After nearly a century, the names of well-known attorneys George Leonard and Arthur Street will no longer grace a Twin Cities law firm.
Stinson Leonard Street LLP has been rebranded as Stinson LLP as the firm works to promote a more modern and unified brand image five years after the merger of Minneapolis-based Leonard, Street and Deinard and Kansas City firm Stinson Morrison Hecker.
"The brand is really about the values that the firm stands for rather than the name you end up with. … For us, it was a good point five years out from our last large merger to reflect on our common values," said Mark Hinderks, Stinson's managing partner, in an interview.
Stinson has nearly 500 attorneys in 13 offices across the country. The name change was necessary given so many of the firm's attorneys are outside the Twin Cities in other offices and leaders wanted a cohesive brand, said Hinderks, who is based in Kansas City. Along with the name and logo change, the company's website has also been refreshed.
Despite the name change, the legacy of the founders of the Minneapolis firm will continue to live on, including their commitment to diversity and community service, said Jill Radloff, managing partner of Stinson's Minneapolis office, who has been with the firm since 2001.
"Those values will always be part of the firm," she said.
Leonard, Street and Deinard was founded in 1922 when George Leonard, a Russian immigrant, invited brothers Amos and Benedict Deinard, who had just earned their law degrees from Harvard University, as well as Arthur Street, a legal writer and scholar with West Publishing Co., to join his practice.
Leonard helped found the Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party. Street served as the legal editor of several trade journals and papers.
Amos Deinard, who was legally blind, was known for his work to eliminate hiring discrimination and led the Minneapolis Fair Employment Practices Commission for nearly two decades. Benedict Deinard was one of four civilians asked to participate in the Nuremberg war crimes trials after World War II, according to Stinson's website. The Deinard brothers helped establish and support community organizations such as the Minnesota Society for the Prevention of Blindness and the Minneapolis Federation for Jewish Service.
The Deinard Legal Clinic in south Minneapolis that assists residents with family law, public benefits, immigration and housing issues pro bono will continue, Radloff said.
Last year was one of the firm's most successful. Stinson merged its St. Louis area branch with intellectual property firm Senniger Powers and also merged with Lackey Hershman in Dallas.
Stinson, one of the largest law firms in the Twin Cities, currently has more than 280 people on staff, including close to 150 attorneys.
In the beginning of the year, the firm expanded into another 10,000 square feet of space, bringing their offices to 115,000 square feet of total space in the Fifty South Sixth building.
Nicole Norfleet • 612-673-4495 Twitter: @nicolenorfleet
