The Fort Dodge law office headed by Mark Crimmins has undergone two major changes and a third will take place this month.

In April, the name was changed from Bennett, Crimmins & Livingstone to the Crimmins Law Firm. Simultaneously, it moved from 704 Central Ave., which had been its home since 1979, to a massively renovated building with a long Fort Dodge history at 706 First Ave. N.

The third change will occur June 20 when Ryan Kehm, Mark Crimmins’ son-in-law, joins Crimmins and Sarah Livingston as a partner in the firm.

The move

Crimmins said there were two main reasons for moving the office.

“First of all, we were on the second floor over there so access was kind of limited,” he said, noting that the new office is at ground level. “I liked being on the street level. People could see where we were at. It just made it more accessible for clients. Parking is much better. It is not metered on this street. The parking lot behind us is city-owned and it’s free.”

The new location is almost as convenient to the courthouse as was the former site. It’s only a block away. Crimmins said the old and new offices are similar in size.

A renovation that transformed the building at 706 First Ave. N. into a spectacular showplace also was a factor in the decision to move, according to Crimmins.

“My nephew, Leo Stucky, purchased this building and refurbished it,” he said. “Stucky did all of this work in here. When he bought it, it was a shell. I loved the work that he did here.”

In the early part of the 20th century, the building was the home of Mulroney Manufacturing Co., which produced clothing. The restoration work preserved many of the architectural features of the historic structure while creating contemporary office spaces that are open, light-filled and fully in sync with 21st-century tastes and work-flow requirements.

A dominant feature of the new office is a massive bookcase displaying law books. It lines a wall in a central corridor. A sliding ladder makes it possible to reach volumes on the upper shelves.

A huge, walk-in safe that was used by Mulroney Manufacturing has been preserved and has been incorporated into the decor. It still displays the long-gone company’s name.

“I’ve got a picture from the early 1900s with that safe just like it is today,” Crimmins said. He said it is his understanding that the Mulroney factory ceased operations at some point during the Great Depression.

The office walls are lined with large photos from the early 20th century that show the clothing factory in operation. Crimmins said that one of those historic pictures can easily be dated by a calendar on the wall of the work area shown in the photo. It was taken more than a century ago in 1914.

A new partner

Crimmins said he is delighted to announce that Kehm, who is married to his daughter Amanda, will become a partner in the Crimmins Law Firm this month.

Kehm is a former Fort Dodger. He and Amanda Crimmins were classmates who both graduated from St. Edmond in 2006. They both subsequently attended Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.

Kehm graduated from Creighton University School of Law in 2012. He has been practicing law in Omaha since then. Crimmins said his son-in-law has extensive trial experience and will complement the firm’s strong capabilities in that area. Amanda Kehm, who also is a Creighton graduate, will teach mathematics at Iowa Central Community College starting in the fall.

Multifaceted practice

The Crimmins Law Firm has diverse capabilities.

“It’s general practice,” Crimmins said. “We do any type of trial work. We do a lot of real estate work. We do probate work. … I do more of the trial work and Ryan will do trial work. That’s what Ryan is doing in Omaha right now. He works for a firm and is involved in a lot of trials. Sarah does a lot in the Juvenile Court arena and criminal law. Those are her two areas.”

He said the firm welcomes clients with varied needs.

“We have a lot of experience in here,” he said. “I’ve been practicing law for over 30 years now. We’re an all-purpose firm. We don’t specialize in one area. We do anything from trial work to real estate work to probate to contracts.”

Crimmins, who has lived in Fort Dodge his whole life with the exception of the years he spent at Creighton University as an undergraduate and law student, said his legal career has been immensely satisfying for him.

“I like the fact that you can help people that need help,” he said. “When somebody comes in with a real problem who really needs help, most of the time that’s where I get my satisfaction. I know that they needed help and are appreciative.”

He said the office handles a significant amount of uncompensated work for clients who need legal help but cannot afford to pay.

“It’s something that Herb (Bennett) instilled in me – you’re there to help people, not just to make money all the time,” Crimmins said.

Meet the partners

Mark Crimmins graduated from St. Edmond High School in 1979. Then it was off to Creighton University where he studied both business and law, receiving a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1983 and a J.D. in 1985.

Upon his return to Fort Dodge, Crimmins worked as an assistant county attorney and at John Kirchner’s law office, where he focused on probate and real estate matters. Crimmins joined the firm that now bears his name in 1987. At that time it was named Bennett and Wilke. He became a partner in 1990 and the name changed to Bennett, Wilke & Crimmins. When Kurt Wilke became a district court judge in 1991, the name changed again to Bennett & Crimmins. It subsequently became Bennett, Crimmins and Livingston.

Crimmins told Fort Dodge Business Review in 2010 that he felt privileged to be part of a practice with a distinguished history.

“I think we have a reputation of respect and integrity,” he said. “One thing I’m really proud of is we have clients here that Herb (Bennett) had in the 1960s and 1970s and Herb passed on to Kurt (Wilke). … I’m extremely proud of the fact that we have kept clients for 30 or 40 years through a transition of a number of lawyers. That gives me the feeling that maybe we’re doing things right.”

Crimmins said hard work and ethical behavior have been the keys to the success of the enterprise.

“I feel extremely fortunate to have been involved with this firm for 30 years. I had some great mentors who taught me not only the law, but how to practice it and how to respect it,” he said, referencing two of his former partners – Herb Bennett and Kurt Wilke.

In addition to his legal work, Crimmins devotes time to helping his hometown succeed. He is the longtime president of the board of directors of Iowa Central Community College, is a member of the St. Edmond School Board, is on the Webster County Board of Adjustment and is a board member of Northwest Bank. Crimmins is also the Fort Dodge city attorney.

Sarah Livingston grew up in Gladbrook. She graduated from Gladbrook-Reinbeck High School in 1991. Then it was on to Iowa State University from which she graduated in 1995 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature with a theater minor. She then attended law school at the University of Iowa and received her law degree in 1998.

Livingston started her legal career in Story County as an assistant county attorney. Then she was briefly with the Story County public defender’s office and for about five years an assistant county attorney in Webster County. She left that position to become Crimmins’ partner in private practice.

In a 2010 profile in Fort Dodge Business Review, published not long after she joined the firm, Livingston said she began to consider a legal career as a youngster.

“My father’s an attorney,” she said. “I had a chance to watch my father practice law in a small town. … I used to go to the courthouse with my dad when I was a little girl and watch him argue cases. So from a very early age, I had that in mind as one of the possible career choices.”

Livingston said she enjoyed being a prosecutor, but has found the shift to private practice a good career decision.

“One of the things that drew me to this firm was watching my dad practice and how he ran his practice,” she said. “I saw the same philosophy here. It was just a good fit for me.”