Smith Haughey's move to Flatiron helps preserve historic building

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LEGAL NEWS PHOTOS BY CYNTHIA PRICE

by Cynthia Price
Legal News

Smith Haughey Rice and Roegge has completed its move into the historic Flatiron Building, creating just the kind of work environment that tends to attract and retain young
professionals.

Flooded with natural light, warm and comfortable while open and airy, full of eye-catching fine art, up-to-the-minute in technology but with plenty of details that show respect for its history — the new offices contribute to the vitality of downtown Grand Rapids, which was one of Smith Haughey’s chief goals.

The firm’s commitment to downtown is capped off by its determination to renovate the building to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards. Some of the energy-saving sustainability features include high-efficiency heating and cooling systems (using steam heat) and the use of all that beautiful sunlight to reduce the need for artificial light and contribute to warmth in cold weather.

The development team, which includes Locus Development, is in the process of applying for LEED Silver certification, which is likely to be granted once the process is completed. When it is, Smith Haughey will be the only law firm in the nation to renovate a 150-year-old building certified by LEED.

Managing Partner Craig Noland says that part of what facilitated making the space as perfect as possible was that Smith Haughey was not in a rush to move in. They retained their offices at the Calder Plaza Building, where they had been for 30 years, which allowed them to mull over all of the pros and cons in depth. “We had the luxury of planning,” Noland says.

The firm was established in 1941 as a litigation defense firm, housed in McKay Tower, by Clifford Mitts and A.B. Smith, Jr., a partnership which was interrupted by Smith’s service in World War II. In 1950, David Haughey, who had worked there only two years, added his personal name to the firm name, also adding a robust product liability litigation practice.
In 1962, shortly after Clifford Mitts died, the partners — always committed to hiring top-quality attorneys — hired “the best new law school graduate they could find,” L.Roland “Bud” Roegge (the much-praised former president of the firm who continues his work there to this day).

Over the years the firm saw the need to add offices in Traverse City and Ann Arbor. The firm employs 82 attorneys in all, 54 of them in Grand Rapids, and a total of 172 employees in all three locations. The Traverse City office has recently moved into a new building as well.

The new Grand Rapids office space capitalizes on such trends as replacing paper files and large law books with electronic technology, shifting toward uniform office sizes, and holding client meetings in conference rooms and on-site at client locations. The firm has also made steps toward reducing costs, which they feel meets client needs, by streamlining processes and using resources more efficiently.

This results in the new office combining the best of the new with the best of the old. The entire triangular shaped Ledyard Block along Monroe Center, to which the Flatiron Building’s shape conforms, is on the National Registry of Historic Places. It is widely known as the second oldest building in Grand Rapids, constructed in 1860 in Civil War “Italiente” architectural style.

At that time, mixed uses were still the rule, and the lower floor was home to a bank and several retail stores, while a boarding house joined commercial offices on upper floors. Since the 1940s, those upper floors have been out of use.

But no more. Smith Haughey will make use even of the roof, where a small section has been refurbished to provide a pleasant and pristine area with a wonderful view for client gatherings and fresh air (while focusing on safety).

Along with Locus Development, design and renovation work were provided by Design + and Wolverine Building Group. Noland says, “As the work went on, we found details like  an unusual corner or the beautiful floors, and we ended up preserving as much of the building’s rich history as we could.”

Smith Haughey has demonstrably found time during its move to keep up its legacy as a leading law firm.

In addition to 11 Grand Rapids attorneys on the Best Lawyers in America list (Charles F. Behler, Carol D. Carlson, Joseph A. Engel, William W. Jack, Jr.,  Brian J. Kilbane, John M. Kruis, E. Thomas McCarthy, Jr., Craig S. Neckers, John C. O’Loughlin, John R. Oostema, and Bud Roegge), Smith Haughey achieved first-tier rankings in Grand Rapids in commercial litigation, construction law, legal malpractice law - defendants, litigation - construction, medical malpractice law - defendants, and personal  injury litigation - defendants.

Moreover, the firm was designated as having one of the leading litigation practices in Michigan by Benchmark Litigation 2012, self-described as “the definitive guide to America’s leading business litigation firms and attorneys.”  Smith Haughey is the sole Traverse City law firm to receive this honor.

Benchmark’s designation also included four Smith Haughey attorneys on its “local litigation stars” list, which lists fewer than 50 lawyers in Michigan. They are Charles F. Behler and John R. Oostema from the Grand Rapids office, and Mark P. Bickel and Todd W. Millar in Traverse City.

With its attractive new office and its seven-decades-long tradition of service, it should come as no surprise that Smith Haughey Rice and Roegge intends to expand in 2012. The firm is looking at extending into the nearby Ledyard Building in Grand Rapids, and currently plans to add attorneys in all three of its offices.

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