Spencer Fane: A Beacon of Legal Excellence

Each of these women had successful careers prior to joining Spencer Fane, so what brought them to this particular firm?

“Jessica, our managing partner, Don Heeman, and I were the first three attorneys to join Spencer Fane here in the Twin Cities, and we opened the Minneapolis office in January 2019,” says Winter. “We were all drawn to the success and growth that Spencer Fane had already experienced. But what differentiated it, at least for me, was how genuine the people of Spencer Fane were when I met with them about the possibility of coming over. They demonstrated the values they said they believed in. Spencer Fane, unlike many of the firms that have come into our market recently, actually originated in the Midwest and very much has those Midwest values. Our core values are humility, inclusivity and collaboration. I was drawn to those values and very excited about the opportunity to take what I had before, which was a Minnesota-based employment and commercial litigation practice and be able to scale it up into a more national practice.”

“I would add that I also appreciated the firm’s strategic, measured and deliberate growth, and always seeking to improve,” offers Nelson. “You could tell that this was a firm that was always studying our client’s needs. Studying the legal market and always asking the question, ‘how can we serve our clients better?’ It’s a firm you want to be a part of because they are always trying to improve.”

“For me, I appreciate the freedom to develop my own practice”, adds Slay. “The freedom to market where and how I want to market and retain clients I would like to represent. Management trusts us to make smart decisions regarding client intake. I also enjoy working with attorneys in our 23 offices. My colleagues are smart, excellent attorneys, and humble. It was clear to me that these were the types of people I would want to work with every day.”

Each of the women also pointed out the flexibility the firm allows, particularly in how they have grown their individual practices, and the ability to use their personal marketing budgets at their discretion.

“It’s a very entrepreneurial environment,” Nelson says. “There’s a lot of freedom for each individual to become the kind of lawyer and develop the kind of practice they want.”