Frederic L. (Rick) Ballard Jr., who helped transform his great-grandfather’s law office into the national, 500-lawyer firm that Ballard Spahr is today, died May 11 at age 72.

Ballard graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Law School, joining Ballard Spahr in Philadelphia as an associate in 1966. Seven years later, he became a partner at the firm, which was founded in the late 1800s by his great-grandfather, Ellis Ames Ballard.