This year marks a major milestone for Venable—our 125th year in business. And there's no better place to celebrate than Baltimore, where the firm's story began in 1900. What started as a small local practice has grown into a nationally recognized firm. Today, the office is home to more than 165 attorneys and legal professionals and continues to play a vital role in shaping the firm's culture and future.
We spoke with Baltimore partner-in-charge Greg Cross and Baltimore managing partner Chuck Morton about the evolution of the office, how the firm has grown over the years, and what continues to make Venable a place they're proud to call home.
Q: Chuck, you've been dubbed the unofficial firm historian. Can you talk about some of the big leaps for the Baltimore office and the key personnel who got the firm to where it is today?
Chuck: The firm grew very slowly in its early days. Until the mid-1980s, the Baltimore office was the firm. But even before then, we had begun merging with other small firms, and many of our most successful lawyers joined through those mergers.
Greg: That's right. One person who often gets lost in the firm's history—but who was incredibly influential—was Vernon Eney. I never knew him personally, but I've heard he was one of the best lawyers we ever had. He was a dominant presence—not just in law, but politically as well. He was extremely prominent from the 1950s through the early 1970s.
Chuck: He was a character. I have this old memo that describes him as "straight out of central casting. He parted his hair down the middle, wore granny glasses, could speak for two hours in complete paragraphs without notes, wrote beautifully, and was meticulous in everything he did."
Greg: Eney really set the tone for the firm in those years. He was very formal, very old school. I've heard he used to walk down the street reading the newspaper. He lived and breathed the law. For him, practicing law was his life.
Q: Greg, you've been with the firm since the mid-1980s. Were any of those early leaders still around when you joined?
Greg: I came here in 1985 as a summer associate. Jack Schlenger, who followed Eney, was managing the firm then. I remember him inviting the entire summer class over to his house. He wasn't a great cook—he served Italian sausage sandwiches that weren't fully cooked. Everyone got food poisoning. But the funny thing is, he considered himself a gourmet!
Q: Despite that initiation, you've been with Venable now for 38 years! What made you stick around?
Greg: Back then, when you were choosing a law firm, the advice was: if you're not going to New York or DC, pick the best firm in the state you want to practice in. That's how I landed at Venable, and I developed a sense of loyalty early on. Even then the firm followed more of an entrepreneurial model. They weren't just looking to fill slots—they were trying to promote and grow talent. I was given room to pursue whatever I was interested in.
Chuck: That idea of being a place where people can grow and thrive has been a recurring theme over the entire life of the firm. It's empowering—and central to the Venable story.
Q: Chuck, you joined the firm almost 25 years ago. By then the DC office—now the firm's largest—was well under way. How did that come about?
Chuck: Ben Civiletti returned to the firm in 1980 after serving as attorney general for President Carter, and one of his conditions for coming back was that we open a DC office. Initially, it was very much an outpost, but Ben helped to build it up to the powerhouse that it is today. He went on to become managing partner, and the firm began growing at a faster pace from his arrival through the 1990s. That period also coincided with a broader trend in the legal industry—firms consolidating and merging.
Q: So, the DC office opening was a big step toward becoming the national firm we are today. What came next?
Chuck: Our next merger was with a premier Northern Virginia firm, Dolan, Treanor, Murray & Walsh, in 1988. That was part of our strategy to bring in the best lawyers from key local markets—county seats, really. We were essentially trying to knit together the best lawyers in the region. That same year, we also merged with Titus and Glasgow in Rockville, Maryland, which included Roger Titus, who had served as president of the State Bar Association and later became a federal judge. So, in one year, we picked up two top-tier regional firms—one in Northern Virginia and one in Rockville.
Greg: And we continued that strategy in Towson in 1989 when we brought in Cook, Howard, Downes & Tracey, which was the largest firm in the county at the time.
Chuck: Same playbook—identify the top lawyers in a given area and bring them under the tent.
Q: As all these combinations and new offices opened around the country, how did that impact the Baltimore office—specifically its culture and position in the firm—and your practice?
Greg: I don't think there was any diminishment—in fact, it enhanced the practice. I pushed to open the New York office in 2005 and was on the board when we opened our Los Angeles office a year later. Most of my work is in New York, and having that office expanded my reach significantly. The same was true for others with clients in Los Angeles or San Francisco. What's interesting is that many of these expansions were led by people from within the firm. Jim Shea, who succeeded Ben Civiletti as chair, was especially firm on that. He believed strongly in opening new offices only through small, strategic mergers that would support—not compete with—our existing practices.
Chuck: My first partner meeting was in the fall of 2000 in a fancy ballroom in Washington, DC. I remember Jim Shea standing up and saying, "If we want to control our own future, we have to become a national firm." But Shea also promised that every step we took would benefit the existing partnership. He laid out a clear plan: establish a meaningful presence in New York and on the West Coast, and strengthen our regulatory and legislative capabilities to become a top 10 firm in DC. That roadmap guided the firm for the next 15 years or so as we grew into the national platform we have today.
Q: As the firm expanded across the country, how has the Baltimore office navigated its connections to the local business community, cultural institutions, or industries?
Chuck: I don't think there's been a major event in Baltimore over the past 50 years where our lawyers haven't played a key role. Most recently, Greg helped save the Preakness Stakes, which could have easily left Maryland. Our lawyers have had a hand in shaping nearly every major cultural institution in town. Just when I think our best days might be behind us, someone like Greg or another lawyer steps up and makes a major impact. I like to call it the Venable way. It's not a slogan—it's just what we do. We show up, and we lean into the community.
Q: As the office continues to grow in Baltimore, what are the primary areas of client demand?
Greg: Baltimore not only has a broad-based Maryland practice, but many national practices as well. We have, for example, a practice that advises most of the nation's REITs. My practice centers on structured finance litigation and distressed real estate across the country. The same is true of the products liability group, among others.
Chuck: On the corporate side, we're serving a mix of middle-market businesses and emerging companies, many of which are spun out of local academic institutions or federally funded research labs. But that practice is becoming increasingly national. The diversity of that client base has been key to our long-term success.
Q: And finally, how does an office that is turning 125 years old stay fresh and relevant in a vibrant city like Baltimore?
Greg: I think part of the reason we stay fresh is that we've never closed the door to new people or new ideas. We're always bringing people in and staying open to their visions and career paths. That's helped keep the energy up.
Chuck: I think we've been fortunate to have strong, thoughtful leaders over the years. And when you build an office with people who bring ambition as well as humility—it creates a certain culture. People invest in each other. It's not perfect—none of us are—but it's a place where you really can do your best work. We stand on the shoulders of those who came before us, and we do our best to add to that tradition. If that's what being "fresh" means, then I'll take it. That's certainly what we're trying to do.
125 Years Young
Want to keep the party going? Visit 125 Years Young to learn more about how we're marking the firm's 125th birthday, explore major milestones, and read about other anniversaries we're celebrating in our offices around the country.