Anchorage law firm celebrates 25 years: thank you Alaska: Preston Gates & Ellis has grown from representing boroughs, municipalities and states to representing an ever-growing array of clients on a variety of legal issues.

• Author: Orr, Vanessa
• Position: BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT

When Preston Gates & Ellis LLP opened its Anchorage office in 1979, it was at the request of clients who had asked the firm to establish an Alaska presence. Twenty-five years later, the full-service law firm is still putting the needs of its clients first.

"Since territorial days, the firm, then operating out of Seattle, served as bond counsel for Alaska municipalities," explained John R. Messenger, a founding partner of the Anchorage office, now a partner in Preston Gates' San Francisco office. "Our existing clients asked us to open an office in Alaska, so I opened this office with Fred Boness in June of 1979."

Since then, the firm has grown from representing boroughs, municipalities and states to representing an ever-growing array of clients on a variety of legal issues. "While our government clients are still extremely important, the majority of the clients we serve now are individuals or businesses," explained Anchorage Office Managing Partner Jennifer M. Coughlin.

MANY MILESTONES

"It's hard to pick particular milestones in our history, because each client has his or her own milestone," she continued. "But some of the more recent large transactions we've been a part of include representing Williams at the closing of the sale of their refining, pipeline and convenience store assets, worth approximately $170 million, and the resolution of the construction dispute between Agrium and VECO regarding Agrium's Nikiski plant."

The Anchorage office is also known for its work in state and local tax issues, including their representation of Alaska in Arco vs. State of Alaska. "That case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, and we and the other state lawyers were successful in defending Alaska's oil and gas corporate income tax," said Messenger of the case that resulted in securing $2 billion in corporate tax revenues for the state. Preston Gates also represented Alaska in the Exxon Valdez oil spill litigation, which resulted in the state receiving a $1 billion settlement. To date, the firm has represented clients in front of the Alaska Supreme Court more than two dozen times.

A GLOBAL PRESENCE

In addition to the advantage of having a local presence in Alaska, Preston Gates & Ellis is also able to utilize the resources of its multi-office firm, which employs more...