Some of the most familiar names in Lake Wylie law practice are now operating under a different one.
Haselden, Owen & Boloyan, based in Lake Wylie and Clover, has merged with Halford, Niemiec & Freeman in Fort Mill. The single firm began Nov. 1 under the Fort Mill practice’s name. Offices will remain in Lake Wylie and be headquartered in Fort Mill. The Clover office is closing.
Myron Boloyan saw an opportunity with the Fort Mill firm to continue growing what he and fellow attorneys have in Lake Wylie and Clover. Those attorneys are counsel to the combined firm, working varying schedules with long-time clients and programs. Boloyan will continue work with mediation, arbitration and guardian ad litem cases.
“I foresee being here for a while,” he said. “We’ve been here working hard for all these years growing the business. They want to piggyback on that.”
Alford Haselden started a law practice in 1975 in Clover. A year later, James “Hank” Owen Jr. joined him to create Haselden and Owen. Myron Boloyan started as an associate in 1987 when the firm opened in Lake Wylie. Haselden, Owen & Boloyan formed in 1993.
Halford Law Firm began in 2003, expanding since into a general law practice in Fort Mill. Halford, Niemiec & Freeman began in 2010.
Cameron Halford said his Fort Mill firm was close to opening a Lake Wylie location in the past, but saw the opportunity to work with existing attorneys there as a benefit to everyone.
“They had developed a brand over there that has stood for 40 years,” Halford said. “These guys had a standout reputation. They created a legacy in York County.”
The combining firms worked both as colleagues and adversaries for years on cases and deals. Attorneys in Fort Mill may have focused a little more on litigation, but largely the firms served similar clients.
“They were almost identical,” Halford said. “Both firms had a heavy specialty in real estate. Both firms did some domestic, both firms did some civil litigation.”
As or more important, both firms served clients in a similar way, which is why leaders at the combined firm say it’s important to have familiar attorneys in both areas.
“We always ended up working with them because they were the dominant firm over there,” Halford said. “They’re still going to be there for the clients they’ve served over the years.”
For Boloyan, the move somewhat completes a circle. Fresh out of school and planning to be married decades ago, he lived with his parents in River Hills but worked with the Mack family attorneys in Fort Mill. He started a satellite office along two-lane S.C. 160 near where Baxter is now.
Boloyan and his new bride moved to Fort Mill about the time two Clover attorneys called and asked if he would set up an office in Lake Wylie on the then two-lane Charlotte Highway.
“We’ve been here for 30-plus years,” Boloyan said. “We know this area, and they wanted to be in this area.”
Boloyan and his group bring area expertise and a committed client base. Halford and his bring a business plan aimed at growing the practice for everyone involved.
Boloyan, his office walls covered in civic awards and milestone presentations, recently uncovered a newspaper article from the time he opened in 1987. He recalls the first office in Heritage Park. He recalls the fire almost two dozen years ago that burned out their offices on a Saturday, but couldn’t keep him from keeping appointments in the parking lot on Monday.
Boloyan recalls seeing a car at a time pass on the sleepy highway and thinking the driver a potential client, thoughts he never could afford now for how many vehicles pass. He was excited then to see how the area would grow, and how he would be part of it. He still is.
“We’ve enjoyed the area,” Boloyan said. “The area’s been good to us, and we feel like there’s a good opportunity to continue the goodwill we’ve built. It is very gratifying to know that we started something.”
Want to know more?
Halford, Niemiec & Freeman will have offices at 238 Rockmont Drive in Fort Mill and 4609 Charlotte Highway, suite 1, in Lake Wylie. For more on the firm, visit fortmilllaw.com.