March & Myatt law firm splits up

FORT COLLINS — A major reorganization is afoot at March & Myatt PC, one of Northern Colorado˜s largest law firms. Attorneys at the 62-year-old Fort Collins firm plan to split into three separate practices by year˜s end.
Art March, his son Brad and Lucia Liley will form March & Liley, a practice focused primarily on municipal work. Ramsey Myatt, Bob Brandes, Dick Gast, Matt Douglas and Jeff Johnson will break off as Myatt, Brandes & Gast to handle civil litigation as well as general real estate and business litigation. And attorney Linda Miller will form her own criminal-law practice. All three groups will continue to practice in Fort Collins.
The change is a natural evolution, not a sudden decision, Art March said. Though he and Ramsey Myatt have worked together for 25 years, March said that it˜s not unusual for a firm to split, even after such a long partnership.
"As times change and technology changes, so does the way we do business," he said. "It˜s not that uncommon."
Linda Miller likens the change to shifts in the medical community.
"Just as physicians have become more specialized in their practice, so have we. We tend to group with others who have the same expertise and need the same equipment and personnel," she said. "Attorneys have remained in general practice for longer, especially in smaller communities. But as the community grows, it pushes us into more-focused areas of practice."
Fort Collins attorney Tim Dow empathizes with March & Myatt˜s decision to split. Last April, Dow left what was then Sommermeyer, Wick, Dow & Campbell LLC to form The Dow Law Firm. His decision, he said, has simplified his life and enabled him to focus on and better define his work.
"As practices, areas of expertise and interests develop within a firm, sometimes they merge, and sometimes they diverge," Dow said. "I think we˜ll see more of this as the community grows."
Miller said the change is an opportunity to refocus her practice on criminal defense law.
"I could have joined either group, but I had to consider if that was the direction I wanted to move in," she said.
Miller added that in spite of the separation, she expects to continue to receive referrals from her former partners, and March agreed that the separate firms will continue to work together.
"We all know and respect each other, and I expect that there will continue to be referrals and joint effort between us," he said.