Fredrikson & Byron has a powerful popularity for delivering superior options that assist purchasers decrease dangers and maximize enterprise outcomes for greater than 75 years.
When you’re questioning how a Midwest regulation agency distinguishes itself from the pack, simply ask Ann Rainhart, just lately appointed chief working officer of Fredrikson & Byron, P.A. The Minneapolis-based regional regulation agency is positioned “the place regulation and enterprise meet,” says Rainhart, noting that it serves purchasers throughout the U.S. and internationally.
Fredrikson has been serving purchasers since 1948, constantly offering trusted counsel and dependable options in areas starting from company transactions, litigation, actual property, employment and mental property to property planning, authorities relations, power, life sciences and healthcare and past.
The agency’s popularity amongst attorneys is enviable, with the authorized business’s prime expertise selecting Fredrikson repeatedly.
Rainhart emphasizes that, aligned with Fredrikson’s dedication to expertise retention and growth, the agency deliberately seeks out workspaces that foster a thriving, dynamic and supportive tradition whereas enabling workforce members to supply purchasers with optimum service.
The corporate additionally just lately introduced the election of 33-year Fredrikson veteran lawyer Melodie Rose as the primary girl in its 75-year historical past to grow to be president, a nod to the agency’s dedication to variety and management growth.
In June 2023, the agency moved its headquarters to a 158,000-square-foot house at 60 South Sixth, a KBS workplace constructing positioned on Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis. Rainhart says the relocation provides a strategic benefit in a extremely aggressive discipline.
We sat down with Rainhart and James (Jamie) Snelson, shareholder and government committee member, to debate Fredrikson’s historical past and values, its latest rebranding, and the way 60 South Sixth is the best location for the agency to proceed its trajectory as a frontrunner within the business.
Query
Fredrikson & Byron’s strengths are clearly being articulated to the enterprise neighborhood and to regulation professionals. Ann, are you able to describe for us the second while you knew that the agency was the suitable place for you?
Rainhart: I first turned conscious of Fredrikson’s popularity a couple of decade in the past after I was in a unique position at one other regulation agency. We had been struggling to recruit junior expertise at that agency. The suggestions I obtained from that expertise, and I heard it over and over, was “I’m going to Fredrikson & Byron.”
As I’ve continued to work within the Twin Cities authorized atmosphere, the identify Fredrikson & Byron has proven up all over the place. For so long as I can bear in mind, I’ve solely heard constructive issues about this agency.
What I at all times search for in a enterprise is the stability between the wants and desires of your entire workforce and people of every particular person workforce member of their careers. Fredrikson has been capable of get the Venn diagram right on what is required firm-wide and tips on how to have fun people all through their journeys. This isn’t straightforward to perform.
Query
Jamie, we all know you could have been a part of this agency for a big portion of your profession. What features of Fredrikson & Byron are you most pleased with immediately?
Snelson: I’ve been with Fredrikson because the late Nineties, and one of many many attributes I recognize about this agency is that we’re not afraid to embrace new issues. It’s one thing now we have at all times finished. You may join that idea to all of the places of work we occupy, together with our new headquarters right here in Minneapolis.
We’ve thought exhausting about what to protect as we evolve and the way we greatest work collectively, when it comes to each our consumer service and our inside interactions. We perceive the significance of sustaining a aggressive benefit to draw and retain purchasers and prime expertise, in addition to the exhausting work to maintain that benefit.
Query
Your organization just lately rebranded. Are you able to communicate to the general realignment technique of this rebranding and the way you achieved it?
Rainhart: Since I hadn’t but joined the agency for the rebranding, I had the attitude of watching the launch emerge within the market. I are typically a visible individual, and my first thought was that they had been actually proudly owning who they’re. The model is supposed to represent power and entrepreneurship. There’s a uniqueness in how the design has performed out, however there’s additionally a cleanness — the interaction between a regulation agency’s obligatory predictability and the power to assume outdoors the field. There’s a nuance amongst our totally different areas, balanced with consistency, which may be troublesome to realize.
Snelson: A lot of the rebranding emerged from what we’ve absorbed collectively over the 75 years Fredrikson & Byron has been in enterprise. This culminated fortuitously in our expertise with the pandemic, once we realized the essential significance of getting again in entrance of our purchasers once more. Now we have a strong consumer suggestions course of, and as we thought of our model and the way we’re perceived by our purchasers, we realized it made sense to rebrand as we made the transfer to the workplace at 60 South Sixth. Everybody, purchasers and personnel alike, has embraced our new model and understands that it actually signifies our agency.
Query
Ann, you spoke of the connection between the entire agency and every particular person workforce member, which demonstrates that tradition is clearly an vital focus for Fredrikson & Byron. Are you able to give us an instance of what makes your tradition distinctive?
Rainhart: I’ve a ardour for serving to attorneys and different professionals develop fulfilling careers. I consider we study by observing others who’re additional alongside of their careers whereas doing substantive work collectively in an actual atmosphere. We advance probably the most in our careers when now we have that kind of mentorship.
Now we have a summer season associates program for regulation college students, and this previous summer season we had been within the workplace with them most workdays, which they actually appreciated. They loved the workspace and the alternatives of working in an in-person atmosphere. Based on the information popping out now, regulation college students are enthusiastic about working in individual not less than a few of the time, so I’m happy that this has been a part of our tradition.
Query
To your new headquarters, you determined to remain in downtown Minneapolis and selected 60 South Sixth. What clinched this determination for you?
Snelson: Now we have at all times been in downtown Minneapolis, and we needed to remain. Our attorneys continuously litigate in court docket downtown, and that is additionally a transportation hub near parking, eating, leisure, sports activities venues, and the chance to expertise several types of arts. Downtown is presently experiencing a renaissance — Ann has been concerned on this with the Downtown Council.
60 South Sixth is the proper location for us. From a sensible standpoint, it was troublesome to search out over 100,000 sq. toes that we want in lots of downtown buildings. The owner and this explicit location on Nicollet Mall — a dynamic space — made it a fantastic determination. And the wonderful facilities at this property make it actually really feel like residence to us.
Rainhart: My expertise with KBS is that they’re simply as enthusiastic about our house and as desirous to get to “sure” as we’re, and I recognize that orientation towards sure. They’ve supplied us with a number of alternatives to make use of the brand new model in constructing signage, which is one thing we didn’t expertise in our earlier Minneapolis workplace.
Generally while you stroll into an workplace constructing, there’s a disconnect between the foyer and the workplace house. Right here they’re aligned — there’s a circulate in type and performance from the parking to the constructing entrance by way of the foyer and into the workplace house that’s very constructive for us, our workforce and our purchasers.
There’s a welcoming feeling right here in that purchasers and guests can simply discover their approach into our house, however it’s additionally safe. That isn’t a straightforward stability to get proper.
Query
We all know that Fredrikson & Byron is dedicated to a extra sustainable future. What are a few of the sustainability options you’ve included into your new house?
Rainhart: Our hospitality heart and cafés characteristic gourmand espresso machines and water filters, and so they provide flavored waters on faucet. These facilities minimize down on the usage of paper espresso cups and plastic water bottles, assist the workforce construct connections and get monetary savings. And all our glasses and cups are Fredrikson branded — one other nice alternative to bolster our model with workers and guests.
We’ve additionally carried our PaperLite initiative into the brand new house. This transition to primarily digital information started earlier than the pandemic and was accelerated consequently. Since 2021, we’ve considerably lowered the necessity for paper in addition to our bodily storage footprint. We shredded over 40 tons of paper, destroying over 60,000 bodily information that had been both out of date or scanned and despatched over 151,000 information to off-site storage.
Query
Lastly, Fredrikson & Byron clearly has a powerful dedication to general well-being. What are you able to inform us concerning the agency’s give attention to this dedication and the way it translated to the design of your house at 60 South Sixth?
Snelson: We started the planning for our new workplace house previous to the pandemic, however we at all times acknowledged that we should successfully make the most of the house to leverage hybrid work, increase collaboration and improve our workforce’s well-being. The acceleration of in-office work has elevated — primarily due to the good collaboration areas we designed, but additionally as a result of we’ve introduced extra pure gentle into the workplace.
There are numerous design components that facilitate hybrid work and enhance well-being, together with our funding in know-how, the power to work within the number of fascinating areas outdoors a specific workplace, the set up of sit-to-stand desks and the good train facility within the constructing.
Rainhart: We additionally made certain our areas are welcoming. The foyer has a high-end front room really feel to it the place workers can discover areas to take a seat down, have a cup of espresso, work on their computer systems, collaborate, or discover a second of solitude.
We’ve additionally been thoughtful of latest mother or father’s wants — that stage in household life while you’re taking good care of a younger child and sustaining a profession. It was vital for us to be versatile about what folks want from each an area and a philosophy perspective. Right here we’ve created an inclusive atmosphere the place everybody may be as comfy as potential — no matter their lifestage. It’s a really human-centric method.
This method additionally interprets to the numerous quantity of glass in our new house, which creates a brilliant, open feeling and is aligned with our agency’s core worth of transparency.
Snelson: We’ve solely been within the new house for a short while, however it’s been unusually properly obtained by our workforce, our neighborhood companions and our purchasers. It lends itself to the kind of expertise and facilities we needed to supply for our folks, together with areas for heads-down work and nice areas for gathering in addition to inside and consumer conferences. It has all labored out rather well for us.
Fredrikson & Byron’s profitable transition into 60 South Sixth exemplifies the necessity to provide workers entry to redefined workplace layouts and superior facilities as they return to in-person work.
The design of Fredrikson’s new house celebrates and helps social areas that assist to construct neighborhood and permit real-time collaboration in an award-winning constructing.
Be taught extra by visiting KBS.com/Insights.
