Firm History

1880

Burr Jones and Arthur Loomis Sanborn form a partnership called Jones & Sanborn

1882 Jones is elected to Congress and serves ones term
1885 Jones partners with Francis J. Lamb to form Lamb & Jones
1896 Jones and E. Ray Stevens form a partnership called Jones & Stevens
1897 Jones 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
1901 Stevens is elected to the State Assembly
1903 Madison 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
1904 Jones 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
1905 Sanborn 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
1916 Jones 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
1918 Jones employs Daisy Lorigan as his secretary, a progressive hire for the time. Lorigan continues to work at the firm for 45 years
1920 Jones is appointed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court and serves two consecutive terms
1923 Schubring, William Ryan and Arnold R. Petersen form a partnership called Schubring, Ryan & Petersen
1926 Stevens is elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, succeeding former law partner Jones
1928 Firm moves to 122 West Washington Avenue

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

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