Mason Griffin & Pierson

The law firm of Mason, Griffin and Pierson had its beginnings at a YMCA camp on the Delaware, where Gordon D. Griffin and Ralph S. Mason met as camper and counselor in the early 1930s. Their professional relationship began in 1947 after the two men met again in Trenton. Ralph had just partnered with Seymour Montgomery in Princeton to form the firm... of Montgomery and Mason, and had asked Gordon Griffin to join the practice upon graduating law school. In 1948, Gordon Griffin became Montgomery and Masons first and only associate at their office in the First National Bank building at the corner of Witherspoon and Nassau Streets. The firm of Montgomery and Mason was dissolved in 1952. Ralph Mason and Gordon Griffin continued to share office space, but were not partners. On January 1, 1955, the partnership of Mason & Griffin was formed. In addition to Ralph's many contacts, clients then included the Township of Princeton and the Board of Education of the Township of Princeton. The firms municipal clientele later expanded and included the Borough of Princeton, Montgomery Township and Hightstown Borough. The firm was also involved in an interesting process sometimes referred to as "creeping consolidation," whereby Princeton Township and Borough formed several joint agencies, including the Joint Recreation Commission, the Regional Planning Board, the Joint Library Commission, Joint Civil Rights Commission, and the Joint Board of Health. By and large, however, the firms practice was general, covering trials, real estate, wills and estates, and corporate matters. During this early period, Ralph Mason was working on a suit against a giant quarry company. One of the dividends of this experience was Ralphs introduction to Hervey Moore, an attorney also involved in the quarry case. The first expansion in partners took place when Hervey Moore joined the firm just a few weeks after its formation. The firm then became Mason, Griffin & Moore. In June 1956, Kester R. Pierson graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law ...Read More