Most law firms don’t start with a bet. Udall Shumway law firm did. Back in 1965, two law school friends, […]
Most law firms don’t start with a bet. Udall Shumway law firm did.
Back in 1965, two law school friends, Dale Shumway and David Udall, decided to go into business together in Mesa, Arizona. They just couldn’t agree on whose name should come first, or where exactly to plant their flag. So they did what any two confident young lawyers might do: they flipped a coin for it. Mr. Udall won both tosses, and just like that, the Law Offices of Udall and Shumway opened their doors in the City of Mesa. To this day, Mr. Shumway still jokes that his old friend must have used a two-headed coin. Sixty years later, nobody’s proven it, but the story has become part of the firm’s DNA, a reminder that Udall Shumway law firm was built on friendship and a little bit of friendly rivalry.
Growing Up Above a Drug Store
The firm’s very first office wasn’t glamorous. It sat on the second floor of 41 East Main Street in Mesa, right above a drug store. It worked well enough for a small practice, but by 1968 the criminal and civil caseload had outgrown the space. That year, Dennis Blackhurst joined as a partner, the team moved into the Valley Bank Building at 13 North MacDonald, and the firm took on its first of many new names: Udall, Shumway & Blackhurst.
That pattern, growth followed by a new name on the door, would repeat itself for decades.
The Firm Finds Its Footing
The early 1970s brought rapid expansion. Robert Bentley came on board in 1971 to lead business and estate planning work, while Dale Shumway opened a satellite office across the way in Tempe. Merle Allen joined in 1972, bringing insurance defense and general litigation experience, and the name grew right along with the roster: Udall, Shumway, Blackhurst, Allen and Bentley.
Two years later, John Lyons joined to work alongside Merle Allen on insurance defense and litigation matters, and the firm became Udall, Shumway, Blackhurst, Allen, Bentley & Lyons. Shortly after, on October 28, 1974, the growing team relocated once more, this time to 30 West First Street in downtown Mesa, a home base that would serve them for years to come.
Two Decades of Steady Growth
The 1980s and 1990s were a period of quiet, consistent expansion. Names shifted here and there as the partnership evolved, but the real story was the growth in size and reach. By 1990, the firm had built out a team of 20 attorneys, a serious milestone for a practice that started with two friends and a coin toss. Merle Allen retired in 1996, closing out a career that helped shape the firm’s litigation practice from its earliest years.
A New Century, A New Chapter
The turn of the millennium brought its own set of changes. In 2000, founders Dale Shumway and David Udall stepped into Of-Counsel roles, staying connected to the firm they built without running its day-to-day operations. Dennis Blackhurst retired the following year, and the firm adopted the name Udall, Shumway & Lyons. John Lyons retired in 2004 and passed away in 2008, marking the close of an era for many of the firm’s original leaders.
Where the Firm Stands Today
Nearly sixty years after that coin flip in Mesa, Udall Shumway PLC is still standing, still serving the Phoenix area, and still built on the same foundation of client-focused legal work. Today, the firm handles a wide range of practice areas, including Administrative Law, Personal Injury, Business Law, Commercial Litigation and Bankruptcy, Real Estate, Estate Planning, Divorce and Family Law, and work with Schools and Municipalities. That range reflects decades of attorneys joining the team, each bringing their own specialty and helping the firm meet the needs of a growing community.
What hasn’t changed is the commitment that started it all. Two friends who trusted each other enough to build something together, and a firm that has spent six decades trying to live up to that trust for every client who walks through the door.
So the next time someone asks how Udall Shumway got its start, the answer really is that simple: a coin flip, a shared vision, and a lot of hard work in the years since. Whether or not that coin actually had two heads is still up for debate. What’s not up for debate is the legacy it helped create.
