Reinhart opening Waukesha office
Von Briesen & Roper, S.C., signed an agreement Aug. 8 to lease the remainder of the eighth floor at 411 E. Wisconsin Ave., in a move that will bring the law firm’s Milwaukee offices under the same roof for the first time since a 1996 merger.
Since the merger between Von Briesen & Purtell and the law firm of Gibbs, Roper, Loots & Williams, the company had been divided between the Von Briesen offices on Wisconsin Avenue and the Gibbs offices at 735 N. Water St.
Von Briesen president and managing shareholder Tom Streifender recently began negotiating with the managers of the 411 building – Chicago-based MB Beitler Management – to occupy additional space vacated by Mercer Human Resource Consulting.
Mercer is moving to the 15th and 16th floors of the 411 building, into space vacated by CH2M Hill Inc., which moved its downtown operations into space in the Honey Creek project on South 84th Street.
Von Briesen currently occupies 29,000 square feet of space on the seventh and eight floors of 411 E. Wisconsin Ave. The firm will vacate 27,000 square feet at 735 N. Water St., and once the move is complete, will occupy a total of 45,000 square feet according to Streifender.
"Right now, we occupy 57,000 square feet combined," Streifender said. "That may look like a net reduction, but we are in very inefficient space at 735 N. Water. It is really more space than a modern law firm needs."
Engberg-Anderson Design Partners is involved in designing the interior of the new space, with Bill Williams principal-in-charge.
Once design and build-out are complete, 60 attorneys and staff will move into the space. The move should be completed by November, according to MB Beitler property manager Bill Haulper.
Reinhart expansion
Meanwhile, another Milwaukee-based law firm will add operations in Waukesha County. Reinhart, Boerner, Van Deuren, a business law firm with offices in downtown Milwaukee and in Madison, will open an office at W233 N2080 Ridgeview Parkway in Waukesha.
Reinhart’s Waukesha operation will offer all of the legal services of the firm, including business law, estate planning, real estate, environmental law and litigation, said attorney Dan Brink, one of the corporate attorneys who will make the move from downtown of Waukesha County.
The office will also boast the highest concentration of corporate and environmental/land-use attorneys in the Waukesha area, according to Robert E. Bellin, CEO of Reinhart, Boerner, Van Deuren (www.reinhartlaw.com).
That will include the presence of attorney Don Gallo, known for his work on environmental and land-use issues.
"We’re committed to building a full-service practice that meets the growing needs of Waukesha-area businesses," said Bellin. "Our depth in corporate and environmental law will truly set us apart from other firms practicing in the area."
Initially, 10 to 15 of Reinhart’s 185 attorneys will have offices in Waukesha, Brink said.
"The idea is to get a pretty significant senior corporate presence in Waukesha County," Brink said, noting that junior corporate attorneys from the firm would follow. "We really think there is a lot of opportunity among the many medium-size businesses in Waukesha County."
Reinhart’s new office will consist of 15,000 square feet of office space and will include features such as a teleconferencing center to communicate with clients and the other office locations. The office will also house a full-size conference and seminar presentation room with stadium seating.
Additionally, the office will house the operations of Pabst Farms, LLC The Reinhart law firm is handling the Pabst Farms land development project in Oconomowoc – the largest of its kind in the state and one that, Brink said, would require legal work for many years.
The new office will be officially dedicated in October during an open house.
Brink said the move would also help the firm by freeing up space at its downtown Milwaukee offices at 1000 N. Water St., where, due to business growth, space has become tight.
Earlier this year, the Milwaukee law firm Michael Best & Friedrich opened Waukesha County offices in the Riverwood Corporate Center along Highway J, with 23 attorneys working at the site. Godfrey & Kahn opened offices on Ridgeview Parkway in Waukesha in late 2000, while Davis & Kuelthau garnered a Waukesha County presence through the 2001 acquisition of an Elm Grove law firm.
Aug. 16, 2002 Small Business Times, Milwaukee
