After almost a century, one of Florida's oldest law firms is taking on a significant partner firm. Ausley McMullen of Tallahassee has joined forces with Wakulla County's Lowe Legal and Title.
For more than two decades, Crawfordville-based Lowe Legal and Title has essentially been its principal, Francie Lowe. The region's coastal counties have seen relentless population growth. She says affiliating with the much larger Ausley firm will better serve that population and grow the combined business.
"When I was in Franklin County this past weekend, I was speaking to Alligator Point/St. Theresa about estate planning. And everybody there was thrilled to death to get Ausley McMullen folders because they all knew Ausley McMullen."
Not too surprising, since the firm was founded was back in 1930 by Charles Saxon Ausley and future Florida Governor LeRoy Collins. But Lowe says a lot of coastal settlers are now coming from Georgia and may be less familiar with the venerable firm. Ausley McMullen Shareholder Ben Bush says all this aims to give the combined firm a larger - but not too large - regional footprint.
"We all thought it would be beneficial, both for our clients and for her clients, to combine forces and see what we can do together to, not only serve Leon, Gadsden and Jefferson counties, but also serve Wakulla, Franklin and Taylor counties."
Francie Lowe sees the move as providing a full menu of legal services to coastal county clients.
"It does help to have additional attorneys and paralegals and staff to be able to pick up the work that normally I wouldn't get because I don't do a lot of litigation, bankruptcy, that sort of thing. So it'll be nice to have sources for my clients that need that kind of work."
And when it comes to how effective Lowe might be in recruiting more clients for the combined firm, Ben Bush tells this story about his recent Wakulla County visit.
"Francie and I and her husband went to lunch. And Francie introduced me to everybody who came through the door. That tells you everything you need to know about her station in that community."
That incident would also seem to suggest why both Bush and Lowe see so much promise in this new collaboration.
