Locke, Stroud & Randolph (1926–1939); Locke, Locke, Dyer & Purnell (1939–1945); Locke, Locke & Purnell (1945–1959); Locke, Purnell, Boren, Laney & Neely (a professional corporation, 1972–1987); Locke Purnell Rain Harrell (1987–1999); Locke Liddell & Sapp (1999–2007); Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell (2007–2011); Locke Lord (name shortened in 2011; name remained Locke Lord despite merger with Edwards Wildman Palmer in 2015). Maurice Eugene Locke, who was born on a farm in Will County, Illinois, on Feb. 12, 1861, came to Dallas in 1888, when it had a population of 46,701 (more than triple that of 10 years earlier). He arrived as the 27-year-old manager of the Texas department of Jarvis-Conklin Mortgage Trust Company of Kansas City, which advertised that it made loans on improved real estate and ranch property. With him were his wife, Mary Dixon Locke; his six-year-old daughter, Ginevra; and his four-year-old son, Eugene Perry. Maurice Locke also was made president of Central National Bank of Dallas, chartered by Jarvis-Conklin in September 1889. He had previously been a mathematics professor at Valparaiso University, a private university in Valaparaiso, Indiana, from which he had graduated. In the early 1890s, a downturn in the national and state economies led to the reorganization of Central National Bank of Dallas and to Maurice Locke’s changing professions. In the 1893-1894 Dallas City Directory he is first mentioned as an attorney. By 1902 he had argued insurance cases before the Texas Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court. By 1904 he had built a library of about 10,000 volumes. In addition, Maurice Locke prepared a plat book of many of the surveys and additions to land in Dallas and built up a library of base abstracts of land titles. The examination of title to real property was a very important part of the firm’s business for its first 50 years. A 1926 contract agreement forming a firm partnership referenced the ideals of Maurice Locke: "Maurice E. Locke, because of his high character, his lofty ideals, his great ability and his indefatigable industry, set a high standard for the firm. None was higher. The acquisition of money never was the chief aim of the firm. Public distinction never was sought. The firm strove only to render the highest quality of honest service to its clients and to merit their absolute confidence." That contract agreement came about seven years after Maurice Locke’s death in November 1919. By