Bulging from the reams: Dee Wampler builds new law office

A perennial storage problem has prompted attorneys Dee Wampler and Joe Passanise of the law offices of Wampler, Wampler & Catt to find new quarters. Next spring the two lawyers, with three secretaries and two paralegals, will move into a $1 million, 7,100 square-foot complex at 2974 E. Battlefield Road.

The original price tag for the new Law Offices of Dee Wampler was $1.275 million, but plans are to scale that back, said Wampler, who will be the sole owner. The basement will be unfinished to accommodate a future tenant, he added. Earth moving on the project began Aug. 12.

From whence they came

Remaining behind at 1200 E. Woodhurst Drive next spring will be three lawyers: Larry Catt, Andy Hodges and Jeff Marquardt. Hodges, who owns the building along with Catt and Wampler, said the move will give the remaining attorneys the opportunity to expand as well. Catt's law practice focuses on DWI cases; Hodges handles personal injury lawsuits; and Marquardt specializes in family law.

No more space

The 3,000 square-foot Wood-hurst Drive location that Wampler, his father Homer and Larry Catt moved in to in 1985 lost functionality as three more attorneys came on board and case loads increased. For Wampler and Passanise it necessitated less-than-optimum storage solutions.

We had four different places in the office and two storage units off-site where files were kept, Wampler said.

"Our cases are so voluminous in size that it just takes so much space," Passanise said. "When you do a murder case, a complicated federal trial or something it's just unbelievable the amount of paper involved."

In any given year, Wampler and Passanise work on some 250 to 400 open felony cases and handle anywhere between 500 to 1,000 misdemeanor counts. Since they work in about 15 different counties, finding an office located on a major roadway was important in site selection, Wampler said.

The new edifice

The office will be "a mix between a Frank Lloyd Wright Prairie Style' and a Craftsman' style," said Scott Sloan, project architect for Slone Architects Inc. He said the first floor will be 4,200 square feet and the basement 2,900 square feet. The general contractor for the project is Howard Bailey Co.

The first floor layout will have three law offices, three secretarial stations, a law library, a conference room and a reception area, said Passanise.

Wampler said he "lost about six months tinkering around with some zoning problems" relative to the orientation of the building and placement of the parking lot.

Wampler and Passanise

Wampler has practiced law for 38 years. Passanise has worked with him for five years.