News

New law firm to open in the city of Bottineau

By Scott Wagar

04/16/2013

Erin Conroy has made the decision to acquire Angela Bender’s escrow company and will also be establishing a law firm in the city of Bottineau.

“The Fremstad Law Firm is purchasing Bottineau Escrow.  As a part of the acquisition, the escrow company will be integrated to work seamlessly with Fremstad’s full service law practice,” Conroy said. “The business name will have the same name and will conduct an expanded business operation as an extension of the Fremstad Law Firm. This will mean that Bottineau will now have a full service escrow and title service working in conjunction with a full service law firm. The firm will be able to conduct all real estate and business transactions locally without having to send work out of town.”

Conroy stated the sale of the business portion of Bottineau Escrow will take place around May 1.

“Although we are looking at some real estate options and those closing will be bit further down the line."

Even though Bender is selling her business to Conroy, she will stay with the escrow business and perhaps the law firm in the future.

“Initially, Angie will act as a consultant in the escrow and title business, assisting the firm in transitioning into the community and making the transition as fluid as possible for current and future clients,” Conroy said. “Looking down the road, we’re hopeful that Angie will continue to assist us and perhaps dive a little bit into the legal work, depending on her interest and availability.
Conroy and her family made the decision to move to Bottineau because of a job opportunity for her husband and for the opportunity to be with family in the local area.

“Paul Boettcher, my husband, and I were interested in moving back to the community for a few years now. One of the reasons we hesitated is because I have a thriving business and international transactions practice in Fargo and we didn’t want to leave my client base,” Conroy said. “When Paul was offered a position in Bottineau, we struggled with the decision to move my practice to a small town. Acquiring Bottineau Escrow means that we can hit the ground running with clients and faster integration into the community.  The Fremstad Law Firm is a full service firm, which means that even though we have one attorney physically located in Bottineau, we have a team of attorneys in Fargo who can assist with work and offer the community of Bottineau the “Big Firm” experience with the stability and comfort of small town service.

“Paul and I have three boys.  We live in a great neighborhood in Fargo and we have many reasons to be happy; however, we felt like we were running on a treadmill and never gaining any ground. Paul’s schedule was early mornings and very few weekend days. My schedule was also demanding and the boys were in a lot of activities.  By moving to Bottineau, we can devote more time and attention to family,” Conroy added.  “Moving to Bottineau means the kids can still be in activities, but we’ll have more flexibility.  I did a lot of work in international contracts, which meant late night or very early morning phone calls with attorneys in India or Germany or Denmark.  It was hard to keep it all together some times. We know there will still be challenges, but we’re looking forward to living closer to Grandma and Grandpa Boettcher and several cousins.” 

When it comes to Fremstad Law Firm, she will be offering full services to its clients.

“The Fremstad Law Firm is a full service law firm, which means with the diversity of backgrounds of our attorneys, we’re able to service most of our clients’ legal needs within the firm,” Conroy said. “Occasionally, we will refer a client to another attorney if we determine there is a conflict or the client would be better served with another attorney.  There are some areas of law that are so highly specialized that only a few attorneys in the state practice in those areas, such as Social Security Disability and Worker’s Compensation. Even if we don’t have an attorney in a particular specialty, we are happy to make referrals within the area to attorneys that can assist.” 

The Fremstad Law Firm will officially open its doors on July 1, but did state that individuals in the area who want her legal services immediately can call the Fargo office toll free at (855) 478-7620.

The firm and escrow service in Bottineau will be located at 416 Sinclair St. (The present day location of Bottineau Escrow) and Conroy’s hours will be Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Conroy is originally from Antler, N.D., and her father, Don Conroy, was born and raised in the Dunseith area. Boettcher’s hometown is Westhope and his parents and brother, Al Boettcher, live in Bottineau.

“Both Paul and I have ties to the community going back many generations,’ Conroy said.

Conroy graduated from Minot High School in 1992 and she holds her bachelor’s degree in philosophy and art from Concordia College and earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of North Dakota Law School.

Outside of her employment with Fremstad Law Firm, Conroy was the general counsel and director of legal services for Integreon Managed Solutions, Inc. in Fargo; associate attorney for Jeffries, Olson and Flom, P.A. in Fargo and judicial law clerk for the North Dakota Supreme Court in Bismarck.

She also is presently a professor of law for the University of Mary Master of Business Administration Department in Fargo.

Erin and Paul have three boys, Nicolas Loberg, age 9; Michael Loberg, age 7; and Adam Boettcher, age 1.