This year, we have a lot to celebrate at Venable. Not only is it the firm's 125th birthday—it is also the 40th anniversary of our Tysons office. Staffed with nearly 40 attorneys offering a wide array of services, the Tysons office began as a four-lawyer team in 1985.
We spoke to former partner-in-charge of Tysons, Joe Schmelter, and current partner-in-charge, Ked Whitmore, to find out more about the evolution of the office and its important role in Venable's history.
Q: Joe, you've been at Venable for 35 years. Ked, you've been here 17 years. But, neither of you started at Tysons. What drew you to the office?
Ked: I started in the Towson office, but I grew up in Fairfax County. So, I came home to an area that I knew well, and that really suits my land use and zoning practice because it is related to local government. Having local knowledge and contacts gives you a real advantage in doing this kind of work. I also liked the small-office feel within a larger firm. It's a place where you can come in and know everybody but still have the tools, resources, and world-class legal knowledge in all facets and practice areas.
Joe: My first six or seven years I was in Venable's Baltimore office. Believe it or not, the entire time that I was working there, I was living in Vienna, Virginia and driving past the Tysons office on my way to Baltimore. That's because even in the mid-90s, Venable's Tysons office was still primarily focused on litigation and government contracts. There were no deal lawyers in Tysons. Once they brought on a lateral transactional partner, they were seeking a senior associate to work on some deals he brought over, so that was my opportunity to jump ship and come to Tysons.
Q: How have the service offerings of the Tysons office shifted since you joined? And how have the industries of clients based in Northern Virginia changed?
Joe: The founding partners focused on commercial and white collar criminal litigation, government contracts, and estate planning. But now, our Tysons office is really a microcosm of the Venable firm at large. Sure, there are a few practices that we don't have, but really, we are a general-practice office in a large general-practice firm that covers all major services.
Ked: Tysons is unique in that there are many places in the country where suburbs have sprung up around a city. Rarely does a suburb spring up and morph into a more urban area. You can track the trajectory of Tysons and Northern Virginia with the rise in government contractors over the last few decades. That's been a primary driver for the economy. The business environment is now morphing into one where a lot more private companies are diversifying the economy here. It's very different in terms of types of clients, and obviously is a different jurisdiction, which means it's going to be different in terms of the legal elements.
Q: What can you tell me about the office culture?
Joe: I told a story at our 40th anniversary reception about coming to Tysons from the Baltimore office, which was Venable's headquarters office at the time. There were 150 to 200 lawyers in Baltimore, and out of necessity it was a rather formal place. When I came out to Tysons, I noticed immediately that there were no name tags outside the individual offices of the lawyers. That has changed, of course, but at the time we didn't have them. [Tysons office founding partner] Bill Dolan was dead set against name tags, and his reasoning was we already knew who everyone was. That spirit has not changed.
Q: What are you most proud of concerning the evolution of the Tysons office and the office today?
Ked: People tend to stick around a long time in the Tysons office. Law firms are always tested when they have to make a generational transition, and we've been lucky that folks have stuck around, allowing us to go 30 or 40 years before having to make a generational shift.
Joe: I'm proud simply that we've stayed on the map in Tysons. I've seen different waves of law firms come out to Tysons, and Northern Virginia generally, and open outposts only to stick around for five or 10 years and then close those offices. Venable has kept a steady presence this entire time. The number of lawyers and staff has ebbed and flowed over the years, but from the beginning we've recognized that Northern Virginia is a different market from across the river in DC. Our clients certainly share that view.
Q: What role do you feel the Tysons office has played in Venable's history and/or culture?
Ked: We exemplify being able to do world-class, high-level legal work with grace, familiarity, and friendliness. This is demonstrated by the fact that people stay here for a long time, which is something the firm actively promotes. It's a real testament to what a great place this is. People choose to make and spend their careers here.
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.