Dorsey Expands Seattle Office -- Minneapolis Firm Hires 50 More Bogle Lawyers

Fifty lawyers from the defunct law firm Bogle & Gates joined the Seattle office of a Minneapolis-based firm today, creating a new legal powerhouse to rival the state's largest firms.

Dorsey & Whitney wooed eight partners from Bogle & Gates in January. After merger talks between the two firms failed a week later, the remaining 94 partners at Bogle & Gates voted to dissolve the firm.

Today's announcement caps a month of speculation concerning the fate of some of the most recognized attorneys in the city. Among the attorneys joining Dorsey & Whitney are James Tune, former Bogle & Gates chairman, and Irwin Treiger, noted tax and estate-planning attorney. The Minneapolis firm will also hire a number of former Bogle & Gates associates, legal assistants and support staff.

The second wave of hiring at Dorsey & Whitney is not the last, said Tom Moe, managing partner. "Our goal is to aggressively develop and grow with no upper limit in mind," he said. The number of attorneys will most likely double in two years, he added.

If so, Dorsey & Whitney would become one of the five biggest law firms in the state.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, Dorsey & Whitney is an international law firm with 600 lawyers in 18 offices worldwide. Former vice president Walter Mondale chairs the firm's Asia law-practice group.

At the moment, Dorsey & Whitney's Seattle office is stretched across four floors of the U.S. Bank Building. In the next few weeks, the firm will look for office space.

The Seattle office will be a full-service corporate law firm that will focus on finance and emerging companies, said Moe. Dorsey & Whitney has not yet named a partner-in-charge of the local operation.

Meanwhile, Bogle & Gates is disposing of furniture, art collections and 108 years' worth of documents.

The firm also must fund a pension plan for retired partners. About two dozen attorneys or their widows are covered by the plan, said Tune. The firm will decide how to finance the retirement coverage when all the assets have been sold, he said.

Last month, 14 lawyers formally with Bogle & Gates joined Preston Gates & Ellis. Other Bogle & Gates attorneys, such as Kelly Corr, have formed their own firms.

Alex Fryer's phone message number is 206-464-8124. His e-mail address is: afryer@seattletimes.com