Canton law firm Black McCuskey marks 100 years serving community

CANTON – Law firm Black McCuskey will be relocating its offices to the Belden Village area as the firm marks 100 years in business.

After more than 36 years in the Huntington Bank building, the firm will move to 4505 Stephen Circle NW in Jackson Township. The move is planned for late July.

The new location provides a modern, efficient working environment and has been designed to reflect how the practice of law has evolved, said Bruce Soares, managing partner. The Belden Village area also serves the firm's needs and accommodates for future growth.

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While downtown Canton has been a wonderful home for Black McCuskey, the firm's management team believes that the decision to move and the new office space will provide the best experience for its clients and employees, Soares said.

Four established lawyers — Clarence G. Herbruck, Homer E. Black, Emery A. McCuskey and Walter S. Ruff — decided in 1922 to combine their business. They brought in younger lawyers, Albert B. Arbaugh, Russell Mack and Donald Merwin. When Herbruck died in 1925, Loren Souers joined the firm.

Since 1940, following Ruff's death, the firm operated as Black, McCuskey, Souers & Arbaugh.

Through the years, the firm has been a close knit group with strong interpersonal relationships, Soares said. He joined the firm in 1980.

"We've always been blessed to have a very good group," he said.

Black McCuskey has 24 lawyers working from offices around the state. While the main office is in Canton, additional offices are in Dover-New Philadelphia and Toledo. During the pandemic, the firm has seen lawyers work from offices outside Ohio.

Through the years, Black McCuskey has concentrated on business law. The firm's first office was on the top floor of the Harter Bank building, in part because the bank was a client.

Harter Bank was forced to close during the Great Depression, as were other banks. With a key client closed, Black, McCuskey, Souers and Merwin devised a plan to help it reopen. After litigation that went to the Ohio Supreme Court, they garnered approval. The success of the Harter Bank Holding Co. case became a benchmark in the recovery for Canton and the state.

"It became a model," Soares said of the plan that rescued Harter Bank. "We're still very proud of that."

Four of the firm's lawyers — Richard McCuskey, Loren Souers Jr., Dan Belden and E. Robert Schellhase — entered the military and served in World War II. While all returned to the firm following service, Richard McCuskey remained in Europe after the war ended to work as a prosecutor in the Nuremberg war crimes trials.

The firm's corporate practice began developing in the 1950s, and by the 1970s Black McCuskey had an established corporate practice.

Soares said the the firm built on its foundation in business law and has developed an intellectual property group to help with patent, trademark and copyright law. The firm saw this as a growth area, and developed its team after connecting with a client. Soares said the firm tailored the department to match customer needs.

Black McCuskey is growing on the foundation created by the firm's founders, as well as business built by the senior partners, Soares said, citing firm members Randy Snow, Victor Marsh, Chuck Tyburski and Gust Callas.

"We look forward to building on our legacy," Soares said.

Innis Maggiore adds North Carolina office

Jackson Township-based advertising agency Innis Maggiore is establishing operations in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Jim Cyphert, director of public relations for Innis Maggiore, will lead business development and manage agency initiatives for the new office.

The move gives Innis Maggiore a presence in North Carolina's Research Triangle, bounded by Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill. The area is home to three major universities and a number of technology and life sciences companies.

The region's business-friendly environment and the established higher education system make Raleigh an economic engine, said President and CEO Dick Maggiore. There are are several good reasons for opening an office in Raleigh, Maggiore said.

Cyphert has nearly 20 years with Innis Maggiore and more than 25 years of public relations experience. He directs all of the public relations initiatives for the agency and its clients.

Innis Maggiore was founded nearly 50 years ago. The full-service positioning ad agency, has more than 30 employees and is independently owned. It ranks in the top 10% of the nation’s agencies, Maggiore said.

Timken Co. supplying U.S. Navy

The Philadelphia Gear business unit of Timken Co. will be supplying key parts for the future USS Congress, a frigate under construction for the Navy.

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Fincantieri Marinette Marine awarded Philadelphia Gear a contract option to supply the main reduction gears for the ship. Philadelphia Gear will design the components for the ship's propulsion system at its technical center in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. The parts will be made and assembled in Santa Fe Springs, California, at the company's marine center for excellence.

The Navy has given Fincantieri Marinette Marine an option to build 10 of the frigates. If all of the ships are ordered, Timken said it could realize more than $150 million in revenue over the life of the contract.

"Philadelphia Gear has served as a trusted partner on Navy projects for almost a century," Carl Rapp, Timken group vice president, said in a press release.

Philadelphia Gear designs and builds main reduction gears for a variety of active Navy ships. The main reduction gears are large components that transfer energy from a ship’s power source to its propeller shafts, allowing the vessel to move at various speeds.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Canton law firm Black McCuskey marks 100 years serving community