Longtime Spokane law firm Witherspoon Kelley has announced it has acquired Yakima, Washington-based Lyon, Weigand & Gustafson PS.

The firms completed the transaction Sept. 1., and the Yakima office has changed its name to Witherspoon Kelley.

With the acquisition, the 137-year-old Spokane firm now has just under 100 employees, including 48 attorneys at offices in Spokane, Coeur d’Alene, and Yakima.

Prior to the acquisition, 84-year-old Lyon, Weigand & Gustafson had four attorneys and seven staff members, all of whom will join Witherspoon Kelley and work in the Yakima office.

Headquartered on the 11th floor of the U.S. Bank Building, at 422 W. Riverside, in downtown Spokane, Witherspoon Kelley topped the Journal’s Largest Law Firms list, published March 25. That list ranks firms by the number of attorneys in Spokane and Kootenai counties.

The firm’s attorneys have a number of areas of emphases, including banking, taxation, securities, and commercial litigation.

According to a press release issued by Witherspoon Kelley, the acquisition was driven by the firm’s growth strategy and by an increase in demand for full-service legal offices in the region.

“The Inland Northwest and central Washington economies are growing, and the firm’s clients are growing along with them,” Witherspoon Kelley president Christopher Varallo says in the release.

Marcus Fry, principal at the Yakima office, says the transaction will mean additional services for its clients there.

“Many law firms of our size are specializing and becoming focused in niches,” Fry says. “This merger allows us to remain firmly grounded in our community and to serve our clients in new ways with a wealth of new resources.”

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