History merges within Manatee County’s legal system

Two of the oldest names in the world of practicing law in Manatee County have joined forces to become the second-largest law firm in the county.

The Harrison and Dye firms have merged, with the Dye firm moving from its Bradenton Herald Corporate Center location to downtown offices at 1206 Manatee Ave. W., inside the 1905 historic former Manatee River Band and Trust Company building.

The Harrison firm has been practicing from that location since 1991, but it was a member of the Dye family who began his law career in that building after the turn of the century.

Dewey “Colonel” Dye Sr. took over for Chas Curry, one of the only lawyers practicing in what was then Bradentown when Curry fell ill. Dye went on to serve as president of the Florida Senate, state attorney and as the Manatee County attorney.

William Thomas Harrison launched the long legal run of the Harrisons in the community in 1912 and later became a circuit court judge in 1923. The Harrison Courtroom in the Manatee County Judicial Center bears his name. The Dyes and Harrisons came together again when George H. Harrison, Williams’ son, worked for the Dye firm in the 1950s.

“We’ve always had a close relationship, both personal and professional,” attorney Stephen Dye said. “The Dyes and the Harrisons are multi-generational families in Bradenton. Even our parents grew up together and we all went through school together. We played together as kids, so we’ve always had a very high level of trust.”

The Dye firm began thinking about consolidating with another firm three years ago. The Dye firm had practiced in its former location since 1983.

“In the legal world, there’s two main ways you grow,” Dye said. “One is bit by bit, adding lawyers one at a time or hiring a lawyer out of law school and invest the time and money to train them. The other way is to consolidate and merge. Merging is the short way to become much larger and add new practice areas. We started talking with the Harrison firm informally about a year ago about possibly just moving in and maintaining separate firms.”

It didn’t take long for the old Dye and Harrison synergy to vibe and they decided to make the merger official. Any merger to increase business can be exciting, but the historical tie between the families highlights what practicing law can mean. Dye said the legal industry is different than others in that way.

“Law firms are different because we are one of the only businesses that do have a historical element,” he said. “It’s not just a business, we are part of government. When you come out of law school, you are licensed to be a part of the courtroom, part of the judicial system.

“In our case, we are old Bradenton. Some of the old ones still going never really start or stop, they just kind of roll into the next generation. The records they have, the stuff on the shelves, the pictures, there is a lot of historical information about the community they are in.”

Such is the case for these two legal legacy families with law books dating to the 1880s and many still with “Chas Curry” stamped to their binders.

The new Dye Harrison firm will announce an open house in the near future and will have many of its historical community materials on display.

This story was originally published October 24, 2017 at 12:54 PM with the headline "History merges within Manatee County’s legal system."