Fredrikson celebrates a key milestone by reaching a decade in Des Moines on February 24, 2024.
The firm has served clients in the Iowa market since the early 2000s. To support a growing client base, Fredrikson’s physical presence was established in February 2014 with two local attorneys joining the firm, and the firm leasing its first East Village Des Moines office. Growth of the Iowa team accelerated, with additional attorneys and staff joining the team within weeks, and numbering seven attorneys a year later. Today Fredrikson is ranked among Iowa’s largest law firms, employing over 70 personnel, including 45 locally based attorneys.
Fredrikson’s Iowa practice offers a wide array of legal services to support businesses in Iowa and beyond. Clients appreciate the Iowa team’s broad range of practice areas, including corporate, banking and financial services, energy, government relations, mergers and acquisitions, construction, intellectual property, employment and labor, employee benefits, immigration, administrative law, higher education, real estate and commercial litigation.
“Fredrikson’s Des Moines office is an outstanding example of our client experience in action. Our clients benefit from our culture of creating relationships in collaboration with broader firm resources,” stated Melodie Rose, Fredrikson’s president. “Our Iowa team’s depth of expertise combined with their connections and leadership within the Iowa community have been essential to expanding Fredrikson’s strong presence in the region as the firm continues to grow to serve our clients.”
In early 2021, the firm moved to its third and current Des Moines location in the East Village, expanded the space in 2022 to encompass another floor to accommodate the firm’s growth and is currently planning an additional expansion. Fredrikson added the Ames, Iowa, office in fall 2022. The Des Moines office spreads over two floors and 24,840 square feet in the sustainability-award winning mass timber building at 111 East Grand in the historic and vibrant East Village area. Located two blocks from the Des Moines River, the four-story building features retail at the first level with three levels of commercial office space above, with Fredrikson occupying space on two of those three levels. The firm’s Des Moines office was initially located in the 309 East 5th Street Building in the East Village.
As part of the firm’s larger strategy to design modernized workspaces to better serve the evolving needs of its clients and workforce, the Des Moines space supports collaborative work and the growth of the team.
“Growing our practice in downtown Des Moines positions us to meet the needs of businesses in Iowa and beyond,” said attorney Bridget Penick, who has led the Des Moines office since its formation in 2014. “We meet the incredibly complex demands of regional businesses in an evolving, globally-integrated environment by leveraging our deep resources and global expertise, while preserving a uniquely Iowa-centered perspective.”
Penick adds, “Our team is deeply committed to central Iowa. We encourage local involvement to engage with the businesses, civic organizations and the community that supports the people and companies we represent. Our appealing office culture has contributed to our growth. Participating in events together builds our team’s camaraderie and creates an inclusive atmosphere where we can continue to grow and evolve to anticipate and meet the needs of our employees and the clients we serve.”
Fredrikson & Byron is a leading Midwest law firm working collaboratively to help businesses achieve their goals regionally, nationally and globally. With a reputation as the firm “where law and business meet,” our attorneys bring business acumen and entrepreneurial thinking to work with clients and operate as business advisors and strategic partners as well as legal counselors. The firm’s 375+ attorneys are based in Minneapolis, with offices in Ames, Bismarck, Des Moines, Fargo, Madison, Mankato, St. Paul, Saltillo, Mexico, and Shanghai, China. Learn more at fredlaw.com, LinkedIn or @FredriksonLaw.