Gray Plant Mooty
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| Gray Plant Mooty | |
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| Headquarters | Minneapolis, MN |
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| No. of Offices | 3 |
| No. of Attorneys | 160 |
| Major Practice Areas | Advertising & Promotions Law, Agribusiness, Antitrust & Trade Regulation, Business & General Litigation, Business Law Transactions, Commercial Financial Services, Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation, Employment Law, Family Law, Entrepreneurial Services, Franchise & Distribution, Health Law, Higher Education, Immigration Law, Intellectual Property & Technology, Internet, Mergers & Acquisitions, Nonprofit, Real Estate, Securities, Trust & Estate Planning, White Collar Crime |
| Date Founded | 1866 |
| Founder | Charles Woods |
| Company Type | Professional Association |
| Website | www.gpmlaw.com |
Gray Plant Mooty (GPM) is a mid-sized law firm headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with approximately 160 attorneys serving a roster of regional, national and international clients from offices in Minneapolis and St. Cloud, Minnesota and Washington, D.C. GPM is currently led by its managing officer, Tamara Hjelle Olsen. GPM's lawyers have included several prominent public figures, such as U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar.
[edit] History
Gray Plant Mooty is the oldest continuing law practice in Minneapolis—and one of the most influential. Founded in 1866 by Charles Woods as a one-man firm specializing in local real estate, the practice has grown to over 160 attorneys with clients world-wide. Gray Plant Mooty has served the Twin Cities for over a century, building an award-winning reputation for legal expertise and a solid commitment to community involvement.
The original practice first expanded in the early 1880s with the additions of William J. Hahn, a former Minnesota state attorney general, and Joseph R. Kingman. While the firm was originally known as "Woods & Hahn," when Kingman retired 67 years later in 1950, it was widely known as “the Kingman Firm.”
By the mid-1950s, the practice of law was becoming increasingly focused. Already heavily involved in probate, estate planning, and real estate, the firm expanded into the areas of corporate law, finance and tax, and litigation. Physically the practice moved to the Roanoke Building in downtown Minneapolis, and key new faces were now on the scene: Franklin Gray, Frank Plant, John and Melvin Mooty, and Russell Bennett.
As the firm grew, so did its reputation for expertise in antitrust and product liability law, both on regional and national levels. It argued and won cases for major clients such as DuPont and Westinghouse. But it also remained heavily involved in real estate matters, in projects ranging from the Southdale Center, the nation’s first enclosed suburban shopping mall in Edina, Minnesota, to the explosive skyscraper growth of downtown Minneapolis.
The 1980s and 1990s were highlighted by another move—and more expansion. In 1984, the firm relocated to the Minneapolis City Center. Six years later, Gray Plant Mooty joined with Harstad and Rainbow. In 2002, the firm combined with Hall & Byers, bringing together one of Minnesota’s top ten law firms with one of the most influential business law practices in St. Cloud.
In 2003, the firm relocated its Minneapolis office to its current location, the IDS Center, and the St. Cloud office further expanded its offices. At the end of 2005 Gray Plant Mooty expanded beyond Minnesota for the first time in the firm’s history, opening its East Coast office in Washington, D.C. Today, Gray Plant Mooty ranks among the nation’s top 500 law firms.
[edit] Recognition and Rankings
- Gray Plant Mooty was honored with the 2005 Better Business Bureau Integrity Award.
- Gray Plant Mooty been selected as one of the top five corporate law firms in the Twin Cities for the second consecutive year in a survey conducted by Corporate Board Member magazine.
- Gray Plant Mooty has been named one of the "Great Places to Work" for 2007. Out of more than 200 companies that participated in the process, Gray Plant Mooty is the only law firm to receive this award for the fifth consecutive year.
- On May 5, 2005, Gray Plant Mooty was presented with the Minnesota Business Ethics Award (MBEA). This prestigious award is given annually to Minnesota businesses that have exemplified and promoted ethical conduct for the benefit of the workplace, the marketplace, the environment and the community.
- Gray Plant Mooty was honored on January 25, 2007 with its second Minnesota Work-Life Champions Award. Gray Plant Mooty was honored as the 'Outstanding Employer' in the medium employer category (250 - 999 employees) for 2007.
