Thomas C. Erb, Chairman Emeritus

Lewis Rice LLC announced today that Thomas C. (Tom) Erb is stepping down from his role as Chairman of the Firm. Erb is succeeded by Richard B. (Rick) Walsh Jr., who has chaired the Firm’s Litigation Department since 2012. Erb will remain an active member practicing in the Corporate Department. This succession plan was put into place 12 months ago when Lewis Rice announced Walsh would serve as the Firm’s Vice Chairman until Erb stepped down this month as planned.

“Rick is a natural leader, an outstanding attorney, and a longtime friend and colleague,” said Erb. “Rick’s dedication to Lewis Rice is abundantly clear to anyone who knows him. He has spent his entire career at the Firm, and has served in many leadership positions over the years. He leads with decisive action, creativity and compassion. He will make a terrific Chairman.”

Erb served as Chairman of the 160-lawyer Firm from May 2012 until August 2020. In addition to guiding Lewis Rice through a period of sustained growth, Erb formalized the Firm’s long-standing commitment to diversity, inclusion and equality in the legal community by launching Lewis Rice’s first Diversity & Inclusion committee and the Lewis Rice Women to Women (LRW2W) Forum. Both initiatives play an important role in supporting the growth and mentorship of the Firm’s minority and women lawyers and bolstering diversity and inclusion initiatives in the broader community.

Erb spent his entire legal career of more than 40 years at Lewis Rice, and he maintained his corporate and M&A practice while managing the Firm. Erb counsels Fortune 500 companies as well as closely held businesses, with a particular emphasis on commercial banks and financial firms.

“Lewis Rice has really thrived under Tom’s leadership – reporting consistent practice expansion, revenue growth and record profitability year after year,” said Walsh. “In these past pandemic months, Tom has been at his best. He quickly mobilized the Firm to lead our transformation to remote practice, setting up core group communication to react to real-time issues. We are fortunate he will continue to work on the Firm’s finances.”

Walsh practices primarily in the area of complex commercial litigation, including intellectual property, antitrust and securities litigation. He counsels transactional clients concerning associated risks in commercial transactions. Walsh's background includes litigating antitrust claims in the health care, bicycle components, agricultural products, professional sports and fitness equipment industries. He litigates intellectual property matters in many areas, including computer systems, mechanical apparatuses and systems, and chemical, electrical and medical products and processes.

“I am proud to serve as the next Chairman of Lewis Rice, and honored to continue to build upon the success we’ve enjoyed as a result of Tom’s leadership,” said Walsh. “Lewis Rice has always been committed to providing sophisticated counsel and custom-tailored legal solutions for the challenges facing our clients. That commitment to service has never been more important as we help our clients navigate the business interruptions resulting from this pandemic. I look forward to working with our Firm leadership and our exceptional attorneys and legal professionals to continue building upon our legacy of service and community stewardship.”