Quarles & Brady to Celebrate 125 Years of Excellence with Community Contributions and Activities

MILWAUKEE, Wis. – In 1892, Henry Ford hadn’t yet completed his first vehicle, and we didn’t have zippers or the official state of Arizona. But, we did have Quarles & Brady LLP, which over the past 125 years, has grown from a small Milwaukee law office to a national firm dedicated to clients across the world. View our timeline here. 

To carry forth the legacy of the firm’s founders, Quarles & Brady offices in Milwaukee and nationwide will spend this week celebrating the past century and a quarter with team, client, and community appreciation days. The firm has made anniversary contributions meaningful to local educational partners in each of the ten cities where it has offices. Community efforts in Milwaukee included donating 300 pieces of sports equipment to Benjamin Franklin Elementary School. Other locations were gifted "Buddy Benches" to promote anti-bullying and kindness efforts, book vouchers to promote reading, and donations for youth programming to advance success in school.

“To reach 125 years of service is a significant milestone," said Kimberly Leach Johnson, firm chair, "and it's been achieved because of the vision, collaboration, and excellent service delivered by every individual who’s been a member of the Quarles & Brady team. While we are proud of our past, we are even more excited about our future, and helping our clients successfully harness their opportunities.

According to Quarles & Brady historians, the firm’s storied history began in June of 1892 when Edgar Liberty Wood graduated from the University of Wisconsin Law School. Wood’s firm eventually merged with that of Bernard Brady and, in 1974, that combined law firm merged with another started by Louis Quarles in 1910.

Today, Quarles & Brady is a multidisciplinary AmLaw 200 legal services provider with 500 attorneys practicing at the top of the profession in Chicago, Indianapolis, Madison, Milwaukee, Naples, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tampa, Tucson, and Washington, D.C. It has risen 11 spots since 2015 in the AmLaw 200 rankings, coming in at #118 in 2017.

Quarles & Brady also received 13 recognitions as a 2017 “Best Law Firm” by Best Lawyers and U.S. News Media Group in the National Tier 1 category, and five additional acknowledgements for exceptional client service in labor law, labor and employment litigation, real estate litigation, real estate law, and trust and estates law.

“A lot of vision, collaboration and excellence has gone into the last 125 years,” Johnson said. “We have a rich heritage and a bright future.”