Established in 1883, the law firm now known as Beggs & Lane was originally founded as Blount and Blount by brothers William A. Blount (1851-1920), and Alexander Clement Blount. William Blount is credited with rewriting Florida statutory law and producing the codification of the Florida Statutes of 1892. Francis B. Carter, former justice of the Supreme Court of Florida, joined the firm in 1907. Their offices in the Blount building (constructed in 1907) were a long-time staple of the downtown Pensacola landscape.Subsequent partners of the firm included J.E.D. Yonge, E. Dixie Beggs Sr., Bert Lane, James Nixon Daniel Jr., and Miles Davis, prompting the firm's eventual progression to Beggs, Lane, Daniel, Gaines & Davis. The firm shortened its name to just Beggs & Lane in 1975.
The list of former and current clients of the firm is extensive, as the firm was and is the corporate attorney for numerous West Florida businesses. Those clients have included the American Lumber Company; Bagdad Land and Lumber Company; Birmingham, Columbus & St. Andrews Railroad Company; the Children's Home Society of Florida; Escambia County; the Escambia County School Board; the Escambia Gulf Beach Hotel; the First National Bank of Pensacola; First Methodist Episcopal Church; Duncan U. Fletcher; Florida Chautauqua; Florida Colonization and Industrial Company of Chicago; Forbes Company; German-American Lumber Company; Gulf Power Company (formerly Pensacola Electric Company); Kupfrian Park Company; Okaloosa County; City of Pensacola; Pensacola Electric Terminal Company (Streetcars); Pensacola and Hervey Hotel Company (San Carlos Hotel); Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Company; South Florida Stores Corporation (Piggly-Wiggly Stores); Tampa Electric Company; Baptist Healthcare Corporation; L&N Railroad Company; Southern Bell; and the Valparaiso Development Company.
Beggs & Lane is listed in the Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers. Beggs and Lane has continued to provide Northwest Florida with exceptional legal services for well over a century while demonstrating the highest standards of ethics and integrity.
James Nixon Daniel Jr. practiced law at Beggs & Lane for 25 years and served as managing partner of the firm at the time of his death (1950-1975).
