There is a historic relationship between the law firm of Anderson, Walker & Reichert and the city of Macon, deeply rooted in cultural and educational contributions and public service. Anderson, Walker & Reichert's primary mission is to render excellent legal service to businesses and individuals, representing clients in court as well as keeping them out of court. That philosophy, paired with a strong emphasis on integrity and community betterment, has been the tradition in a law practice spanning three centuries. Honoring this heritage, lawyers at Anderson, Walker & Reichert consider law not just a business, but a calling. Meeting clients' needs is their primary reward: getting paid to do so is a bonus.

The firm traces its origins to 1849 when Robert Sampson Lanier and brother-in-law William Henry Anderson began practicing law together in the growing and prosperous city of Macon. Lanier was born in Athens after his father moved from North Carolina to establish hotels along the burgeoning southern frontier, among them Macon's Lanier House. Lanier met Anderson in college in Virginia and married Anderson's sister Many Jane in 1840. In 1842, they became parents of the poet and musician Sidney Lanier. A much younger brother, Clifford Anderson came to Macon to be close to his kin after being orphaned and left penniless in 1845. Undaunted by his circumstances, the youngster educated himself by reading the classics, and then law, while working at the Lanier family's downtown hotel.

Formal legal education was rare in those days. Aspiring lawyers trained in the offices of other lawyers, reading law books and observing the practice of their mentors. They were required to appear before a Superior Court judge for "examination;" if they passed, they were admitted to the bar. William Henry Anderson died unexpectedly at twenty-eight; nevertheless Clifford continued to study under Robert Lanier; was admitted to the bar in 1852 at age nineteen, and immediately joined Lanier's practice, known then and for many years after as "Lanier and Anderson." Age difference was never a problem. The two men had complementary talents and were admired for industry, amiability, intellect, and probity. In an era when lawyers tended to practice alone or to change partners frequently, only Lanier's death in 1893 ended their remarkable partnership.

The firm's involvement in public service got off to an early start in 1865 when Clifford was named judge of the newly established City Court of Macon. After serving a year he recommended that it be abolished. Subsequently, he was elected to the Macon City Council, and later to the state legislature and Confederate Congress. He was Georgia's Attorney General from 1880-1890, earning praise from notables like former governor Nat Harris who described him as "probably the ablest, and on many accounts the most remarkable practitioner before the bar at this time in the state." When Mercer established a law school in 1878, Anderson became a member of its first faculty, beginning a close relationship between the university and the firm that continued into the twentieth century when the school's first building was named for partner T. E. Ryals in recognition of his efforts in its construction. Over the years, several members of the firm have taught at Mercer.

Most of Lanier's and Anderson's sons followed their fathers into the practice of law, although most left Macon in the lean years after the Civil War. One lawyer became more famous as a poet. Sidney Lanier, after several years of practicing law, found the lure of music and poetry irresistible, and followed his muse north to Baltimore. Anderson's eldest practiced for a time in Macon before moving to Atlanta, where he founded the firm of Anderson and Roundtree, known for most of the twentieth century as Hansell and Post. Another son, James, practiced with his father and uncle for about fifteen years before heading to Atlanta after his brother's first law partner had died.

It was left to the sixth son to carryon the old firm. In 1871, Anderson had notified his partner of the child's arrival with a trace of humor:

Dear Bro. Robert,

Another boy baby born this morning about 9 o'clock. I suppose I shall have to name him "Smith." Please send letters & papers and arrange, if you can, for law class at 4 this P.M. Am sleepy and tired; will try to go down tomorrow. Annie and baby doing well.

Aff., C.A.

Instead of Smith, the child was christened Robert Lanier Anderson and he became the link tying the nineteenth century firm to today,s. Admitted to the bar in 1893 in time to help his father complete the monumental 1895 annotation for the Georgia Code, this Anderson formed a thirty-year partnership with Thomas Edward Ryals; his son, Robert Lanier Anderson, Jr., joined them in 1922 and Charles W. Walker in 1933. During the Depression, Ryals left the firm. Albert P. Reichert joined in 1949. The firm took its present name in 1959 after the death of the elder Anderson. Current partners are Thomas L. Bass, Albert P. Reichert, Jr., Eugene S. Hatcher, Robert A. B. Reichert, and Jonathan A. Alderman. Albert P. Reichert remains of counsel.

The practice of law has changed as Macon and the area's business community have grown and become more complex, but Anderson, Walker & Reichert's adherence to the highest ethical standards, devotion to public service and the collegiality of their practice has remained constant and steadfast. In response to changes, the firm has broadened its service abilities and remains committed to continuing education, keeping the firm well ahead of changes in the legal profession and justice system. Like most lawyers today, members specialize in various aspects of law in order better to meet the needs of their business and individual clients.

Good "lawyering" requires hard work supported by creativity and imagination to reach optimal solutions. The firm operates on the premise that planning is the key: foresight avoids disputes while serving client interests. Should a dispute arise, or reasonable settlement becomes impossible, prevailing in court becomes the goal.

Anderson, Walker & Reichert, LLP participates in trials in all courts and practices in the following areas; general practice, corporation, insurance defense, tax, estates and trusts, wills, probate, real estate, environmental, bankruptcy, employment, and family law, including adoptions.