History

The founding partners, Frank Snell, Jr. and Mark Wilmer, were giants of their time and major contributors to the development and welfare of both Phoenix and the State of Arizona.

In the early 1940's, Frank Snell led the group of principal citizens that secured the resignations of Phoenix elected officials, including the Mayor and Chief of Police, whose practices threatened to undermine the City. The resulting clean-up and total change of Phoenix City government helped the City begin its era of remarkable growth. Frank Snell's civic leadership also included the formation of the American Graduate School of International Management (Thunderbird), recently recognized by U.S. News & World Reports as the nation's number one graduate school of international management.

In the 1950's, Mr. Snell facilitated the merger of the State's then two major utility companies into what became the State's largest public utility. Mr. Snell also secured the agreement of the firm's major industrial clients outside the city limits of Phoenix, to City annexation. Had annexation not occurred at that time, Phoenix would have remained smaller than what is now referred to as "downtown" or the "inner city."

In the early 1960's, Mark Wilmer, one of the State's premier trial attorneys, won what is regarded as the State's most important lawsuit. In Arizona v. California, the United States Supreme Court, for the first time, established Arizona's right to a stated and significant portion of the waters of the Colorado River. Without that victory, Arizona could not have become the thriving and growing State it is today.

Frank Snell and Mark Wilmer left an enduring cultural legacy to the firm. It consisted of three basic concepts:

* render superior legal service to our clients,
* provide public service and leadership to the communities in which we practice, and
* maintain pleasant, open and supportive office environments.

The Growth of the Firm

Growth and prosperity in the 1960's caused the firm to relocate to larger offices. Specific practice areas began to emerge. Firm committees were established to address the challenges associated with growth and development. Hiring and training young attorneys became a priority. As a result, the firm established the first summer clerkship program in Arizona.

In 1972, Frank Snell reduced his administrative role and the first executive committee was established. In 1983 John J. Bouma became Chairman of the firm and the firm members agreed to make an investment in the future by committing to build the infrastructure required to sustain significant further growth. Establishing separate practice areas continued, a larger, quality support staff was assembled, and recruiting, continuing legal education and community service were further emphasized. Our ongoing tradition of zero debt, conservative management and lean operations has served us well. Even in the period of market contraction, we continued to increase our client base. In late 1988, the firm established an office in Tucson, Arizona. In late spring of 1989, the Orange County (Irvine), California office was opened followed by the Salt Lake City office in January 1991. The Denver office opened in March 2000, and our most recent office located in Las Vegas, Nevada, opened in April, 2001.

Please visit the following pages of our Web site for a more complete description of Snell & Wilmer's legal services.