Our History

In 1929, on the cusp of the Great Depression, two friends formed the legal partnership of Cors & Scherer, which would grow into the modern-day Cors & Bassett. Leslie Cors and Gordon Scherer each worked their way through Salmon P. Chase College of Law, Leslie as a lithographer and Gordon as a clerk for his mentor, Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Louis Schneider, Sr. The duo made an effective team – Leslie focused his efforts on wills, taxes, and real estate while Gordon cultivated a trial practice. They opened their first office in the Temple Bar Building, now the Hamilton County Courthouse annex, before moving to 505 Walnut Street, on the present site of the Fifth Third Center in downtown Cincinnati.

In the early 1940s, the growing Cors & Scherer became one of the first full-time tenants in the Carew Tower, then the tallest building in Cincinnati and today on the National Register of Historic Places. The firm’s offices remained at the Carew Tower until 1998. During that time, the firm grew in both size and prestige to become one of the most respected law firms in the Cincinnati region.

By the late 1940s and early 1950s, the firm then known as Cors, Scherer & Hair broke through old barriers, becoming one of the first law firms in the Cincinnati region to hire female attorneys. One of which, Martha Jane Hildenbrand Perin, went on to be a leader in the Cincinnati Bar Association for many years.  The firm later added as a member Lou Schneider, Jr., a renowned Ohio jurist and politician who had previously served as an associate justice on the Ohio Supreme Court, a member of the Ohio House of Representatives, Ohio Tax Commissioner and a member of the Hamilton County, Ohio Board of Commissioners.

Meanwhile, Mr. Scherer became involved in public service himself, serving on Cincinnati City Council from 1945 to 1949 and then in the United States House of Representatives from 1952 through 1962, when he returned to the firm by then known as Cors, Scherer, Hair & Hartsock. Mr. Scherer remained in public service until 1975, serving in the Ohio House of Representatives and later as the United States Representative to the United Nations. During this time, the firm again changed its name to Cors, Hair & Hartsock and later became Cors & Bassett.

By the turn of the millennium, the firm now known as Cors & Bassett relocated from its long-time offices in the Carew Tower to new offices along the Ohio River. In 2017, the firm returned to the Cincinnati Central Business District, moving to its present location in the PNC Center, in the shadow of the Carew Tower, the building the firm called home for over sixty years.

Although much has changed since 1929, Cors & Bassett remains as one of the longest-tenured and most highly respected law firms in Cincinnati. As the firm moves beyond its 90th year and into the future, we invite you to experience the service and attention that Cors & Bassett has given each of its clients since the day that Mr. Cors and Mr. Scherer first opened the doors to their new law firm. Today, just as in 1929, we invite you to experience the Cors & Bassett difference.