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With a 140-year history in Portland, Miller Nash was used to being one of the five largest law firms in Portland. But Seattle was a different story.

鈥淭o serve one, and then more of our clients, we opened an office in Seattle,鈥� Dennis Rawlinson, Miller Nash’s chairman, said. 鈥淲e had gotten a specific size (there), but we weren’t a player.鈥�

That changed last year when Miller Nash, which was ranked as Seattle’s 39th largest firm, joined forces with Graham & Dunn, a 100-year-old Seattle firm that wanted to rise from its position as the 15th largest firm in that city.

As a result of the merger, the new firm of Miller Nash Graham & Dunn 鈥� with a combined total of 160 attorneys 鈥� laid claimed to the spot as the eighth largest firm in Seattle.

The prestige that comes with being a top-tier firm wasn’t the only reason joining forces appealed to both Miller Nash and Graham & Dunn, however.

鈥淲e have complementary cultures,鈥� Rawlinson said. 鈥淭hat’s harder to find than you might think. 鈥� I think both firms realized there was an opportunity to take very homogeneous cultures and blend them into one of the largest in the market.鈥�

Both firms also have solid expertise in similar practice areas, including banking and litigation. That combined expertise has created a firm that Rawlinson believes is unmatched in Portland and Seattle.

鈥淣o other law firm can claim that depth of experience (in those areas),鈥� he said.

At the time the merger was announced, Rawlinson said the firm attorneys based in Portland would continue to work out of Miller Nash’s office. The Seattle-based attorneys would all work out of Graham & Dunn’s space in a building on Pier 70 in the city’s waterfront area. With its picture windows in each office and its houseboat-like feel, the space is perfect for a growing law firm looking toward the future.

鈥淚n a sense, we’re kind of doing what (the law firm) Perkins Coie did when it moved to the Brewery Blocks,鈥� Rawlinson said. 鈥淲e’re trying to shed this stuffy perception of old law firms that have been around for 130 or 140 years.鈥�