David J. Tigges may be the youngest attorney to lead the McNair Law Firm, but don’t look for an iconoclast in this Hilton Head Island resident.

The real estate, banking and hospitality industry lawyer has a deep reverence for the traditions of the firm, founded in 1971 by the late former Gov. Robert E. McNair. Tigges, 47, is the third partner in the firm to hold the CEO post, after William Youngblood and Wayne Corley, since a reorganization of the firm in 1988 created the position.

“Everyone brings a little different view,” Tigges said. “I would not characterize this as a generational change. The legal community as a whole is undergoing a transformation.”

Tigges said he plans no sweeping changes in the firm’s direction.

“We want to grow when opportunity presents itself,” Tigges said, “but we are not looking to grow just for growth’s sake.”

Much of Tigges’ first six months in the post will be focused on moving the firm’s headquarters from Columbia’s Wilbur Smith Building to a new office tower half a block from the Statehouse on Main Street.