Jackson’s oldest continuously operated law firm, Marcoux, Allen, Bower, Nichols & Kendall, P.C. (“Marcoux Allen”), this week is celebrating its 150th year of service to businesses and families in Jackson and the surrounding communities. The firm was founded in 1867 by Thomas A. Wilson, one of Jackson’s leading citizens of the latter half of the 19th Century, for whom the
T.A. Wilson Elementary School, now known as T.A. Wilson Academy, was named. Wilson began a long tradition of community service in the Firm and served on the boards of several community institutions, including the then new W.A. Foote Hospital and the Jackson Patriot Newspaper.
Wilson drafted the Last Will and Testament of Ella Merriman Sharp, which left her family farm to the City of Jackson, and which would later become the Ella Sharp Park and Ella Sharp Museum. Wilson also served as Executor of her estate. More than fifty years later, Firm attorneys would be instrumental in the creation of the Ella Sharp Museum and continue to serve on its board today. Firm attorneys have served on the boards of Henry Ford Allegiance Health, the Jackson Community Foundation, the Jackson Symphony Orchestra, the Michigan Theatre, the Ella Sharp Museum, the American Cancer Society, Boy Scouts of America, and a host of other community nonprofits and cultural institutions.
The Firm grew to become Jackson’s largest and leading business law firm and was instrumental in the creation and growth of many of Jackson’s leading businesses, colleges, universities, and cultural institutions. In 1939 Don T. McKone, one of the Firm’s partners, assisted German immigrant Peter F. Hurst to set down roots in Jackson, raise capital, and form what would become known as Aeroquip Corporation. Many of the Firm’s attorneys had distinguished careers in public service, including David W. Kendall, who served as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury and Special Counsel to President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and legendary attorney Maxwell F. Badgley, who served as President of the State Bar of Michigan from 1962 to 1963.
The Firm is now informally known by the names of two former partners, William J. Marcoux, who joined the firm in 1953 and retired after 54 years of distinguished legal service, and William O. Allen, who died in 2016 at the age of 91, after a distinguished legal career. Other distinguished retired Firm attorneys include business attorney John H. Schomer and William B. Nichols, Jr., who retired at the end of 2016 after 45 years of distinguished service as an estate planner and trusted advisor to Jackson families, farmers, and businesses.
Firm President Diane Y. Bower was the first female attorney to join the firm, beginning her legal career at Marcoux Allen in 1981. She has led the firm for many years and represents area businesses, colleges, universities, and municipalities, providing a wide range of legal services. Firm clients include Consumers Energy and many area banks, manufacturers, farms, colleges, and universities. In 1999 the firm expanded through an “of counsel” association with the members of another storied Jackson law firm, Bullen, Moilanen, Klaasen & Swan, P.C. and later associated with the Jackson firm of Aymond, Lozier & Arora, PLC and the Hillsdale firm of Parker, Hayes & Lovinger, P.C.
The Firm has always served the community from its offices in downtown Jackson, including offices in the former Union Bank Building (where the current County Tower Building stands), until 1928, when it moved to the City Bank and Trust Building (the current City Hall). The Firm occupied the 10th and 11th floors until 1976, when it moved to its current location, which was then a branch of City Bank and Trust on the Northeast corner of S. Jackson and Cortland Streets. The Firm now also serves clients throughout southern Michigan from its offices in Ann Arbor and Hillsdale.
Firm President Diane Bower says, “The firm of Marcoux Allen wants to thank its clients for their many years of support, and is looking forward to serving the legal needs of Jackson and the surrounding communities for many more years.”