The Williams Kastner law firm is settling into new offices at the Bank of America Financial Center in downtown Spokane, where the Seattle-based legal group has established a permanent presence to serve the Inland Northwest market.

Seattle-based Williams, Kastner & Gibbs PLLC, which does business as Williams Kastner, opened an interim Spokane office with three attorneys in 2023 in the Regus co-working facility on the 14th floor of the former Wells Fargo building at 601 W. First.

Williams Kastner moved to its new, permanent location on the eighth floor of the Bank of America Financial Center, at 601 W. Riverside, in October 2024, where some final finishing touches are still underway, says Spokane attorney William "Bill" Symmes.

"There's nothing better than a well-established law firm in (a space) that feels brand-new and exciting," Symmes says, explaining that since he joined Williams Kastner about nine months ago, he's benefiting from the company's respected reputation and collaborative culture.

"Although our work is serious, we don't take ourselves too seriously," adds Symmes.

Rod Umberger, Seattle-based managing partner, says the Spokane location is the fastest-growing office by number of attorneys among the full-service law firm's three locations, with the others being in Seattle and Portland, Oregon.

"We've got 10 attorneys over there now, up from three in the matter of a year. ... That just tells you how well we recognize the need to be over there," Umberger says.

Establishing a permanent office in Spokane was driven by a few factors, including the firm's familiarity with the market and the many clients who live or operate businesses here, says Umberger.

"We just wanted to make it clear to the community that we're there to stay, we're there to grow, and we plan on being there for a while and planting our roots there," he says.

Williams Kastner's major practice areas include business litigation, transportation, land use, employment, and real estate law, among others.

The firm's practice in Spokane also focuses on corporate law, construction law, and intellectual property, such as patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret protection, Symmes says.

Another reason the firm chose to expand in the Spokane area is the Inland Northwest market's demand for legal services that aligns well with Williams Kastner's conservative growth outlook.

Clients served from the Spokane office include a mix of publicly-traded corporations, family-owned businesses, and private companies doing business in the Spokane Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a hub for medical, legal, and financial industries in this region, explains Symmes.

"What's growing here is the need for law firms who have regional, if not national expertise, that reaches beyond our own market," Symmes says.

For instance, Symmes describes the city of Colville, Washington as a growing manufacturing hub with, "not only regional, not only national, but international needs."

One challenge of meeting the Inland Northwest market's legal needs stems from the location of the community, he says. As a border community, the firm must manage sets of state laws from both Washington and Idaho. 

The organization addresses this through its hiring practices, which place importance on a diverse workforce with a range of perspectives, experience, and backgrounds.

Diversity is emphasized in several aspects of the firm's operations, from the types of practice areas to industries served, to its clients, staff, and board of directors.

"I'm proud of the fact that for a 95-year-old law firm, we have two women and two of our board members are African American," Umberger says of the five-member board of directors.

For Symmes, joining Williams Kastner was driven in part by the team-oriented culture, which is reinforced through professional relationships including mentorships between senior members and younger lawyers, in addition to recreational opportunities to bond with his peers. He says the commitment to diversity is a value add for the firm.

"You can get a different approach to one singular problem someone might be having, and you get different points of view to try and figure it out," Symmes says. "It makes you a better problem solver."

Williams Kastner's workforce, which includes a total of 62 attorneys at all three offices, contributes to a collaborative environment where lawyers enjoy working together and each other's company, both in and out of the office, adds Symmes.

With an established presence in Seattle and Portland, the addition of a permanent Spokane office will help the company foster fluidity in the business markets of both regions, Symmes says.

"We may not be as affluent as the West Side, but we have businesses that do business all over the state and they need the expertise of the entire region," he says.

Operating in Spokane will also benefit the regional clients of Williams Kastner, which is a renowned and successful litigation practice with a history of achieving favorable verdicts for clients, asserts Umberger.

"While we are a full-service firm that can handle business transactions and other types of (issues), we are known best for our trial attorneys," he says.

Williams Kastner intends to continue capitalizing on the opportunities in the Spokane market with a growing team of attorneys to become a significant player in the legal landscape here.

"The borders of law firms have changed," Symmes says. "Williams Kastner provides services throughout this area and on a national basis. We just happen to have a bunch of us now that like to live in Spokane."