Artesia — Losee, Carson and Haas, P.A., will celebrate its 60th anniversary Wednesday, April 22.
The firm began after the end of World War II and graduation from law school at Oklahoma University when Jerry and Dorothy Losee decided to move to Artesia, which then and now was the New Mexico home of the independent oil and gas producer. Jerry worked for Currier Abstract Company until he established his residency.

On March 2, 1949, Losee, with a manual typewriter, reams of carbon paper, and plenty of erasers, started practice in the Ward Building. To make ends meet, he became the municipal judge and in addition to his Artesia office, kept office hours two afternoons a week in Hagerman.
By 1951, Losee moved into the Carper Building, where he remained for 45 years as the building changed its name from Carper Building to American Home Building to Yates Building. In 1955 Losee bought the practice of John E. Cochran, a prominent oil and gas lawyer, from Cochran’s widow after Cochran suffered from a fatal heart attack.
In 1956 Edward Stewart came to the firm, and it became Losee and Stewart. Manual typewriters had given way to electric typewriters, and dictation had given way to mechanical dictating equipment.

In 1967 Stewart left the firm to move to Virginia.

Joel Carson was recruited from the Attorney General’s Office to become an associate in the firm.
By 1974 the firm had become Losee and Carson. Electric typewriters had become obsolete with the introduction of crude word processors. Mimeograph machines had been replaced by Xerox machines and the firm grew from two lawyers to six lawyers, including Jerry’s daughter, Elizabeth Losee.

By 1985 the firm had divided and was back to two lawyers. James Haas was recruited to join the firm in 1986 to do oil, gas and business matters. Ernest Carroll, a New Mexico native who had moved to Midland, Texas joined the firm to handle litigation matters for the firm, which in 1998 became Losee, Carson, Haas and Carroll, P.A.

At the same time that Losee, Carson, Haas, and Carroll was growing, their clients Yates Petroleum Corporation had expanded from a local independent oil and gas company to become the largest domiciled in the state; Marbob Energy Corporation and the Chase companies grew to be among the largest oil producers in New Mexico. Navajo Refining Company quadrupled its capacity to become the largest refinery in the state. In 1996 Losee, Carson, Haas and Carroll renovated the office building at 311 W. Quay Ave. and moved the firm to a new location. In 2002 Ernest Carroll resigned from the firm due to health reasons. Lynette Thorneberry joined the firm as associate in 2003, focusing on oil and gas issues and probate matters.

Jerry, after some 46 years of practice, became Of Counsel to the firm and then retired. The firm maintains an office for him, although he spends substantial amounts of time on other endeavors. Carson has become the senior shareholder, and Haas has become the firm manager.

Beverly King has been a legal assistant with the firm for 35 years. Sue Pemberton has served in that capacity for approximately 24 years. Along with paralegal Suzette Johnson, legal assistants Bonnie Smith, Elida Lintz and Margo Rand continue to run the firm in an efficient manner. Manual typewriters have now become computers, the library has been overtaken by electronic research, and carbon paper has been replaced by the Xerox machine and scanning devices. The speed of practice has been increased by the computers, federal express, and e-mail.
All in all, the changes have resulted in a better system for providing legal service to the clients Jerry came to represent in 1948. Independent producers were joined by an independent refinery and by independent petroleum marketers. The agricultural community has changed with fewer and fewer clients farming and ranching bigger and bigger farms and ranches. The 40 or so lawyers then in Chaves, Eddy, and Lea counties have grown substantially in number since Jerry Losee first hung out his “shingle” over 60 years ago.

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