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Largo attorney Russell Shipley, 75, celebrated 50 years of active legal practice Oct. 23 and used his golden anniversary to reflect on changes in practicing law in Maryland since he started in 1959.

Shipley said that when he began his career, lawyers were general practitioners and covered all aspects of the law, which he said "made it more interesting."

"The legal process was simpler then — I wish it was more like it used to be," he said. "Law has become like a giant bureaucracy because there are so many more laws and regulations. It's more complicated and takes longer."

Shipley's current law firm, Shipley, Horne and Hewlett, P.A., in Largo was formed in 1995. Shipley said he usually has between 80 and 100 clients.

The firm surprised him Oct. 23 with a congratulatory reception that was attended by many sitting and former judges in Maryland courts, former and sitting Prince George's County Circuit Court judges, former and current elected officials, former law partners, attorneys and clients.

Shipley, a Lanham resident who is married with four children and 12 grandchildren, specializes in zoning, land use and administrative law, among other areas.

"Law gives you a variety, an intellectual challenge, and it's mentally stimulating," he said.

He estimates he has been involved with thousands of cases. One of those was the county's first comprehensive design zoning case in 1975, which lasted into the late 1980s, for his client, the Christian Brothers of Ammendale in Beltsville. Shipley said this property was the first of its kind, a comprehensive industrial park that encompasses about 20 acres.

"I was trying to prove all the new criteria, set the precedent for comprehensive design," he said.

Shipley was deputy county attorney for Prince George's County from 1960 to 1963 and has been in private practice for more than 40 years at a number of firms.

Law partner Elizabeth Hewlett said it is an honor to work with Shipley.

"I'm glad to have the benefit of his knowledge," said Hewlett, who described her colleague as a well-read, extremely competent lawyer.

Michele La Rocca, a partner with law firm Meyers, Rodbell and Rosenbaum in Riverdale Park, worked with Shipley for 10 years.

"He's the pinnacle of professionalism," she said. "Obviously, he's absolutely brilliant. He's able to take extraneous information and meld it together into methodology into getting to a win."

Maryland's Secretary of State John P. McDonough, who has known Shipley for nearly 40 years, said Shipley is a good lawyer because he is an excellent listener.

"He truly listens to people with different points of view, to help find the middle ground for his client and the opposition. Land use and zoning can be contentious," McDonough said. "He brings the everyman's perspective to things."

E-mail Liz Skalski at eskalski@gazette.net.