Who We Are
Safeguarding our Clients with Intellectual Rigor, Wisdom, and Professionalism in the Pursuit of Justice.
For over a century, Gallagher Sharp has been a pillar of legal excellence, renowned for outstanding client service, and some of the most talented attorneys in the legal profession.
Although the origin of the firm was corporate law, in the 1960s — inspired by Frank Cull, the firm’s first and noted trial attorney — Gallagher Sharp shifted its focus to litigation, where it cemented its sterling reputation in the legal community for decades to come.
In the words of Michael Gallagher, “Frank Cull started a trial department which grew to become synonymous with the firm. It is impossible to measure his contribution to the firm, both in acquiring business and in imprinting on it his personality and standards as lawyer and compassionate person.”
Over the years, Gallagher Sharp has become synonymous with not only outstanding defense litigation but also for providing an exceptional level of trust and care with their clients.
Our Philosophy
Solutions, Not Surprises
When it comes to your business, surprises are never a good thing.
With prompt and accurate reporting, early and frequent case evaluations, as well as value-added services, we deliver the highest levels of communication and strategy to every one of our clients.
Your Problem Becomes our Problem
Giving you peace of mind is at the core of what we do. We are resolute defenders who will work tirelessly to protect your business.
We Make it Our Business to Know Your Business
We take the time to learn about all aspects of your business which are germane to claims and lawsuits.
Value-Added Partnership
Solutions are our baseline. We over-deliver valuable services that keep you informed and engaged.
Small Firm Sensibilities, Large Firm Capabilities
Every client is an important client to us.
Learn how Gallagher Sharp can deliver the highest levels of solutions and strategy for your business.
Core Values
RESPONSIVE
We are a firm renowned for our exceptional communication and impeccable work. Our ability to resolutely respond to a client or colleague’s needs fosters deep levels of trust with our clients and sets us apart.
ACCOUNTABLE
We take ownership of and pride in our work, we honor our commitments, and we strive to go above and beyond in all that we do. We hold ourselves to the highest levels of professionalism, and we conduct ourselves with honesty, integrity, and respect at all times.
EMPATHETIC
We are a family-oriented firm that truly values the well-being of those around us. We treat one another with kindness, compassion and understanding, and we are always supportive of prioritizing one’s health, wellness and happiness.
SUPPORTIVE
We encourage a collegial environment built on trust and open communication. We share knowledge, insights, and ideas whenever possible, and with mutual respect, we constructively challenge one another.
Interested in joining our firm? Learn more about growing your career at Gallagher Sharp.
Gallagher Sharp is the Ohio and Michigan representative of Themis Advocates Group, a network of premier law firms who offer their clients trust, value, and innovation. Themis firms are carefully vetted and approved so that our clients and Advisory Board members can be assured of being referred to firms and lawyers who possess the highest practice and ethics standards. Themis is committed to education and dialogue with clients to keep them informed and up to date on matters which concern their businesses. For more information and a roster of Themis firms visit www.themisadvocatesgroup.com.
Our Company Timeline
November 1, 1912
Founding
On November 1, 1912, Robert Johns Bulkley, H. Austin Hauxhurst, Richard Inglis and Wilford Cook Saeger, friends and former classmates at Harvard Law School, merged their two law firms into Bulkley, Hauxhurst, Inglis & Saeger, located in the Garfield Building in downtown Cleveland, Ohio.
1913
Reshaping
After passing the Ohio bar exam in 1913, I. Walter Sharp, a graduate from the Law School of Western Reserve University, and Frank X. Cull, who had attended Georgetown Law School, became associated with the firm. In the ensuing years, Robert H. Jamison joined the firm, while Richard Inglis left to join Otis & Company. These adjustments caused the firm to change its name to Bulkley, Hauxhurst, Jamison & Saeger.
July 28, 1914 – November 11, 1918
A World at War
With the United States entering World War I, several of the firm’s members heeded a patriotic call to duty. Former members of Ohio National Guard’s Troop A, Robert Bulkley and Wilford Saeger went to Washington D.C. Bulkley served his country as Chief of the Legal Section, General Munitions and War Industries Board, and Saeger served in the Legal Section of the War Industries Board and then in the office of the Assistant Secretary of War. After serving as a Sergeant in Troop A, 1st Squadron, Ohio Calvary during the Mexican Border Campaign, Robert Jamison was commissioned a First Lieutenant, then a Captain, 135th Field Artillery Regiment, 62nd Brigade, and ended his military career as Inspector of Artillery, Staff 9th Corps., American Expeditionary Forces in 1919. Frank Cull joined Jamison and many Cleveland area youth by enlisting in Battery A, 135th Field Artillery, 62nd Brigade. He was commissioned in Field Artillery and honorably discharged after the war ended.
1920 – 1922
Bulkley Building Company
In 1916, anticipating an industrial boom and need for commercial development in Cleveland, the fifth largest city in population in the United States at the time, Robert Bulkley acquired 99-year leases on property having a 200-foot frontage on Euclid Avenue opposite its intersection with East 14th Street and Huron Road and extending 445 feet to Dodge Court in the rear. The Bulkley Building Company was formed in 1920, and by 1922 the Bulkley Building, with its eight stories of Indiana buff limestone and intricate bronze work, was completed. The Building housed two floors of retail shops, six floors of office space, an attractive arcade corridor, Italian Renaissance lobby, and the Allen Theatre, which was considered to be one of the most beautiful motion picture houses in America. Perhaps the most remarkable feature of the Bulkley Building was the two-story attached garage having a capacity for over 250 cars so that tenants could go from office to car without facing the outside elements.
1921 – 1926
New Hires and a Departure
In 1921, Wilford Saeger left the firm to become Secretary of Harvard, his alma mater, causing a firm name change to Bulkley, Hauxhurst, Jamison & Sharp. In 1923, after serving as an Assistant United States Attorney, Secretary to Justice William R. Day of the Supreme Court of the United States, and Assistant General Attorney of Utah Power Light Co., James Glenn Bachman, a graduate of Cleveland Law School at Baldwin-Wallace College, became a member of the firm. In 1926, William R. Daley and J. Hall Kellogg, both graduates of Western Reserve University Law School, also joined.
May 10, 1924
Relocation
On May 10, 1924, the firm relocated to the Sixth Floor of the Bulkley Building where it would operate for the next 96 years.
1929 – 1939
A Fragile Economy
Following Black Thursday and Black Tuesday in 1929, the robust economy of the Roaring Twenties rapidly came to an end. By 1931, all of the partners of the iron and steel brokerage firm of Otis & Company retired with the exception of Cyrus Eaton. Upon reorganization as an investment banking firm, Eaton’s close friend William Daley left the firm to become President of Otis & Company. Daley would later become a self-made millionaire, philanthropist, and principal owner of the Cleveland Indians from 1956 to 1962.
November 4, 1930 – January 3, 1939
The Lure of Politics
After his service in Congress as a representative of the 21st Ohio District from 1911 to 1915, the Democratic Party considered Robert Bulkley a viable candidate for Mayor of Cleveland in the Fall of 1917. But when the United States entered World War I, he withdrew his candidacy to serve his country in Washington. On November 4, 1930, Bulkley was elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Ohio’s Theodore E. Burton. Advocating the repeal of prohibition, he was re-elected in 1932 and served until January 3, 1939.
1931 – 1939
More Arrivals and Departures
In 1931, after the collapse and reorganization of Otis & Company, Richard Inglis returned to the firm while Robert Jamison left to open his own law office in the Bulkley Building, causing a firm name change to Bulkley, Hauxhurst, Inglis & Sharp. In 1935, Leonard H. Davis and Raymond G. Hengst became members of the firm. After his bid for another re-election to the senate fell through, Bulkley retired from the firm in 1939 to form Bulkley & Butler, opening offices on the 5th floor of the building. Bulkley’s departure resulted in a firm name change to Hauxhurst, Inglis, Sharp & Cull.
1940
Prominent Corporate Law Firm
At the onset of the 1940s, Hauxhurst, Inglis, Sharp & Cull continued to represent Cleveland companies in the areas of tax, bankruptcy and corporate law. Richard Inglis served on the Board of Directors of many local industrial companies such as Eaton Manufacturing Company, Basic Refractories, Lamson & Sessions Co., and the Gabriel Company. I. Walter Sharp and J. Hall Kellogg spent a good deal of the 1940s representing the Cleveland Terminals Building Company in bankruptcy litigation that arose following the collapse of the Van Sweringen Empire. It was during this period that Frank Cull continued to hone his litigation skills and became head of the firm’s trial department, representing one of the firm’s first insurance clients, Continental Casualty Company. In 1943, H. Austin Hauxhurst was elected President of the Cleveland Bar Association and along with several of his partners, spent many lunches with the Court of Nisi Prius, an invitational social club founded in 1900 and limited to a special membership of lawyers and judges.
December 1941
World War II
When the United States entered World War II, members of the firm again felt the call to duty. In late December of 1941, following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, H. Austin Hauxhurst was asked by the U.S. Attorney General to be sworn in and serve on the Alien Enemy Hearing Board for the Northern District of Ohio. Hauxhurst also served his country from 1945 to 1946 as a leading member of the prosecuting staff conducting the trials of high-ranking Japanese war criminals. World War I veteran Frank Cull volunteered his service as a hearing officer on behalf of the U.S. Attorney General for the Northern District of Ohio in selective service cases involving conscientious objectors.
1950 – 1960
Growth and Expansion
Like the post-war economy, the 1950s brought a decade of expansion and growth to the firm. By the early 1950s James C. Weir and Richard Inglis, Jr. had become partners of the firm. In 1951, Clarence L. Mollison resigned his post as Assistant Law Director for the City of Cleveland to join the firm and became a partner by 1955. By the end of the decade Robert W. Sharp and Michael R. Gallagher had also become partners. With the addition of George W. Stuhldreher, Burt J. Fulton, and Forrest A. Norman, the firm had grown to 14 active lawyers and one Of Counsel. In 1954, J. Hall Kellogg was elected President of the Cleveland Bar Association. Following the death of Richard Inglis and the departures of Jim Weir and Richard Inglis Jr., Kellogg became a name partner when the firm changed its name to Hauxhurst, Sharp, Cull & Kellogg in 1959.
1950 – 1960
The Shift to Litigation Begins
Walter Sharp and his son Robert spent a good portion of the 1950s successfully defending his former partner William Daley (Otis & Co.) and Cyrus Eaton (Eaton Manufacturing Co.) in complex tax litigation, connected to the development of the Steep Rock Iron Mines in Ontario, Canada. Meanwhile, Frank Cull and Michael Gallagher were defending the Insurance Board of Cleveland in antitrust litigation instituted by the U.S. Department of Justice. After the retirements of James Bachman and H. Austin Hauxhurst, Frank Cull and under his tutelage Mollison, Gallagher, Stuhldreher, Fulton, and Norman began to shift the firm’s focus from corporate law to civil litigation, particularly tort and casualty defense litigation. Known for his outstanding trial work, Cull was named a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and served as Vice President and a member of the Executive Committee of the International Association of Insurance Counsel.
1960 – 1970
50 Years
The 1960s saw the passing of firm founders H. Austin Hauxhurst, Frank X. Cull and I. Walter Sharp. However, the firm to which they devoted the majority of their legal careers celebrated the 50th anniversary of its organization with a cocktail reception in December of 1962. Despite blizzard conditions, the affair was considered a success and evolved into an annual client party. Leonard Davis had left the firm to become Executive Vice President of the Gabriel Company, Raymond Hengst had left for an executive position at Eaton, and in 1966, J. Hall Kellogg retired to Of Counsel. George W. Stuhldreher, Burt Fulton and Forrest A. Norman had become partners, and Michael R. Gallagher became a name partner when the firm changed its name to Hauxhurst, Sharp, Mollison & Gallagher in 1967.
1969
Civil Litigation
The transformation of the firm from corporate law to civil litigation was complete by the end of the decade. While the firm still represented a few corporations such as National Terminals, Industrial Ovens, B & K Machinery, and The Youghiogheny & Ohio Coal Co., by 1969, the client list had grown to include 25 insurance organizations such as Allstate, Continental National American, The Continental Insurance Companies, Crum & Forster, Fireman’s Fund, Insurance Company of North America, and the Insurance Board of Cleveland. In the words of Michael Gallagher, “Frank Cull started a trial department which grew to become synonymous with the firm. It is impossible to measure his contribution to the firm, both in acquiring business and in imprinting on it his personality and standards as lawyer and compassionate person.”
1970
Asbestos
During the 1970s, a rising volume of lawsuits involving the occupational exposure to asbestos were filed, eventually leading to the most extensive and expensive mass tort litigation in the history of the United States. At the forefront of this litigation were two insurance coverage cases argued by the firm, Insurance Company of North America v. Forty-Eight Insulations, in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, and Keene Corporation v. Insurance Company of North America, et al., in the Court of Appeals, District of Columbia. These cases presented unique and important issues in insurance coverage and eventually framed the basis of policy coverage and defense obligations from initial exposure to asbestos to the manifestation of an asbestos-related disease. The firm would enter the 21st Century as a prominent defense firm in asbestos and mass tort litigation.
May 4, 1970 – January 1979
Kent State Trial
“It’s easy to have 20-20 hindsight, but you have to see it through the eyes of the people who were there,” is a quote from Burt Fulton, lead defense counsel for the Ohio National Guard during the $46 million dollar damages lawsuit stemming from the shootings on the Kent State University campus on May 4, 1970. Four students died and nine were injured. The trial began in May of 1975, lasted approximately four months, and concluded in defense verdicts. The case was appealed, scheduled to be retried, and eventually settled in January of 1979. Fulton, who spent the 1970s predominantly involved in the Kent State litigation, was a larger-than-life litigator who never shied away from taking a case to trial. He was well known for his skills in oral advocacy, ability to improvise, and talent for practical jokes. His reputation as a trial attorney was renowned locally and nationally, and he served as a mentor to many of the firm’s future trial attorneys.
1975
Another Name Change
During the 1970s, James L. Ryhal, Jr., James F. Sweeney, Edward J. Cass, James G. Gowan, and Thomas E. Betz were promoted to partners. As the firm cemented its reputation as a leading Ohio litigation firm, the name was changed to Gallagher, Sharp, Fulton, Norman & Mollison in 1975.
1980
Aviation Law
A former Flying Fortress bomber pilot who had flown 30 missions over Europe at the height of World War II, Michael R. Gallagher had become a nationally recognized trial lawyer, specializing in the defense of aviation crash cases. His clients included all major manufacturers of light aircraft and many national airlines. One of his prominent cases arose from the death of New York Yankees catcher Thurman Munson, who crashed his twin engine Cessna jet in 1979. Gallagher represented the Cessna Aircraft Company through many years of protracted litigation during the 1980s. He served as President of the Lawyer-Pilots Bar Association, and after his retirement, became President of the Cleveland Air Show.
1980
Railroad Law
Under the guidance of Forrest A. Norman the firm became one of the leading railroad litigation firms in Ohio. Defending FELA occupational claims involving asbestos or respiratory injuries, hearing loss, repetitive stress, diesel fumes and other non-traumatic claims became a specialized area of practice. For many years, Norman served as primary counsel in Northeast Ohio for Conrail, Norfolk Southern, and Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway Company and was an active member of the National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel. He was an astute railroad attorney and excellent trial lawyer, one known nationally for his meticulous research, planning, and organization.
June 5, 1987
75 Years
In 1982, following the retirement and death of Clarence Mollison, the firm name changed to Gallagher, Sharp, Fulton & Norman. In 1982, Alan M. Petrov and Alton L. Stephens were named partners and in 1985, Virginia L. Heidloff became the firm’s first female partner and eventually one of the first female Managing Partners in the City of Cleveland. In 1984, the firm conducted its first major legal seminar for clients, and GSFN seminars became an annual Spring event. On June 5, 1987, the firm celebrated the 75th anniversary of its founding.
1990 – 2000
The Torch is Passed
The partners who had overseen the transformation of the firm from corporate law to litigation began to retire during the 1990s. This group of well respected attorneys included five Fellows of the American College of Trial Lawyers, one Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, a past President and Chairman of the Federation of Insurance and Corporate Counsel and a Diplomate of the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys. Under their leadership, the firm itself had expanded from 14 or so lawyers in the 1950s to close to 50 lawyers in the 1990s.
1990 – 2000
Notable Cases
As the firm leadership passed from the retiring partners, the firm continued to enhance its reputation as a leading litigation firm through participation in significant cases that helped shape Ohio law. Two cases that refined the definition and required elements for awarding punitive damages in lawsuits alleging the tort of insurance bad faith were Motorists Mutual Insurance Company v. Said and Zoppo v. Homestead Insurance Company. In the appellate arena, Polikoff v. Adam defined what a “special proceeding” is for purposes of Ohio’s final, appealable order statute, and Whitelock v. Gilbane Building Company, articulated the standard for determining conflicts between appellate districts. State ex rel. Abner v. Elliott established that documentary evidence used by plaintiff’s counsel to prepare witnesses to identify asbestos products at deposition is discoverable. Floor Craft Floor Covering, Inc. v. Parma Community General Hospital Association determined that privity was an essential element of a claim to recover economic damages. And, a professional photographer’s commercial sales of a photograph taken from the sidewalk of a public building was held not to violate federal trademark laws in Rock & Roll Hall of Fame & Museum, Inc. v. Gentile.
1999 – 2007
Firm Expansion
In 1999, the Supreme Court of Ohio decided Scott Pontzer v. Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance greatly expanding the scope of underinsured and uninsured motorists coverage. A torrent of uninsured motorist claims ensued, and the firm expanded its insurance practice group to keep pace. The resulting expansion: 82 attorneys were employed at Gallagher Sharp in 2003, and offices in Toledo and Detroit were opened in 2004 and 2007, respectively.
2005
Shortened Name and Tagline
In 2005, the firm undertook extensive renovations to the firm’s space, adding new conference room technology on the one hand, while preserving the 1920’s Lincoln Lobby and architectural detail of Senator Bulkley’s private offices, on the other. In that same year, the firm formally shortened its name to Gallagher Sharp and registered the service mark “Solutions, Not Surprises,” a phrase that continues to express the firm’s philosophy and commitment in providing legal services.
2008
Practice Group Specialization
The first decade of the new millennium ushered in a dramatic change in the way the firm provided legal services. Adapting to changes in the legal industry and conscious of the need for expertise, the firm formed practice groups addressing specific areas of law and the specialized industries that the firm had long served: General Litigation, Insurance, Transportation, Professional Liability, Mass Torts, Product Liability, Business and Employment, and Appellate. The firm also created client service standards and formed client teams all designed to provide efficient and cost-effective service.