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Managing partner Shirley Reynolds (seated) in a rare moment of rest. She is surrounded by (L to R) partners Randall Fletcher, Vicki Ortega and Fred Kaplan.

BY APRIL TOSKERPHOTOGRAPHS BY ROBIN STEELE

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Tough as a bulldog. Lovable as abasset hound.”

That’s how Shirley Reynolds, manag-ing partner of Phoenix-based Hamiltonand Reynolds LLP, describes her litiga-tion style. For the past 38 years, H&Rhas been the Arizona legal community’sbest-kept secret, but all of that is aboutto change.

H&R is a dynamic firm. A firm onthe move. Its 8 to 12 lawyers pridethemselves on the quality of their workand the quality of their life.

“That’s the way Bob Hamilton want-ed it,” says Reynolds, pointing to theimpressionist rendering of the firm’sfounding partner, which looms in themain conference room.

The portrait itself is a point of pridefor the firm—and a point of curiosity for

A FirmApart

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visitors. Gazing into the middle distance,Hamilton carries himself as a battlefieldgeneral. The impression is aided by hisbeing garbed head-to-toe in a Civil War-era Union uniform. That reflects his fasci-nation with a piece of American historyand his participation in re-enactments.

Lawyers at H&R smile as they remem-ber Hamilton’s growing fondness forwearing the uniform to the office.Reynolds recalls that, finally, Hamiltoncame to prefer being called “Colonel,”and he once had to be restrained when hetried to “run through” an associate whomade the mistake of questioning a deci-sion he had made.

“The old coot,” Reynolds says, recall-ing the old days.

Those days began in 1963, whenRobert Hamilton started the firm with thegoal of being the law firm of choicefor Arizona’s then-budding filmindustry. The firm soon grew anddiversified with the addition of J.Emerson Joe in 1965 andLawrence Frank in 1968. By thetime Shirley Reynolds came onboard in 1977, the firm ofHamilton, Joe, Frank andReynolds, Ltd. was, as Reynoldsdescribes it, “a boutique

firm specializing in a general practice.”The firm prospered through the real

estate boom of the 1980s. Then, in 1989,Joe and Frank left—like so manyArizonans at that time—to try their handat real estate. They were good at it, and,after just two bankruptcies, they haveemerged as major players in the commer-cial development arena.

Though many firms would see thedeparture of named partners as a loss,Hamilton and Reynolds, as the firm thenbecame, saw it as an opportunity. To thisday, litigation from Joe and Frank’s proj-ects comprises approximately 40 percentof the firm’s work.

Four-year veteran lawyer Larry Frankdoes much of that work. Frank—whobears the elder Frank’s name but is notrelated to him—grins when he talks

about the Joe and Frank lawsuits.“I’m their statutory agent,”

he says, “so I get servedwith lawsuits all thetime. I always ask theprocess server if I’mbeing served asstatutory agent orbecause they think

I’m Lawrence Frank,and they always walk

away bewildered.”

A Firm Apart

Soon before his1995 death,

Phoenix attorneyBob Hamilton photographed himself in the

uniform he often favored.

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Tragedy struck the firm inDecember 1995 when Bob Hamiltonpassed away. Oddly enough, however, hekept on billing through the first quarter of1996.

“That’s a funny story,” chucklesReynolds. “His secretaries were so accus-tomed to writing down a ‘.3 received andreviewed’ for every letter that came in,they just kept doing it after he died.Everyone had a good laugh about it, butof course we made it right. As soon as Ilearned about it, we transferred the timeto other lawyers who were, in fact, liv-ing.”

According to his wishes, BobHamilton was buried in a solemn ceremo-ny on a dirt mound behind the firm heloved so much.

Though Bob Hamilton is gone,his legacy lives on. The firm boasts animpressive list of some 75 alumni since itbegan counting in 1998—not bad for afirm of only 8 to 12 lawyers. And diversi-ty is still this boutique firm’s hallmark.

Fred Kaplan, for example, focuses hispractice on sports law and personalinjuries. “The two are a natural fit,”Kaplan says in his office filled with auto-graphed sports memorabilia. “I’ve repre-sented senior citizens who can no longerbowl because of an auto accident, and ahigh school volleyball player who missedthe first half of her junior year season afterspraining her index finger on a negligent-

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A few reels of “Parched Earth” are all thatremain from the firm’s work with spaghetti-Western filmmakers.

ly inflated ball.”So far, Kaplan has not

represented any profession-al athletes or teams. But that, hesays, is just a matter of time.

Meanwhile, Kaplan keeps his eyes openfor opportunity in the world of sports andsports-related law—even in the SuperBowl, the biggest venue of all.

“I didn’t even wait for halftime to end,”gushes Kaplan, “before making the phonecall.”

“When Janet Jackson’s blouse openedin the 2004 game, America may have seen

the end of civilizationastride a star-

shaped accesso-ry. But I saw ap o t e n t i a lclient whosestory mustbe champi-oned.”

T h o u g hJackson’s repre-

sentatives have notreturned Kaplan’s

messages, he is optimistic. “No one is big-ger in sports and costume accident law—no one. She’ll call.”

The firm is prosperous, to be sure,but Bob Hamilton’s legacy is also adedication to pro bono work. Thelawyers in the firm spend anaverage of 150 hours per yearhandling cases for friendsand family members at nocharge. But, Reynoldsnotes, they are carefulnot to let that workinterfere with thefirm’s profitability.

“We really try notto hire lawyers whocome from large fam-

firm has a mandated policy that everyclient must spend at least 15 minutes in thelobby before their appointment is taken.Reynolds coyly admits that this has a hyp-notic effect that makes client control mucheasier.

“‘Whatever works’ is the firm’s motto,”she exults with pride.

What does the future hold forH&R? Like many firms its age, H&R willsoon face the retirementof its first genera-tion, leaving mid-level partners tocarry on BobHamilton’s tra-dition. But, asalways, the firmhas a plan for thetransition.

Reynolds explains:“Senior partners like myselfwill cease practicing while continuing toearn the salary we earned in our last year ofpractice. This will continue for 10 years,after which we will receive a lump sum dis-tribution of three years’ salary.”

Reynolds has every confidence the newleaders will grow their individual client

bases enough to support the old-timers. “Just as we helped them

develop as lawyers, they willsupport us in our old age,”

she chuckles. “It’s simply amatter of loyalty.”

Bob Hamiltoncouldn’t have said itbetter himself.

April Tosker is alawyer and certi-fied large-animalveterinarian. She is

a frequent contrib-utor to ARIZONA

ATTORNEY.

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ilies,” she says, “because they just spendtoo much time on non-billable work.”

One time the firm did commit every-thing to a cause was in 1993, when BobHamilton and then-new associate VickiOrtega took what Ortega calls “the case ofa lifetime.”

That was when Phoenix passed its nowinfamous “leash law,” requiring dogs andcats to be on leashes at all times. Hamiltonand Ortega challenged the law as a violationof the constitutional freedom of travel.

They lost the battle, but the court ofappeals gave a glimmer of hope in footnote8 when it wrote, “We are not unmindful ofthe possibility that animals may, indeed,have certain rights.” That language contin-ues to be cited by animal rights activists allover the country. To that extent, Ortegaconsiders her efforts successful.

Clients walking into the firm forthe first time notice right away that theirevery need will be addressed. Luxuriousleather electric massage chairs, mutedlighting, serene landscape paintings andlarge bowls of mints dominate the lobby.Soothing ocean sounds are played on thefirm’s central sound system. In fact, the

Phoenix’s leash laws were the target of a famous lawsuit

by the firm.

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