FIRM HISTORY

James Fenimore Cooper was the son of Paul Fenimore Cooper, a partner in the firm, and grandson of the famous author James Fenimore Cooper. He was a partner of the firm from 1882 to 1938. Cooper trained in the law with the noted Albany lawyer Marcus T. Hun, and was admitted to the bar in 1882. He then joined his father in the firm Jenkins & Cooper. After his father’s death in 1895, the firm became known successively as Tracey, Cooper & Rathbone; Tracey, Cooper and Townsend; Tracey, Cooper & Savage, and, in 1925, Cooper Erving & Savage by which it is known today.

During Cooper’s tenure the firm became known for its expertise in banking law, for which it remains to the present day. Cooper was a director of several banks. The major clients of the firm were First Trust Company (now Key bank) and Albany Savings Bank (now RBS Citizens Bank). Cooper was a director of First Trust Company, and his mentor Marcus T. Hun, and partner Frederick Townsend II, both served as president of Albany Savings Bank. This began a long line of Cooper Erving partners serving as bank directors and officers.

Cooper authored a book about his native Otsego County entitled Legends and Traditions of a Northern County and complied two volumes of correspondence of his namesake grandfather. James Fenimore Cooper died in 1938 having been a member of the firm for 56 years.

Frederick Townsend II was a partner of the firm from 1899 to 1920.

Townsend was born in 1871, a descendant of one of Albany’s oldest families. He attended Albany Boys Academy where he excelled, graduating at the head of his class. He went on to Harvard College where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa. He then earned his law degree at Harvard Law School. After law school, Townsend returned to Albany and entered the firm, then known as Tracey, Cooper & Rathbone. In 1899, after Rathbone went to New York City, Townsend became a partner, and the firm became Tracey, Cooper & Townsend. Townsend’s forte was banking. During his law career he was a trustee and attorney for the Albany Savings Bank. He then became its president, and served in that capacity until he retired in 1941.

He was also served as vice-president of State Bank of Albany, Treasurer of the Van Rensselaer Land Company, and as the president of the Albany Home for Children. He was also as a trustee of Albany Medical College and Dudley Observatory.

He died in 1949 at age 78 having lived a long and distinguished life.

William Van Rensselaer Erving was a partner the firm from 1925 to 1940. Erving was born in 1871 in New York City, a descendant of the Van Rensselaer patroons. He was educated at private schools in New York City after which he received his law degree from Albany Law School. He relocated to Albany and became involved in Republican politics led by the Barnes machine. In 1920, he ran for Albany mayor in a highly contentious race and lost to the Democrat William S. Hackett. This ushered in Democratic Corning/O’Connell organization which controlled Albany politics for the rest of the twentieth century.

Erving became a partner of the firm in 1925 and the firm became known as Cooper Erving & Savage and remains so to the present. His expertise was in corporate and trusts and estate law, and was known to be a strong advocate for his clients. For 35 years Erving was a trustee and secretary of Albany Savings Bank, a major firm client. He managed the William P. Van Rensselaer Estate Corporation, which was organized to handle the Van Rensselaer family holdings. His principal hobby was navigation, and he was an avid member of the New York Navigation Institute.

Erving died in 1940 at age 68.

Eugene P. Devine was a firm partner from 1947 until his death in 1974. Born in 1912, he attended Niagara University and, in 1940, obtained his law degree from Albany Law School. He then joined Cooper Erving & Savage and in 1947 became the third partner of Irish descent, following James Tracey and Edward Rooney.

As many prior partners, he was involved in Albany politics. He was a confidant of the legendary Democratic boss, Dan O’Connell, and was elected Albany County Treasurer in 1956 and served as such for several terms. He also was the chairman of the Albany Housing Authority. In addition, he was a director of Hedrick Brewing Company, a well- known O’Connell-owned entity.

Devine was a director of First Trust Company and trustee of Albany Savings Bank.

On a personal level, he was known for his keen mind and sharp wit. A lifelong smoker, Devine died of lung cancer in 1974 at age 61. His son Eugene “Gus” Devine was a firm partner from 1981 to 1985, and now serves as a New York Supreme Court Judge on the Third Department Appellate Division.

Thomas M. Whalen III was a firm partner from 1964 to 1988. He was educated at Manhattan College and Albany Law School. He was politically ambitious, and a protégé of partner Eugene Devine who connected him with legendary Democratic party leader Dan O’Connell. In 1969, with the help of Devine, Whalen was elected as an Albany City Court Judge where he served until 1975. In 1981, he was handpicked by longtime Albany Mayor Erastus Corning to be his successor. In that year, Whalen was elected as President of the Albany Common Council, and became mayor on Corning’s death in 1983. He served for three terms, and was considered to have reformed and modernized Albany’s finances and instilled a new civic pride in its citizens.

While he was mayor in 1987 the firm merged with Nolan & Heller and became known as Cooper, Erving, Savage, Whalen, Nolan & Heller. After Whalen withdrew from the firm in 1988, due to conflicts of interest, the firm was known as Cooper, Erving, Savage, Nolan & Heller. The firm subsequently demerged in 2001 and again became known as Cooper Erving & Savage. Upon his retirement as mayor he returned to the firm. In 2002, Whalen died in a one-car automobile accident. It should be noted that Whalen was the second firm member to serve as Albany mayor. Teunis Van Vechten was a four term mayor in early 19th Century.