program. During each month of 2010, it made donations to charitable contributions throughout Chittenden and Addison counties, the two Vermont counties in which it has offices.
One of its long time customs is that every day the lawyers present in each of the firm’s offices have lunch together. If you are a lawyer who happens to be in the office, even in a most adversarial role, you are invited to join them. It’s a custom that puts into practice a strongly-held view of the firm’s founder: by breaking bread with an opponent you can build a relationship that can help find an amicable solution to your clients’ disputes.
And there is a lot more for the firm to be proud of, both in terms of accomplishments for clients and public service.
Not bad for a 25 lawyer law firm in the small state of Vermont.
Rich