Merger creates one of largest law firms in county

MANATEE COUNTY — Two law firms with roots in the region's legal community that each date back 100 years, Harrison & Kirkland and Dye, Deitrich, Petruff & St. Paul, have merged into one practice.

The new firm will be named Dye, Harrison, Kirkland, Petruff, Pratt & St. Paul, according to a statement.

The newly merged firm, with 13 attorneys, will be the second largest law firm in Manatee County, the statement adds, with it is principal office in Bradenton. Steve Dye, Joe Harrison, Tom Harrison, Nelon Kirkland, Patricia Petruff, Charles Pratt Jr. and Alix St. Paul will be principals in the new firm. Bob Hendrickson, Jim Dye and Dave Deitrich will be of counsel, and Joe Battaglia, Hanna Simonson and Alex Stewart are associates with the firm.

Dye Harrison will work with clients on a variety of services, including real estate, estate planning and probate, banking and finance, commercial litigation, personal injury, land use and permitting and multiple other disciplines. Dye Harrison will also continue to provide real estate settlement services, both residential and commercial, contract preparation and title insurance, the statement adds.

Steve Dye, in an email statement, says his firm had been approached by other firms over the years that sought a merger. But the merger with Harrison & Kirkland was a better fit, he says, because firm principals liked each other personally and shared similar values. The principals, says Dye, also “respected the legal ability and ethics of the lawyers in each other's firms. Each bring additional areas of expertise to the other firm thereby making the new firm overall stronger.

Adds Dye: “There are also efficiencies in overhead by combining the two offices. The Harrisons had the larger space so it made sense to combine at their location.”

The founders of both firms were among the first lawyers in Manatee and Sarasota counties, according to the statement. The Harrison firm traces its roots to 1937, and the Harrison family has practiced law even further back, to 1912, when William Thomas Harrison opened his law office in Manatee County. He later became a circuit court judge presiding over cases from Bradenton to Arcadia, Sarasota, Everglades City, and Fort Myers, from 1923 until 1959, according to the release. Harrison's son, George Harrison, began practicing law in Bradenton in 1951, and he was later Manatee County Attorney. George Harrison's sons, Joe and Thomas Harrison, are now attorneys with the firm.

The Dye firm, meanwhile, was founded in 1920 by Dewey A. Dye Sr., known by many as Col. Dye — who was also Manatee County Attorney at one point.