Having spent his entire 40-year legal career with the firm, Ballard Spahr chairman Mark Stewart is approaching the end of his 12-year tenure as chair, planning to wrap up his time at the firm's helm by the end of the year and pass the torch along to Minneapolis-based partner Peter Michaud.

During his time as chairman of the firm, Stewart oversaw numerous elements of Ballard's expansion, including new offices in New York, Minneapolis, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota, by acquiring smaller firms. He also helped develop the firm's First Amendment litigation and media law practice.