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Firm History
1880Burr Jones and Arthur Loomis Sanborn form a partnership called Jones & Sanborn
1882Jones is elected to Congress and serves ones term
1885Jones partners with Francis J. Lamb to form Lamb & Jones
1896Jones and E. Ray Stevens form a partnership called Jones & Stevens
1897Jones is appointed to and becomes the Chair of the Wisconsin Tax Commission, later playing an integral role in the creation of Wisconsin's modern taxation system
1901Stevens is elected to the State Assembly
1903Madison General Hospital (MGH) opens as Madison's first general public hospital with the assistance and legal expertise of E.J.B. Schubring, one of Axley Brynelson's founding attorneys

Stevens is appointed Judge of the Ninth Judicial Circuit by Governor Robert M. LaFollette. Jones and Stevens' partnership ends with Stevens' judicial appointment
1904Jones and Schubring form a partnership. Jones & Stevens becomes Jones & Schubring

Founding Attorney Sanborn is elected to the Senate with 11,129 votes, defeating G. Schwindt, who had 3,495 votes
1905Sanborn is nominated by President Theodore Roosevelt to serve as a Federal Judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin

Schubring, along with Magnus Swenson and Phillip L. Spooner, forms the Southern Wisconsin Power Company to study the hydroelectric potential of the Wisconsin River. The Company would go on to build the Kilbourn Dam, which was considered a modern engineering marvel and is responsible for making the Wisconsin Dells a popular travel destination today
1916Jones and Schubring represent the plaintiff in Southern Wisconsin Railway Company v. City of Madison. Their victory in court holds the railway responsible for paving Wisconsin's roads after its rail lines were abandoned
1918Jones employs Daisy Lorigan as his secretary, a progressive hire for the time. Lorigan continues to work at the firm for 45 years
1920Jones is appointed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court and serves two consecutive terms
1923Schubring, William Ryan and Arnold R. Petersen form a partnership called Schubring, Ryan & Petersen
1926Stevens is elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, succeeding former law partner Jones
1928Firm moves to 122 West Washington Avenue

Ralph E. Axley and L.F. Lamb join the firm as associates
1930The Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) is created by a judgment of the Dane County Circuit Court. Ryan serves as MMSD’s first attorney
1937Robert J. Sutherland joins the firm. The firm becomes Schubring, Ryan, Petersen & Sutherland
1939Floyd A. Brynelson joins the firm for one year before enlisting in the U.S. Navy
1943Petersen becomes the President of the Dane County Bar Association, becoming the second of Axley Brynelson’s attorneys after Burr Jones to hold this title
1946Brynelson is discharged from the Navy as Lieutenant Commander and rejoins the firm
1960Firm becomes Schubring, Petersen, Sutherland & Axley
1961Firm becomes Petersen, Sutherland, Axley & Brynelson
1970Firm becomes Petersen, Axley, Brynelson & Herrick
1972Firm becomes Axley, Brynelson, Herrick & Gehl
1978Firm becomes Brynelson, Herrick, Gehl & Bucaida
1985Firm becomes Brynelson, Herrick, Bucaida, Dorschel & Armstrong
1988Firm becomes Axley Brynelson and moves to its current location, 2 East Mifflin Street

John Walsh elected President of the State Bar of Wisconsin
1990David Easton is appointed Axley Brynelson’s first Managing Partner
1998Arthur E. Kurtz succeeds Easton as Managing Partner
2003Michael S. Anderson becomes Axley Brynelson's Managing Partner
2009John C. Mitby becomes the firm's Managing Partner