Preston Gates & Ellis, LLP, also known as Preston Gates, was a

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...

with offices in the United States,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

. Its main office was in the IDX Tower in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

. In 2007, the firm merged with Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham to form

K&L Gates K&L Gates LLP is an American multinational corporation law firm based in the United States, with international offices in Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, and South America. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, the firm was formed in 2007 by the ...

. The "Gates" in the firm's name refers to William H. Gates Sr., father of

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

founder

Bill Gates William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American businessman and philanthropist. A pioneer of the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, he co-founded the software company Microsoft in 1975 with his childhood friend ...

. Gates retired from the firm in 1998.

History

19th century

In 1883, Harold Preston, born 1858 in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, the son of Brig. Gen. Simon Manly Preston, arrived in

and established his own law practice. Together with O.B. Thorgrimson, an attorney originally from

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Preston expanded the practice throughout the early 1900s.

20th century

In 1924, Roger Shidler and George Harroun established another law firm based in Washington state. William H. Gates Sr. joined the firm in 1964, and as principal counsel expanded the firm's clients to include high technology, manufacturing, distribution, service and other businesses. In 1949, Jim Ellis joined the firm Preston, Thorgrimson & Horowitz, and was integral in involving the firm in public service projects for the city of Seattle, and opened the firm's

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

office in 1973. Ellis eventually became a name partner in the firm, which was known in the 1980s as Preston Thorgrimson Ellis & Holman.Preston, Gates, Ellis LLP:Firm Profile::Our History
, Accessed on February 12, 2006. In 1990, Shidler McBroom Gates and Lucas merged with Preston Thorgrimson Ellis & Holman to form Preston Thorgrimson Shidler Gates & Ellis, renamed in 1997 as Preston Gates & Ellis, LLP. The firm's office in

is known as Preston Gates Ellis & Rouvelas Meeds LLP. When it was opened in 1973, partners included Emanuel Rouvelas, former counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, and former U.S. Representative

Lloyd Meeds Edwin Lloyd Meeds (December 11, 1927August 17, 2005) was an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1965 to 1979. He represented the Washington's 2nd congressional district, second district ...

(D-WA). Its major clients include

, which paid the firm over $1.3 million for lobbying various

U.S. federal government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct branches: legislative, execut ...

departments and agencies. During this time, the firm's chairman was William Neukom, who was employed by Microsoft as head of its legal department.

Jack Abramoff scandals

From 1994 until 2001,

Jack Abramoff Jack Allan Abramoff (; born February 28, 1959) is an American lobbyist, businessman, film producer, writer, and convicted criminal. He was at the center of an extensive federal corruption investigation, which resulted in his conviction and 21 ...

, associated with one of the largest lobbying scandals in U.S. history, was a lobbyist in the firm's

office.

References

External links

Firm website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Preston Gates and Ellis Law firms established in 1883 Law firms based in Seattle Defunct law firms of the United States Defunct companies based in Seattle 1883 establishments in Washington Territory 2007 disestablishments in Washington (state) Law firms disestablished in 2007 Jack Abramoff