This is a precursory write-up of the partners of the law firm that administers the Gilchrist Trust.  Investigators will find both allies and enemies within its membership. 

Mark, Megrem & Fincher

In one form or another, this prestigious firm has been in the forefront of the practice of law in Philadelphia since the end of the Civil War.  The last major reorganization occurred during the Panic of 1910-11, during the fallout caused by Theodore Roosevelt’s vigorous enforcement of antitrust laws near the end of his term. 

Three partners manage the business of running the firm:

Jonas D. Mark, Esq. – Jonas served with Franklin Gilchrist in the Great War.  The bulk of his practice specializes in patent law, although recently it has been unfulfilling.  He is honest and loyal to a fault, as evidenced by his agreement to set up the Gilchrist Trust at his friend’s request.  It proved too hard to say no to Gilchrist, so he was forced to try his hand at establishing a trust that would resist any attempts to overturn it.

H. Milo Megrem, Esq. – primarily a conveyancer, he is in cahoots with one line of the Gilchrist family, seeking to overturn the trust.  His standards have suffered since he agreed to this unethical activity, although he has been compensated more than well for his trouble.  He will be the main antagonist to characters seeking approval for various expeditions.

Peter S. Fincher, Esq. – retired from the practice of law a year ago, after a long and distinguished practice in admiralty and maritime law.  Far removed from the everyday workings of the firm, he is content to visit the office less than once a fortnight to “water the plants,” as he puts it.

There are four associates who are eyeing the partner’s spot soon to be vacated by Fincher:

Howard M. Forslund, Esq. – he is the longest tenured associate, and the clear successor to Fincher.  However, he is neither ambitious nor particularly bright, and the other partners would be more than happy to seize on a pretext to select a different candidate.

Whitney P. Anderson, Esq. – a trust specialist, who Mark relied on to draft the majority of the trust documents.  Because of this he is a staunch ally of Mark, which probably dooms his chances of beating anyone else into the partner’s seat.

Rory L. Eads, Esq. – the youngest competitor nonetheless has the most ardent desire to join the partners, and is ambitious enough to do whatever is necessary to get there.

Douglas W. Cullen, Esq. – the firm’s newcomer, despite a distinguished career in criminal prosecution.  He knows his relatively low status works against him, so he is willing to build a relationship with the more established attorneys for a future seat.

Finally a host of minor associates practice in the firm as well, but are too minor to vie for partner.  It's certainly possible that one of them can be a PC.  In addition, all of the major personalities have secretaries, and there are three clerks that serve in the office's capacious library (this is a legal collection only!).  All told, about 50 people work there.