MINNEAPOLIS (July 7, 2005)—Full-service international law firm Dorsey & Whitney LLP has finalized its merger with Ritchey Fisher Whitman & Klein PC, a 40-year-old Palo Alto, California law firm with 15 attorneys practicing in the areas of litigation, financings and acquisitions, employment, tax and estate planning.
Minneapolis-based Dorsey, with more than 600 attorneys in 19 locations worldwide, offers a complete range of legal services, including corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, technology transactions, business formations, intellectual property protection, and complex litigation.
“Adding the Ritchey Fisher expertise provides Dorsey a rare opportunity to join with a well-established firm that is part of the fabric of the Silicon Valley community,” said Dorsey Managing Partner Peter S. Hendrixson. “The combination significantly expands Dorsey’s ability to support Northern California clients, especially emerging companies and those in the technology and life sciences industries.”
Craig Ritchey, senior partner at Ritchey Fisher, said: “As companies grow, they may begin looking to expand through merger or through joint ventures abroad, or they might find themselves facing complex and high-stakes litigation. Dorsey’s full-service capabilities and global platform enable the firm to meet virtually all of a client’s legal needs and work with them as partners throughout their company’s life cycle.”
In addition to strengthening Dorsey’s Northern California presence, the combination enhances the firm’s western-U.S. capabilities. Dorsey also has offices in San Francisco, Irvine (CA), Seattle, Denver and Salt Lake City. Adding Ritchey Fisher clients in hardware, software, semiconductors, nanotechnology and also bolsters Dorsey’s emerging companies practice, which works closely with venture capital and private equity firms.
The combined firm will share a client base that includes many well-known names, especially in the technology field, including Visioneer, Micron, Canon, Cisco Systems, Sun Microsystems, Wells Fargo, SRI International, The Carnegie Foundation, M.E. Fox & Co., Inc., and Owens-Illinois.