Snell & Wilmer history

Around 1950 the firm decided to shorten its name from Snell, Wilmer, Walsh, Melczer & Beauchamp to Snell & Wilmer.

In the postwar period Frank Snell continued to make major contributions to Phoenix and Arizona as a lawyer and through his civic involvement. For example, in 1952 he helped create the Arizona Public Service Company (APS), the state's largest utility, from a merger of Central Arizona Light & Power Company and the Arizona Edison Company.

In 1953 Arizona filed a lawsuit against the California state government and seven California public agencies.

Born in Fort Dodge, Iowa, Bouma graduated with a degree in political science from the University of Iowa in 1958 and then earned his law degree there.

1960 Adapting to Growth

After serving two years in the military's Judge Advocate General Corps at Arizona's Fort Huachuca, in 1962 he joined Snell & Wilmer, then a 22-lawyer firm.

In 1972 Frank Snell decided to reduce his administrative role when the firm created its first executive committee, consisting of Mark Wilmer, Joseph Melczer, Don Corbitt, Richard B. Snell, and John T. Bouma.

Then in 1979 Steven Brill began publishing the American Lawyer with articles about compensation and other internal affairs of the nation's major law firms.

When Bouma joined the firm, Phoenix claimed about 440,000 residents, but by 1980 it had almost doubled its population to become the ninth largest city in the United States.

In 1983, John J. Bouma became Chairman, succeeding Mr.

In 1988, the Tucson office was established.

To serve the Utah-based cookie maker, the law firm opened a new branch office in Salt Lake City in 1991.

By 1994 the Salt Lake City branch included 17 lawyers at its downtown office in the Broadway Centre.

In 1997 the National Law Journal named John Bouma as one of the nation's 100 most influential lawyers.

By 1998 Lex Mundi was the largest such association, with 10,500 lawyers in 145 law firms in more than 80 nations.

The firm expanded its Nevada practice by opening a Reno location in early 2010.

Bouma cited those among his most noteworthy legal efforts in a 2014 interview with Of Counsel, a legal publication.

In March, 2015, Matthew P. Feeney became Chairman, succeeding John Bouma.