When news broke Thursday of the death of Dan Rooney, the longtime owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the National Football League community mourned the loss of one of its great icons.

Rooney might be best known for creating the Rooney Rule, a requirement that at least one minority candidate be considered for NFL head coach and general manager positions. For Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, the loss of the Steelers' chairman at 84 also marked the passing of a longtime client and friend.

“[Dan] was a wonderful person,” said John “Jack” Barbour, executive chairman of the Pittsburgh-based Am Law 200 firm and legal counsel to the Steelers and Rooney family. “He was extraordinarily modest, but also extraordinarily effective. Frankly, it was an honor and a pleasure to be his attorney.”