Seasoned Spokane law firms Feltman, Gebhardt, Greer & Zeimantz PS and Ewing Anderson PS merged earlier this year to form Feltman Ewing PS, says J.P. Diener, shareholder attorney and member of the executive committee.

The practice also is expanding its office space in the Paulsen Center, at 421 W. Riverside downtown, says Diener. Feltman Ewing occupies the entire roughly 5,600-square-foot 16th floor of the Paulsen Center and recently leased about 3,300 square feet of the 12th floor to accommodate the expansion. The firm plans to occupy that space by May, after a remodel project is completed there.

Feltman Ewing is leasing the 12th floor space because the firm’s shareholders couldn’t find a contiguous space downtown to house a law firm of its size, he says.

“We decided it would be better to be a couple floors apart than to leave the downtown area,” he says.

Feltman Ewing has a staff of 23 people, including nine shareholder attorneys, two of-counsel attorneys, two associate attorneys, and 10 support employees.

Kent Doll, also a shareholder attorney and member of the executive committee for Feltman Ewing, says all 13 attorneys at the practice litigate.

“Everyone here has had experience conducting a trial,” he says.

Although Diener and Doll decline to disclose projected revenue, they say Feltman Ewing is a multimillion-dollar operation, in terms of annual revenue. They expect revenue to “increase substantially” from the combined revenue of both firms’ 2017 total.

Doll says, “I think it’s going to be a very good year.”

Feltman Gebhardt and Ewing Anderson had been in business since 1983 and 1958, respectively, he says, and Feltman Gebhardt had occupied space in the Paulsen Center since its inception.

Ewing Anderson previously was located in the Fidelity Building, at 522 W. Riverside.

Diener, who came from Feltman Gebhardt, says that firm’s shareholders decided to merge with Ewing Anderson because they “wanted to be able to expand (their) reach and to just expand practice areas and acquire more depth.”

He adds, “We decided that a straight merger would be the best option.”

Partners at both firms were interested in adding more lawyers to their practices, Diener says, so they merged to bring on the personnel of another firm all at once.

Doll was with Ewing Anderson before the merger. He says Ewing Anderson’s shareholders agreed to combine practices because they were “looking for a way to be a full-service law firm,” and they were considering bringing on new attorneys.

“When we approached (Feltman Gebhardt), they were in the same position we were, so it made a lot of sense to join together,” he says.

Diener says Feltman Ewing aims to create a firm-wide culture of community involvement and philanthropic awareness. Neither firm had been too involved in charity or the business community, he asserts, and an aspiration of the new practice is to change that.

“That’s one of our major goals,” says Doll.

Diener says the firm also has updated its computer and telephone systems, which he says has increased business productivity.

He says the two law firms had some practice areas in common, but also brought their own specialties to the table.

Both firms already offered business law—particularly commercial transactions and litigation—and insurance law, which includes insurance defense and personal injury representation, he says. However, Feltman Gebhardt had more experience in intellectual property and employment law, and Ewing Anderson also focused on family law.

Doll says the main areas of emphasis Feltman Ewing focuses on right now are business law, family law, and insurance law.