Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview: #1 On October 20, 1944, the fourth tank exploded, leaking gas into the sewer system. The Norwood-St. Clair neighborhood was completely destroyed. The city's first commercial gas-liquefication facility had been built in 1941. #2 The grand Union Commerce Building was nearly three miles away from the explosion site, but the tremors were still felt inside the building. One occupant of the building was a fast-growing law firm: Jones, Day, Cockley Reavis. The company had represented East Ohio Gas for decades. #3 The idea of a law firm was just taking off in America in the 1910s. Law firms generally functioned as teams to share office expenses, rather than as a unit. But as companies grew and their legal needs became more complex, small groups of lawyers assembled into firms. #4 The law firm of Blandin Rice was like many others in the 1920s, a collection of isolated lawyers who practiced their own individual law businesses. The firm's leader, Frank Ginn, established a principle that would guide the place for decades: the firm must maintain its independence and freedom to turn down any representation.