Neumiller & Beardslee Celebrates Over 100 Years of Service!

Neumiller & Beardslee is the direct descendent of the law firm of Ashley & Neumiller, formed on January 1, 1903, by two Stockton lawyers, Arthur H. Ashley and Charles L. Neumiller. Arthur Ashley was born in Stockton in 1865 and graduated from the University of California in 1887. Following his graduation he went to work for the District Attorney of San Joaquin County and shortly thereafter, in 1898, he became the District Attorney, serving a four-year term that ended in 1902. Charles L. “Charlie” Neumiller was born in Stockton in 1873 and graduated from Hastings College of the Law and was admitted to practice in 1901. After spending a year winding up the affairs of one of the area’s pioneer milling and warehouse companies, in 1902, he went to work for Arthur Ashley in the District Attorney’s office.

It was at the end of Arthur Ashley’s term in office as District Attorney that Arthur Ashley and Charlie Neumiller decided to enter into a partnership. They rented five rooms across from the courthouse in the New Salz Building facing Hunter Square for a rent of $240 per year, payable in gold. The original lease is currently displayed in our 1903 Conference Room. In 1903 Stockton was growing rapidly and was one of the larger cities in California. At that time Stockton was also substantial agricultural equipment manufacturing center, as well as a transportation hub and agricultural area.

During that original partnership, Charlie became the attorney for Benjamin Holt, formed the Benjamin Holt Company, and was substantially involved with the affairs of the Holt Manufacturing Company. In 1910, when the population of Stockton was just over 23,000, the original partnership was ended by the mutual consent of the partners. Arthur Ashley continued to practice on his own until his death in 1927. Charlie Neumiller continued in practice with various associates, including a distinguished former judge. In 1913, George A. Ditz joined the firm. George was born in Stockton in 1889 and graduated from Stanford University Law School and studied at Harvard Law School. He became Charlie Neumiller’s partner in 1915 and the Firm name became Neumiller & Ditz. The name of the Firm continued unchanged until 1941, when Robert L. Beardslee became a partner. In 1908, the Firm moved their offices to the Hale Building on Main Street. In 1915, the Firm again moved to the sixth floor of the new Commercial and Savings Bank Building (now the Cort Building), located on the Northwest corner of Sutter and Main Street. In 1966, when the building was renovated by the Bank of America, the Firm moved to the ninth floor.

During the years between 1913 and 1928, Stockton continued to grow and Neumiller & Ditz was a part of many of the important events of the era. This included the litigation between the Holt Manufacturing Company and the Best Tractor Company that culminated with the formation of the Caterpillar Tractor Company, and the bringing of the Western Pacific Railroad to the Stockton, ending the monopoly of the Southern Pacific Railroad in this area. Even after the removal of the headquarters of the Caterpillar Tractor Company from California to Illinois, members of the Firm continued for many years to attend the Company’s Board Meetings, commuting by train from Stockton to Peoria, Ilinois. In 1923 Charlie’s nephew, Irving, joined the firm. Irving Neumiller was born in Stockton in 1899 and graduated from Boalt Law School. Irving became a partner in 1925 and, unlike the earlier partners, was a well-known trial lawyer who founded the Firm’s trial practice.

The original partners were a remarkable group. Charlie Neumiller was not only a prominent business attorney, but was Chairman of the California Republican Party and a key figure in the Progressive Republican movement. He was also President of the Board of Prison Terms and Paroles almost continuously from 1915 until his death in 1933. George Ditz was President of the Stanford Alumni Association and a member of the University’s Board of Trustees. He also served on the National Board of the Red Cross, and held memberships in a number of prominent legal organizations, such as the American Law Institute. Irving Neumiller was also an active member of the State Republican Party and was appointed a member of the World Trade Center Authority.

In 1930, Robert L. (“Bob”) Beardslee became associated with the firm, beginning what was to be a 69-year career with the Firm, ending with his death in 1999. Bob was born in Stockton in 1905 and graduated from Stanford Law School in 1930. Following the death of Charlie Neumiller, in 1933, George Ditz, Irving Neumiller, and Robert Beardslee became the core of the firm until the end of the Second World War, when the local economy and the Firm started to grow. Stockton had not experienced a substantial population growth between 1928 and the Second World War, but the war and the post-war California population boom rekindled the growth in the Stockton area. Bob Beardslee continued the tradition of the earlier partners as a major force in the Stockton legal community, and counseled many of the major local businesses, such as State Savings and Loan Association, Holt Brothers, Hickenbotham Brothers, and Pacific Storage Company.

The Firm has been involved in numerous public works projects affecting this area, including the New Melones Dam, the Stockton East Water District water treatment plant, the Modesto Irrigation District water treatment plant, and the creation of the Altamont Commuter Express. The involvement in these projects was an outgrowth of the Firm’s representation of government entities which started with the representation of local water agencies and now also includes cities, other public districts, transportation agencies, and the Port of Stockton.

In the late 1960s, the Firm also started the representation of Real Estate Developers in the areas of land development, subdivision development, and construction activities. The Firm has worked with many developers on hundreds of subdivisions, both residential and commercial, located in California and other states, including such local projects as Lincoln Village West, Quail Lakes, Venetian Village and Venetian Bridges, Spanos Park East and Spanos Park West, Brookside Estates, and the Mountain House new town development.

In 1976, after another period of growth, the Firm required larger offices and moved to the fourth floor of the then new San Joaquin First Federal Building, located at 6 South El Dorado Street. Additional growth caused the Firm to move to the fourth and fifth floors of the Waterfront Office Towers, located at 509 West Weber Avenue, where the offices remain at this time.

Since the Firm’s formation in 1903, the Firm has had a variety of names, beginning with Ashley & Neumiller until 1915; Neumiller & Ditz until 1941; and Neumiller, Ditz and Beardslee until 1954. The firm grew and gained additional partners and names were added until the Firm name became Neumiller, Beardslee, Diehl, Siegert, Glahn, Shephard and Greene, in 1966. In 1975, the Firm name was shortened to Neumiller & Beardslee for the convenience of both the members of the Firm and the Firm’s clients. In 1981, the Firm incorporated under the name of Neumiller & Beardslee, a professional corporation.

There are currently eleven principals of the Firm. They are: Thomas J. Shephard, Duncan R. McPherson, Rudy V. Bilawski, James R. Dyke, John W. Stovall, Paul N. Balestracci, Daniel J. Schroeder, Clifford W. Stevens, Daniel S. Truax, Rod A. Attebery and Saroya J. Leonardini. The Firm also has three Of Counsel attorneys. They include Christopher A. Greene, a former partner of Neumiller & Beardslee, Michael F. McGrew, formerly Special Assistant County Counsel, San Joaquin County, and James T. C. Nuss, a twenty-five year partner of the former Stockton law firm of Geiger, Rudquist, Nuss, Coon & Keen, LLP. Current associate attorneys include DeeAnne Watkins Gillick, Reginald Schubert, Karen S. Bensch, Anthony M. Despotes, Lisa Blanco Jimenez, Nathan R. McGuire, Monica J. Streeter, Jennifer A. Alves, and Mia S. Brown.

Over the years, the Firm has represented many individuals, businesses both small and large, professional groups, non-profit organizations, and government agencies of all types. Although the clients, the type of businesses represented, and the type of work has changed over the years, the goal of Neumiller & Beardslee to provide high quality legal services and to maintain a high level of service to its clients and to the community remains the same.