As the largest city in Alaska, Anchorage is the state’s transportation, finance, health care and communications hub. The K&L Gates Anchorage office was initially established in 1979 to represent government clients in Alaska. We continue to represent boroughs and municipalities, and also represent an ever-growing array of local, regional, national and international clients on a variety of legal issues.
Our Anchorage office was awarded five Tier 1 practice rankings by the 2014 U.S. News-Best Lawyers® in the areas of Employment Law – Management, Family Law, Litigation – Labor & Employment, Municipal Law, and Real Estate Law.
We have extensive experience with complex litigation and have handled litigation assignments of all sizes for a wide range of plaintiffs and defendants, including matters where the amount in controversy exceeded a billion dollars. We have represented clients in state, federal and bankruptcy court proceedings throughout Alaska, as well before the Alaska Supreme Court and the Ninth Circuit and in proceedings in the Lower 48. Our cases have involved a wide variety of issues, including oil and gas taxation, contract disputes, real property, professional liability, products liability, antitrust claims, tort actions, medical malpractice, and construction litigation (including handling claims for and against owners, general contractors, subcontractors, engineers, architects and suppliers, as well as related insurance issues). Our administrative practice has included hearings involving complex tax, insurance, outsourcing, real property and employment issues.
The Anchorage office has a strong employment practice, including advising employers regarding best employment practices, and representing them in proceedings before state and federal courts, arbitration panels and administrative agencies in cases involving alleged wrongful discharge and associated torts, workplace discrimination, FMLA, sexual harassment, ADA, wage and hour, and ERISA violations.
Our transactional practice includes complex real estate and commercial transactions, representing both buyers and sellers, as well as advising on commercial building leases and representing lenders in real estate financing and work-outs of prior financing transactions. Alaska is rich in resources. We handle a wide range of matters for mining, oil and gas, and other energy clients, including negotiation of agreements, facility siting and permitting, employment issues and regulatory compliance.
The Anchorage office advises many local government entities on legal matters that they face, including oil and gas issues, constitutional questions, taxation, drafting of statutes, ordinances and resolutions, elections, Open Meetings Act and Public Records Act issues, and planning, zoning and land development issues.