A quality law firm does not develop overnight. While many firms come and go, the law firm of Petersen, Sage, Graves, Layman & Moe has withstood the test of time.

In 1907, the young James J. Courtney started a general practice law firm with his last few dollars, eventually gaining wide recognition as a key figure in some of the largest suits in litigation in the northwest. Mr. Courtney practiced with his brother, Henry, at the firm of Courtney and Courtney until 1944, when he founded the law firm of James J. Courtney—later changed to James J. Courtney and Son when James Jr. returned from duty in World War Two. By this time, the firm occupied the fifteenth floor of the Alworth Building, where we remain today.

James's younger brother, Edward, joined the firm in 1960, followed by former Counter Intelligence Corps special agent, and former assistant city attorney, Thomas W. Gruesen in 1963. James J. Courtney and Son became Courtney, Courtney & Gruesen, until Edward's untimely death in 1969.

David A. Petersen, having previously worked with Thomas Gruesen at the city attorney's office, became of partner of Courtney and Gruesen in 1969, and the firm's name changed to Courtney, Gruesen & Petersen. This new partnership marked a watershed in the firm's history.

The next several years saw an ideological shift in the firm; as the law became increasingly complex, attorneys realized that specialization was the key. In the mid-1970s, the firm discontinued general advocacy and completely emphasized the areas of law that we still practice in today: personal injury, workers' compensation, social security disability, and longshore.

Through the 1980s, 1990s, and into the twenty-first century, we have had the privilege of representing injured people from all types of backgrounds. Since 1983, our firm has represented only injured people—never insurers, employers, or government. While the names have changed, the principles of hard work, integrity, and fairness that built this firm from the ground up remain the same. Today, the law firm of Petersen, Sage, Graves, Layman & Moe continues to protect the rights of injured people from all walks of life, throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin.