Lagerlof Senecal Gosney Kruse Attorneys at Law

THE

History

FIRM

For more than 100 years, the partners of Lagerlof, Senecal, Gosney & Kruse have sought to represent clients in a team effort, working together as needed in each client's best interest. Many of our partners have devoted their entire professional careers to our firm. In fact, a key to our success lies in the fact that there has always been at least one active partner with significant longevity to ensure consistency and stability over the years.

The firm was founded by Shobal P. Mulford and George W. Dryer in 1908, when Theodore Roosevelt was in the final year of his second term as U.S. President. Mr. Mulford, born in Ohio in 1850, journeyed to Los Angeles in 1883 to continue his practice in corporate and probate law. Mr. Dryer was born in 1881 in Placerville, the heart of California's "gold country," and grew up in Santa Ana. He graduated from Stanford Law School and was admitted to the California Bar in 1904. Together, they put down the legal roots which, a century later, still are the foundation of Lagerlof, Senecal, Gosney & Kruse, LLP.

Mr. Dryer was very active in civic and philanthropic endeavors, founding the Stanford Law Society of Southern California and serving as its first president. In 1919, he and noted orthopedic surgeon Charles Leroy Lowman founded Orthopaedic Hospital and its financial support entity, the Los Angeles Orthopaedic Foundation. Mr. Dryer managed the business and financial details of the two organizations, becoming their first president and serving as such until 1946. He also served as Chairman of their Boards from 1940 until his passing in 1959.

Otis H. Castle joined Mr. Dryer under the firm name Dryer & Castle, remained active with the firm until the early 1940's, and then served as "of counsel" until 1959. He was born in Elk River, Minnesota, but soon came to California, where he attended Pasadena High School. He received his A.B. and J.D. degrees from Stanford University and was admitted to the California Bar in 1916.

In 1929, Philip H. Richards became a partner, and the firm's name changed to Dryer, Castle & Richards. Mr. Richards graduated from Stanford Law School in 1921 and was admitted to the California Bar. He remained with the firm until 1947, at which time he was appointed to the Los Angeles Superior Court by then-governor Earl Warren.

The firm had changed its name to Dryer, Richards & Page in 1940; upon Mr. Richards' ascendancy to the bench in 1948, the firm became Dryer, Stephens & Lagerlof.

Albert Lee Stephens, Jr., was the son of the distinguished Ninth Circuit Judge Albert Lee Stephens, and a brother of California Appellate Judge Clarke E. Stephens. He was born in Los Angeles in 1913, received his undergraduate and law school degrees from the University of Southern California, and was admitted to the California Bar in 1938. In 1961, he was appointed a Federal District Judge in the Central District of California. He served as Chief Judge in that district from 1970 to 1979, when he assumed the status of Senior Judge, a position he held until his death in 2001.

Stanley C. Lagerlof became a named partner in 1948.

He earned his A.B. degree from the University of Minnesota and spent one year at its law school before coming to California where he completed his legal degree at the University of Southern California. He was admitted to the California Bar in 1939 and was in private practice for a short period before serving in World War II with great distinction as a lieutenant in the Navy. Mr. Lagerlof was awarded the Navy's Silver Star, the Bronze Cross of the Netherlands, and the Purple Heart for injuries received when the Dutch merchant ship where he was in charge of the armed guard was sunk by enemy forces near Malta in the Mediterranean Sea.

Mr. Lagerlof's successful representation of the vital interests of the Palo Verde Irrigation District in the historic Arizona v. California litigation over rights to the waters of the Colorado river established the firm's first solid foothold in the fields of water rights and special water district law, which many firm members practice today. Throughout his long involvement with the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA), serving as chair of its County Water Districts section and, for many years, as a board member, he successfully promoted and directed the firm's growing reputation as specialists in establishing and protecting water rights and serving as general counsel to water districts and municipalities. The firm formed numerous water districts over the last 50 years, and continues to serve those interests.

In 1950, the firm name became Dryer, Burris & Lagerlof. Joseph J. Burris was born in Aberdeen, South Dakota, in 1913. He received his A.B. degree from Stanford University, graduated from its law school in 1940, and was admitted to the California Bar in 1942. He spent more than two years in the Navy in World War II, serving as a Lieutenant Commander. After the war, he returned to Los Angeles, where he practiced law for a year before joining the firm in 1947 as a trial attorney. For many years, until his passing in 1980, Mr. Burris served as a director of Stauffer Chemical Company, a major client of the firm, and as personal legal advisor to company vice president John Stauffer.

In 1959, after the passing of two senior partners, the firm name was changed to Burris & Lagerlof. Mr. Burris and Mr. Lagerlof, assisted by the invaluable contributions of partners H. Melvin Swift (now deceased) and H. Jess Senecal (who joined the firm in 1959 and is today its senior partner), stayed the firm's course. Mr. Senecal's name was added to the firm in 1973.

In December of 1990, the firm moved to its current location in Pasadena and planted roots in that vibrant community, changing its name in 1993 to Lagerlof, Senecal, Drescher & Swift, LLP. Mr. Lagerlof retired in 1996, after almost 50 years with the firm. The firm's name changed that year to Lagerlof, Senecal, Bradley, Gosney & Kruse, LLP. In 2006, the name was changed to its current form, with Timothy J. Gosney and William F. Kruse continuing as managing partners.

The firm's long tradition can be seen in its focus on helping closely-held businesses navigate the often-difficult areas of regulation, real estate, tax and long-range planning. Building on the success of the 1950's, the firm also continues its active representation of many municipalities and water district clients, important in an era of expanding population and increasing regulation.

As Lagerlof, Senecal, Gosney & Kruse, LLP, enters its second century, we can point with pride to the many talented lawyers who have embodied the notion of professionalism in the practice of law. We strive daily to uphold the vision they created - one of service and quality - and the guiding philosophy articulated by Mr. Senecal: “To treat each client as our only client.”