MANCHESTER — Their names are virtually synonymous with the practice of law in New Hampshire — Sheehan, Phinney, Bass and Green. The law firm founded in the depths of the Great Depression observes its 75th anniversary this month, celebrating the larger-than-life characters who built one of the most enduring businesses in the state, their commitment to public service and the landmark cases they pursued.

On Sept. 21, 1937, when John J. “Jack” Sheehan, already a renowned trial lawyer, and young FBI attorney William L. Phinney inked a partnership agreement, they could not have known they were setting the cornerstone for a company that today employs 65 attorneys and another 53 staff members with offices in four locations throughout New Hampshire and Boston.

Perkins Bass, father of N.H. Congressman Charlie Bass, joined Sheehan and Phinney in 1946, and was joined by William Green in 1951. Kimon S. Zachos joined the firm in 1957. Now 81, he is the oldest partner still practicing law today.

From offices on the 18th floor of the 1000 Elm St. tower, with expansive views of the sprawling mill complexes below, Zachos recalls that the founders were not really that interested in creating a law firm.

“Me and Dick Morse (who joined the firm in 1956) tried to convince them that they needed to form a professional association,” Zachos said. “After we'd formed professional associations for about half the doctors in town, we thought it might be a good idea for us, but it was a struggle to get those four guys to sit down at any one time. They just wanted to practice law. They didn't care about any formal organization.”

The firm existed as a partnership until 1975, when it was finally incorporated and became a professional association. “It was a different world back then,” Zachos said, “The trial practice was what all the lawyers were involved in. There weren't corporate practices, minority stockholder suits and all the things that take up time today.”

Practicing law back then was all about getting a case to trial. Today, Zachos said, it's all about avoiding one. “If someone thought they were owed some money, they sued, and the insurance companies would fight it. They weren't just rolling over. Today, they know the best thing to do is to settle the case rather than take it to trial. Today, you can't even get a trial,” he added, alluding to the backlog of civil cases.

Some of the firm's trials are the most famous in state history. Edgecomb Steel vs. the State of New Hampshire in the late 1950s set in place eminent domain law that still stands today. Zachos led the team of attorneys representing IBM in a significant antitrust case brought by Sanders Associates against IBM. The firm helped establish Anheuser-Busch brewery in Merrimack, guided the growth of Elliot Hospital and helped start some of the first HMOs in the state.

In many of those cases the firm represented corporate interests and cemented its reputation as “the business law firm,” the tagline still used today. But some high-profile criminal cases are associated with the firm as well.

Phinney and Green, then serving as state attorney general and assistant attorney general respectively, prosecuted Derry doctor Hermann Sanders in what is widely regarded as the first U.S. trial for medical euthanasia, or mercy killing as it was called at the time. Defended by Louis Wyman, a future U.S. congressman, Sanders was acquitted in 1950 even though he acknowledged he had injected air into the veins of a dying cancer patient.

The fact that two of the firm's founders were in service to the state at the time was not unusual. “Everyone went off to war, and then came back and promptly resumed their practice,” Zachos said. While Phinney and Green were the chief legal officers for the state, Sheehan served as United States attorney under the Truman Administration. Perkins Bass served as congressman from New Hampshire's Second District for years, before running for the U.S. Senate in 1962. Warren Rudman joined the firm in 1976, prior to his election to the U.S. Senate, a campaign that involved many of the firm's partners.

Partner Bruce A. Harwood was recently selected to fill an upcoming vacancy as a judge for the United States Bankruptcy Court for New Hampshire.

Lawyers today are still drawn to political office or government service, said the firm's President and Managing Director Joe DiBrigida, but with a significant difference.

“What was different then, was that people would do that (take a government or political office) and then come back,” he said. “Whereas now, people who leave law firms never come back to their firm. Back then, you did your service and you returned to the job. Now people use it as a stepping stone.”

The Great Recession has affected the legal profession, as it has virtually every sector, but DiBrigida says SFBG has not had to lay off an employee. “We've always taken the approach here that we feel we're a family,” he said. The company recently completed extensive renovation of the three floors it occupies at the downtown office tower, which has served as headquarters since 1972.

“In a booming economy, we see more business transactions. In a down economy, we see more litigation and bankruptcy,” he said.

The spirit of the founding partners, who lived through many of those business cycles, is honored throughout this year of celebration for the firm, even though none will be present. William Phinney died in 1977, Jack Sheehan in 1993, William Green in 2007 and Perkins Bass just last year. Their names will resonate for generations to come, not only in the history of law, but in the political and social history of New Hampshire.

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Dave Solomon may be reached at dsolomon@unionleader.com.