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Vogel Law | 04/30/2013

The United States is a country built and founded on laws and most of those laws have a daily impact on our lives. This week, we feature North Dakota`s oldest law firm to talk about Law Day, celebrated annually on May 1.

The Vogel Law Firm has grown from its humble beginnings in Fargo in 1880 to the largest firm in the state today. With nearly 100 employees and offices in Bismarck, Fargo, Williston, Moorhead and Minneapolis, it`s continuing to grow.

"I think the economic growth in the western part of the state has just kick-started the need for legal services in North Dakota. In response to those needs we`ve hired nine people in the last year, and have three more coming," said Brenda Blazer with Vogel.

The firm is also more diverse now. There are enough women lawyers in the Vogel firm that on their own, they`d make up the fourth largest law firm in the state. Regardless of gender, all of the new hires bring with them different areas of expertise, as the firm`s services include everything from business and employment law, to governmental relations and medical malpractice.

"Given North Dakota`s economy, we simply will have to continue to grow to provide the services that are necessary," said John Kapsner with Vogel.

With those new attorneys come a new dynamic. Although the law firm dates to the 1880s, Blazer says that modern technology plays a big role in the way they do business today.

"The older the lawyer, the more likely they`re going to have paper, and the more likely they`re going to use actual books. The younger folks are far more accepting and embracing of technology."

That`s true in all law offices across the state, even at the highest levels. As Kapsner points out, the North Dakota Supreme Court website has consistently been ranked as the best in the nation.

"You can not only read all the old opinions on the North Dakota website, but you can listen to all of the arguments, other than the mental health arguments which are excluded, but you can listen to all of the oral arguments for the last 15 years, and you can listen to them live."

That helps make the law and its impact on people`s daily lives more accessible, and more understandable, even without passing the bar exam. Law Day was started in 1958 as a response to May Day in the Soviet Union, when parades showed off their military might. In contrast, law day celebrates our country`s commitment to the rule of law.