Gray Plant Mooty will merge the Lathrop Gage.

Byline: Barbara L. Jones

Minneapolis will see another familiar law firm name mutate in the coming weeks as Gray Plant Mooty will combine with the Kansas City, Missouri, law firm of Lathrop Gage on Jan. 1.

The new firm will be called Lathrop GPM and will have about 400 attorneys in 14 offices. Minneapolis and Kansas City will be the two largest.

Gray Plant Mooty was formed in 1866 by Charles Woods. It joined with Harstad and Rainbow in 1990 and with Hall & Byers in 2002. The law firm that brought us Southdale is known for its franchise practice.

Lathrop Gage was founded in 1873.

A press release issued by the firms on Oct. 31 said, "Lathrop Gage's clients will gain access to Gray Plant Mooty's globally recognizedfranchiseteam, as well as its award-winninghealth law,higher education,mergers and acquisitions, andnonprofitpractices. Gray Plant Mooty's clients will benefit from Lathrop Gage's extensive experience inlife sciences patent prosecution,insurance recovery,tax credits,environmental law,tort litigation, andenergy. The combination will also create a deeper bench of talent in corporate, labor and employment, business litigation, and trusts and estates."

Lathrop Gage managing partner Cameron Garrison will serve as Lathrop GPM's managing partner and chair of the Executive Committee. Gray Plant Mooty managing officer Michael Sullivan will serve as the partner-in-charge of the Minneapolis office, as well as a member of the Executive Committee leading the integration efforts. The 13-member Lathrop GPM Executive Committee will have partners from each legacy firm.

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