ABOVE: From left, Michael Edman, Brandon Edmundson and Peter Odgren stand together with their logo as they have joined forces from two previous law firms, merging to form EEO.

FAIRMONT – Formerly Edman & Edman and Krahmer, Shaffer, and Edmundson, both law firms have joined forces to start Edman, Edmundson, and Odgren (EEO).

Besides a few areas like bankruptcy, founding partner Michael Edman said they are a full-service law firm.

“Estate planning, probate, trust administration, real estate work, business entity information,” he said. “We also do litigation. Litigation includes contract disputes, personal injury, family law. We also have the ability to do criminal law.”

While the merger is relatively new, Edman said there have been discussions going back several years.

“Brandon [Edmundson] and I were in Scotland golfing and talking about the future,” he said. “We did not have any specific plans, but his partner, my dad, and cousin were of a certain age. We’re like, ‘Well, they’re not going to practice Law forever. Those talks became more serious.”

As the years continued to pass, founding partner Brandon Edmundson said that the upcoming retirements of Kim Shaffer, Paul Edmund and John Edmund, without potential replacements, further fueled the discussions.

“The question was, when they retire, how do we do that work?” Edmundson said. “How do we pick up the work that they were doing? Because everybody’s busy. They were busy. We’re busy. How do we do it? Getting bigger and more efficient was the best way we thought to continue to do that work, to keep that work in town here.”

All three currently still work at EEO, but have scaled down their workloads and pick their own schedules.

“John, Paul and Kim are still actively practicing,” founding partner and former Krahmer, Shaffer, and Edmundson Attorney Peter Odgren noted in a press release. “As they move towards retirement and a reduced role at the firm over the next few years, we will be able to transition their client work in a seamless way. EEO will be able to draw on their experience, while also offering them the comfort of knowing their clients will be taken care of when they do decide to call it quits.”

For not just rural Minnesota but rural America as a whole, Edmundson said there are struggles for people to get local legal representation. By merging, they can continue to be there for the Fairmont area people who need them.

“To be an anchor here that now we know Fairmont and the surrounding area will have attorneys for decades to come, and that we’re able to continue to provide legal service here so people don’t have to leave the area to look for those things. I think that’s big for Fairmont,” said Edmundson.

Both previous firms knew their spaces weren’t large enough to fit their requirements, which include seven attorneys and six staff. Edman said it took time for them to find the right place.

“We spent a couple of years trying to find a suitable location, before this building right now became an opportunity,” he said.

The companies first merged at the beginning of 2024, and they were not able to move into 115 Downtown Plaza until halfway through the year. By having everyone together now, Odgren said being in the same building has allowed EEO to flourish.

“Everybody in our office collaborates really well,” he said. “Especially the attorneys, can talk about different cases together, we can really serve our clients better because we are all together under one roof. There’s a lot of collaboration that goes on to make sure we’re providing the best service to our clients.”

Care was taken to preserve historical pieces of their location, including high, century-old ceilings. With this, Odgren noted one surprise has been the echoing and volume that comes with these ceilings.

Looking forward, Edman said they are also looking to add more attorneys to continue building and sharing caseloads. He said they are well-equipped to add more in their current state and believe they have built an attractive workplace for prospective employees.

For more information, visit edmodlaw.com/ or call (507) 238-4333.