Pemberton Law Firm

What Pemberton Law Firm does

Pemberton Law Firm is a privately held, full-service law firm headquartered in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, founded in 1883 and operating four offices across Greater Minnesota (Fergus Falls, Wadena, Detroit Lakes, Alexandria) plus part-time client-service locations in Bemidji, Henning, Ottertail, Park Rapids, and Sauk Centre. The firm delivers legal services across 17 practice areas, including Estate Planning, Business/Corporate Law, Public/Municipal Law, Employment/Labor Law, Real Estate, Family Law, Personal Injury, Construction Law, Commercial Litigation, Banking Law, ADR/Mediation, Health Care Law, Product Liability, Malpractice/Negligence, Energy & Utility Law, School Law, and Aviation Law. Its attorneys are licensed in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Iowa.

The firm serves four primary client segments: (1) businesses and corporate clients (family-owned businesses, corporations, cooperatives); (2) individuals needing estate, family, or real estate counsel; (3) municipal and public-entity clients (cities, townships, school districts, counties); and (4) energy and utility cooperatives. Notable client rosters include nine Minnesota electric cooperatives (Crow Wing Power, Itasca Mantrap, Lake Country Power, Lake Region Electric, Minnesota Rural Electric Association, Minnesota Valley Electric, Runestone Electric, Todd Wadena, Wright-Hennepin) and various Minnesota school districts. Multiple attorneys hold MSBA Board Certified Specialist credentials (Labor & Employment, Real Property, Civil Trial), with the firm recording repeat Super Lawyers and Rising Star honors.

The business model is traditional professional-services billing — hourly fees for legal work, with quote-based engagement terms that are not publicly disclosed. Customer acquisition relies on direct attorney-client relationships, referrals, and community presence across rural Minnesota rather than digital or enterprise sales motions. Operating systems are described as standard legal practice management and document tools, with no proprietary technology or AI components disclosed. Ownership is a traditional equity-partner structure with no parent company, outside investors, or institutional capital; key disclosed leaders include Managing Partner Katrina I. Wass and Administrator Matt McGovern. Firm growth to date has been driven by mergers (Carlisle Law Office in 2004, Hummel Law Office in 2006) and a de novo office (Alexandria in 2007).

Name

Pemberton Law Firm

Legal name

Pemberton Law Firm

Website

https://pemlaw.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1883

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Pemberton Law Firm is a privately held, full-service law firm founded in 1883 in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, operating four offices across Greater Minnesota plus satellite client-service locations, serving businesses, individuals, municipalities, school districts, and rural electric cooperatives across Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Iowa.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Family & Private Client (Trusts & Estates) Law (BPAHAAAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Employment & Labor Law (BPAHAAAD), Personal Injury & Insurance Defense (BPAHAAAM)

Keywords

• Full-service law firm
• Estate planning law
• Municipal legal services
• Civil litigation practice
• Energy utility law

Headquarters

HQ city

Fergus Falls

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Legal Services Billing: Traditional hourly billing for legal services across multiple practice areas including litigation, estate planning, corporate law, family law, real estate, and more. Fee structures likely vary by matter type and attorney.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Pemberton Law Firm is a full-service law firm providing professional legal representation to businesses, individuals, municipalities, school districts, energy cooperatives, and other organizations across Minnesota and surrounding states. The firm delivers counsel through specialized practice groups covering estate planning, corporate, employment, real estate, family, personal injury, litigation, banking, health care, energy/utility, municipal, school, and aviation law. Services are billed on an hourly professional-services basis and rendered through direct attorney-client engagements across four Minnesota offices.

Product overview

Pemberton Law Firm is a full-service law firm operating from four offices in Minnesota (Fergus Falls, Alexandria, Detroit Lakes, and Wadena) with a legacy dating back to 1883. The firm offers a comprehensive portfolio of legal services organized into practice groups: Estate Planning/Trust/Probate, Business/Corporate Law, Public/Municipal Law, Employment/Labor Law, Real Estate Law, Family Law, Personal Injury/Wrongful Death, Construction Law, Commercial Litigation, Banking Law, ADR/Mediation, Health Care Law, Product Liability, Malpractice/Negligence, Energy & Utility Law, School Law, and Aviation Law. The firm serves clients across Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Iowa, representing individuals, family-owned businesses, corporations, municipalities, and utility cooperatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Practice Group Legal services helping clients in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota solve estate planning issues, including wills, trusts, probate administration, elder law, and charitable gifting.
• Business/Corporate Law Legal services for sole proprietors, family-owned businesses, and corporations, including buying or selling businesses, employee changes, ownership transitions, and asset protection.
• Public/Municipal Law Legal representation for cities and municipalities, including open meetings compliance, data practices, contracts, regulations, zoning, policymaking, and public service projects.
• Employment Law Labor and employment legal services, including HR counseling, discrimination claims, arbitration, PELRA issues, labor union disputes, employee leave compliance, employment contracts, and regulatory compliance.
• Real Estate Law Real estate legal services, including property purchasing, selling, development, leasing, mortgage financing, construction, eminent domain cases, and mortgage foreclosures.
• Family Law Family law services, including divorce, child custody, parenting time, spousal maintenance, child support, adoption, paternity, grandparents' rights, guardianship, conservatorship, and mediation services.
• Personal Injury/Wrongful Death Personal injury and wrongful death legal representation, including navigation of insurance questions, dealing with adjusters, and seeking compensation for injuries, disabilities, pain, and suffering.
• Construction Law Construction law services representing contractors and owners, including contract drafting, claims, labor and employment matters, and business organization.
• Commercial Litigation Commercial litigation services representing businesses from small family-owned operations to corporations, including foreclosures, landlord/tenant disputes, insurance claims, property protection, and litigation defense.
• Banking Law Banking legal services with knowledge of state and federal banking regulation, tax laws, and financing for local and national banking companies, including foreclosures, titles, and mergers.
• ADR/Mediation Alternative dispute resolution services, including mediation and arbitration to resolve disputes in a timely and cost-effective manner without litigation.
• Health Care Law Health care legal services, including compliance, regulatory matters, transactions, litigation, and general counsel services for health care clients ranging from hospitals to solo practitioners.
• Product Liability Product liability legal services handling cases at state and federal levels for consumers and manufacturers involving consumer products, utility vehicles, commercial equipment, farm machinery, and medical devices.
• Malpractice/Negligence Professional malpractice and negligence legal representation for clients injured or damaged due to error on behalf of professional persons such as lawyers, doctors, dentists, or accountants.
• Energy & Utility Law Utility industry legal services, including claims (electrical contact injury, stray voltage, tree removal), contracts, loans, administrative matters, and RUS, CFC, and CoBank loans for electric, gas, and water utilities.
• School Law School law services representing Minnesota school districts, including discipline, student privacy, drug and violence procedures, athletics, Title IX, contract development, and school board consulting.
• Aviation Law Aviation law services, including spray drift claims, personal injury from in-flight events, aircraft business transactions, FAA certificate actions, and plane crash representation.

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Crow Wing PowercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerElectric utility cooperative client receiving comprehensive energy and utility legal services including claims, contracts, and administrative matters.
• Itasca Mantrap Electric CooperativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerElectric utility cooperative client receiving energy sector legal representation.
• Lake Country Power CooperativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerElectric utility cooperative receiving comprehensive legal services.
• Lake Region Electric CooperativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerElectric utility cooperative client for energy and utility legal services.
• Minnesota Rural Electric AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState association of rural electric cooperatives receiving legal support.
• Minnesota Valley Electric CooperativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerElectric utility cooperative client for energy sector legal matters.
• Runestone Electric CooperativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerElectric utility cooperative receiving comprehensive legal services.
• Todd Wadena Electric CooperativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerElectric utility cooperative client for energy and utility legal representation.
• Wright Hennepin Cooperative Electric AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerElectric utility cooperative receiving comprehensive legal services.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Best & Flanagan LLP: Twin Cities full-service law firm with a strong real estate, banking, and trusts/estates practice. Comparable to Pemberton in offering multi-practice legal services to Minnesota-based business and institutional clients.
• Anthony Ostlund Louwagie & Rose: Minneapolis-based firm with deep corporate, employment, and litigation practices. Directly comparable in serving business clients across the Upper Midwest with similar practice-group structure.
• Meagher + Geer: Minneapolis-based regional firm with full-service practice including litigation, real estate, banking, and employment. Comparable in serving Minnesota-based enterprises and institutions with multi-attorney specialized teams.
• Nilan Johnson Lewis: Minneapolis-based mid-size firm with strong employment law, products liability, and commercial litigation practices. Comparable to Pemberton's litigation and labor/employment-heavy practice mix.
• Fafinski Mark & Johnson: Minnesota-based mid-size law firm with a similar full-service regional profile, also serving business clients across the Upper Midwest. Comparable in size and practice breadth to Pemberton with overlapping corporate, real estate, and litigation offerings.

Broad incumbents

• Winthrop & Weinstine: Minneapolis-based full-service firm with broad business, real estate, and litigation offerings. Comparable broader incumbent serving Minnesota institutions and corporations with a full-service model.
• Taft Stettinius & Hollister: National firm with established Minneapolis presence serving commercial, banking, and real estate clients. Broader incumbent with overlapping practice areas and similar institutional client focus in the Midwest.
• Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP: National law firm with a significant Minneapolis office covering insurance, employment, and commercial litigation. Broad incumbent with overlapping practice areas and institutional client overlap.
• Maslon LLP: Larger, established Minneapolis-based full-service firm with deep corporate, real estate, and litigation capabilities. A broad incumbent serving regional businesses and institutions across practice areas that overlap with Pemberton.
• Lathrop GPM: Larger Minnesota-based full-service firm with strong real estate, banking, and corporate practices. Comparable as a broader incumbent serving similar institutional and business clients in the region.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/PemLawFirm
• Facebookfacebook.com/PemLawFirm
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pemberton-law-firm

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Pemberton Law Firm