Two long-standing personal injury firms, Spokane-based Layman Law Firm PLLP and Seattle-based Stritmatter Law PS, have joined forces in a new partnership that blends decades of legal experience with expanded reach into Eastern Washington.

The collaboration, which is not a merger of the two firms, is expected to give the Spokane firm, led by John R. Layman, greater resources to pursue complex cases against large, well-funded defendants, while providing Stritmatter with a foothold in Eastern Washington. The partnership, Layman says, builds on years of joint litigation and will allow both firms to handle high-stakes personal injury, wrongful death, and civil rights cases across Washington and Idaho.

“They’ve got the capacity to represent people on this side better than we could if I was to stay independent,” Layman says. “You take on larger defendants, they throw every resource they can at you, … so you got to have the resources and the bench strike to take them, and Stritmatter has that.”

Andrew Ackley, senior partner with Stritmatter Law, says the two firms have started evaluating different cases to collaborate and take on. The expansion into Spokane and the Inland Northwest is in its early phase, with a more defined future structure evolving over time, he says.

“We have not really had much outreach to people in Eastern Washington until we started working with John and his firm,” Ackley says. “And seeing the presence and reputation that he has over there.”

Both firms  share a common approach to litigation and client advocacy, Ackley and Layman contend.

Layman Law Firm was founded by John Layman’s father, John G. “Jerry” Layman, in 1956 and is located a block north of Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center, at 601 S. Division. Over its 70-year history, Layman Law Firm's size has fluctuated, with as many as 12 attorneys at its peak, Layman says. Today, the firm includes Layman, one associate, and support staff.

Layman Law Firm focuses on serious, high-impact cases, often involving traumatic brain injuries, complex spine injuries, wrongful death, medical malpractice, construction defects, road design issues, and product liability. The firm typically manages about 40 active cases at a time, many requiring multiple attorneys and a full-time staff.

“We’re not a mill-type firm where you have a high volume,” Layman says. “We try to be selective, look at the cases that have had a significant impact on someone’s life. Is there something we can do to initiate change? Or something we can do to make it better for the next person? Then we’re more motivated to get involved in it.”

Stritmatter Law was founded in 1945 by Lester Stritmatter in Hoquiam, Washington, and later expanded to Seattle. Currently, Stritmatter is comprised of 13 attorneys who represent plaintiffs in complex personal injury, wrongful death, and civil rights cases throughout Washington state.

Long before forming an alliance, the two firms worked together for decades, notes Layman.

Layman, 68, started working at his father’s firm in 1983, shortly after graduating from Gonzaga University School of Law. Early in his career, Layman says he took a special interest in traumatic brain injuries after running into a former employer whose undiagnosed injury from a car accident had affected his ability to run a business. That experience, combined with connections his father previously built with leading neuropsychologists through prior litigation, led to a successful case and shaped Layman’s long-term focus.

“We took the case on, and we had a major large result for him,” Layman says. “That kind of got me interested in traumatic brain injuries because so many people have like concussions or traumatic brain injuries.”

Soon after the case, Layman became active in the Washington State Brain Injury Association, where he met Keith Kessler, a senior partner emeritus at Stritmatter.

“He always went out of his way to help me out and give me advice,” Layman says of Kessler. “It’s interesting how the world turns as you go into these big circles of life.”

That connection with Kessler became more significant in 2019 when Layman Law Firm and Stritmatter Law began working closely together on litigation involving Seattle Children’s Hospital. The hospital had publicly acknowledged that failures in its air handling systems exposed patients to aspergillus, a dangerous mold that can cause serious infections or death. The investigation spanned six years and involved complex scientific investigation, multiple families, and extensive resources from both firms.

Layman describes the case as a turning point that demonstrated what the firms could accomplish together and how systemic issues could be addressed through litigation.

“We clicked from the beginning,” Layman says in a press release. “We had the same mission to serve our clients and to champion their cause. It was fun and exhilarating to be a member of our litigation team. We did not want the feeling to end.”  

The 2019 case was not Layman’s first involving Seattle Children’s. In 2005, Layman took on the case of a young girl from Yakima, Washington, who developed an aspergillus infection following brain surgery at the hospital. His investigation uncovered significant failures in the facility’s heating and ventilation systems.

Although that earlier case resulted in changes, Layman says the issues were not fully resolved at the time, contributing to the later outbreak.

For Layman, the cases underscore the broader purpose behind his work: using litigation not only to secure outcomes for clients but to drive systemic change. The new partnership, he says, will expand that ability by combining decades of knowledge with the scale and resources of a larger firm.