Dunn & Black PS, a boutique law firm here, asserts that despite its small size, it has grown over the past 15 years to become one of the top eminent domain law and construction law firms in the region.


While the firm has chosen to focus on only a few practice niches, it has plenty of work in those areas to keep it busy, thanks to the Spokane-Coeur dAlene areas strong construction industry and the north-south freeway project under way here, says Vice President Robert Dunn.


The firm, located in a 7,000-square-foot space in the Peyton Building, at 10 N. Post downtown, has 18 employees, including eight lawyers. It plans to hire another lawyer and additional support staff next year to handle growing demand.


Dunn & Black doesnt have designs to become a big firm, though, Dunn says. Instead, its relying on the reputation it has built as a small firm thats not afraid to take on the big fish to keep its caseload heavy, he says. Dunn declines to disclose the firms annual billings.


Weve never been a big law firm, and we dont have the mentality to be one, Dunn says. We represent clients as aggressively as we can, and make sure they can have their day in court.


North-south freeway property issues currently represent a majority of Dunn & Blacks work, he says. The Washington state Department of Transportation has bought numerous right-of-way properties in preparation for the freeway, which is known formally as the North Spokane Corridor project and which will extend from Interstate 90 north to U.S. 395 at Wandermere. Construction depends on funding, though, so the DOT has condemned some properties in the path of the planned freeway without knowing when it will build on that land.


In some cases, landowners have argued that the state hasnt paid them fair market value for their condemned property, he says.


In a condemnation case in which a jury trial started earlier this week, the firm is representing David Moore, owner of a former Ziegler Lumber Co. building, at 4312 N. Market, in his case against the DOT, Dunn says. The DOT already has bought some Ziegler buildings to the south, which Ziegler is leasing back from the state, and has told Moore that it plans to buy his building, but isnt ready to do so yet. As a result, Moore isnt able to sell the building or lease it long term, Dunn claims.


Were saying the state took the building, and we want fair market value for that building, he says. We love the states projects, but they have to pay the landowner fairly.


The firms next big fight will be a condemnation case involving the city of Spokanes planned Broadway Avenue project, which will realign Broadway between Ralph and Julia streets to accommodate a nearby bridge project on Freya Street, he says. Dunn & Black is representing Jack and Yvonne Bunton, owners of the Ram Engine site, at 604 N. Freya, whose property the state will acquire for the project.


While the firms focus on eminent domain cases is the result of Dunns career-long work in that area, its emphasis on construction law stems from the experience Dunn and his partner, John Black, gained while working at another longtime firm here, Winston & Cashatt, Lawyers PS. Two lawyers at that firm who were heavily involved in construction cases, Pat Winston and Pat Sullivan, gave Dunn and Black the training and background they needed to break off and form their own firm in 1992, Dunn says. He used his litigation expertise, and Black, who represents contractors in business dealings, used his construction-management background to build the practice from the ground up.


The firm now represents the majority of contractors in Eastern Washington and North Idaho, Dunn claims. Clients include Lydig Construction Inc., Bouten Construction Co., Contractors Northwest Inc., Dix Corp., and Panco Construction Inc, Dunn says.


We took our clients and contacts and went from there, he says. Then, like any successful practice, we ended up having a lot of good jury results.


In 1994, Dunn & Black represented Construct Tech Corp., a Utah contractor, in a case against the city of Coeur dAlene. Construct Tech sued the city after being fired from a job to expand the citys waste-water treatment plant. The jury voted in favor of the company and issued a $2.8 million judgment against the city.


In a case that was tried in 2004, Dunn & Black represented Bob Robideaux, his wife, Karen, and their company, Robideaux & Co., in their suit against several Cowles Co. development firms. Robideaux, who managed River Park Square during the construction of the expanded portion of the mall in the late 1990s, sued for fraud, breach of contract, and bad faith after he was notified in 2002 that his contract wouldnt be renewed. The jury ruled in favor of Robideaux and rendered a $6.5 million judgment against the defendants.


In a case that was settled in arbitration late last month, Dunn & Blacks client, Spokane-based Haskins Co., which built a 540,000-square-foot Huntwood Industries Inc. cabinet production facility in Liberty Lake for Hunt Family Properties LLC, said Hunt didnt pay the full amount for its work and sought damages for the breach of contract. The arbitration team ordered Hunt Family Properties to pay roughly $2 million to Haskins as a net result of the action, including attorneys fees, Dunn says.


Dunn & Blacks other areas of emphasis include land-use issues and employment law, he says. It got involved with land-use cases through its contractor clients who also are developers. Such clients often run into land-use issues with local government entities over land platting or planning cases that require litigation to resolve, he says.


Within its employment-law area, the firm often represents executives battling against former employers over non-compete clauses in their employment agreements, Dunn says.


The firm also handles discrimination suits, Dunn says.


The firm, which plans to continue its narrow focus in a few areas of expertise, refers to other firms potential clients who are looking for other law services, he says.


We wouldnt know a will if it came up and bit us, he quips. If we branch out, we lose our effectiveness in our specific areas.


Demand has risen, particularly for the firms construction law services, and an increasing number of Seattle-area firms have been retaining Dunn & Blacks attorneys to handle cases in this region, he says. Meanwhile, as big firms on the West Side have been gravitating more toward construction law, it has started facing some giants in the courtroom, he says.


To handle that demand without adding scores of attorneys and support staff, the firm invested recently in a software upgrade so that staff members can manage cases more efficiently electronically.


The bigger the dispute, the more expensive it gets, he says. We have to try to keep costs down for our clients.


One of the biggest challenges the firm is facing currently involves recruiting lawyers, particularly women, Dunn says. Young lawyers fresh out of law school often bring debts with them totaling roughly $120,000, and the market here doesnt bear the larger salaries that entry-level lawyers can find in larger markets, he says. One of the biggest selling points is the quality of life here, though, which has helped the firms recruiting efforts, he says.


Dunn & Black is looking in particular to hire a woman litigator, but such lawyers are especially hard to find, Dunn says.


Contact Emily Proffitt at (509) 344-1265 or via e-mail at emilyp@spokanejournal.com.