WTO Celebrates 25 Years

Denver: National civil litigation boutique Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell LLP (WTO) is celebrating its 25th anniversary. WTO has built its reputation as one of the nation’s leading trial and litigation firms, winning groundbreaking trials, major rulings, and precedential opinions in courts across the country. 

Watch: WTO Celebrates 25 Years

An Industry Leader
“We set out to guide clients through the most complex civil litigation in the nation,” said Founding Partner and Firm Chair Michael O’Donnell. “We equally prioritized creating a collegial and collaborative culture in which trial lawyers and litigators do what’s right for our clients in the smartest possible way. That has worked well for us since day one.”

WTO launched in Denver, Colorado, in February 1998 and includes an office in St. Louis, Missouri. The firm began with 19 lawyers and 34 support staff and has grown to include 110 attorneys and an equal number of staff. Since WTO's inception, it has represented more than 2,900 clients in over 17,500 matters, including hundreds of trials and appeals across at least 45 states. 

The firm has earned high accolades during its rise to national prominence. Chambers USA calls WTO “a dominant litigation boutique.” The American Lawyer described WTO as being “at the core of industry-changing matters.” And The National Law Journal characterized WTO’s work as “lawyering at its essence.” 

Built to Last
From the beginning, WTO’s founders sought to build a firm that would outlast them. As a result of these efforts, clients that began this journey with WTO 25 years ago are still with the firm today. 

“WTO was founded on the principle that, to succeed and fulfill its potential, it must be a diverse and multigenerational firm,” said Co-Managing Partner Carolyn Fairless. “Today, the firm’s second generation of leaders, business developers, and innovators is fully established. And they are helping to support and develop the third generation to continue WTO’s success.” 

WTO in the Community 
In addition to its standing in the legal industry, WTO has always placed great emphasis on its charitable efforts within the community. The firm founded the Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell Foundation in 2005 to help deliver on this commitment. Since then, it has contributed more than $3 million and thousands of volunteer hours to over 100 nonprofit organizations. 

“WTO has never been only about practicing law,” said O’Donnell. “It is also about serving our community in the same spirit that we serve our clients—with excellence as our standard.”

Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell lawyers practicing today have taken more than 1,100 trials and arbitrations to verdict or award and hundreds of appeals to opinion all across the nation, with exceptional results for our clients.

Established in 1998, WTO currently numbers more than 110 trial lawyers and litigators. The firm represents sophisticated clients in high-stakes civil trials, appeals, and related litigation ranging from complex commercial to class actions to catastrophic torts.