HISTORY

Gerrit Klay founded the Klay Law Firm in 1898 after gaining experience with the firm of Hutchinson and Van Oosterhout.  Gerrit, who never did attend law school, was a widely respected trial lawyer.  He was joined by his son, Teunis E. “Deacon” Klay, in 1915 and the two practiced together until the elder Klay’s death in 1939.  Upon returning from overseas duty after World War II, Earl T. Klay became a partner with his father in 1947.  After “Deacon” Klay was appointed an Iowa District Court Judge in 1955, Earl practiced alone until he was joined in 1962 by Norman Bastemeyer.  Norman practiced with the firm until 1985 when he moved to Des Moines to assume an appointment to serve as Ethics Administrator for the Iowa State Bar Association.

Loren J. Veldhuizen joined the firm in 1971. In 1985, Loren established a branch office in neighboring Alton, Iowa, by assuming the practice of District Court Judge Edwin L. Mitchell who was appointed to the bench that same year. Since 2008, Loren has practiced at the Orange City location.

Bradley K. DeJong joined the firm in 1983 and practices in Orange City.  In 1989, the Klay Law Firm merged with the Larson, Bindner & Skinner Firm from Paullina, Iowa and Roger Bindner practiced in both Paullina and Orange City until his retirement in 2007.

Debra S. DeJong joined the firm in 2005 and practices in Orange City. Tisha M. Halverson joined the firm the same year and practices in both the Paullina and Orange City offices.

Klay Law Firm is a general practice firm handling a variety of legal matters, including both litigation and transactional cases, with an emphasis in the areas of real estate, business organization, corporate law, municipal law, estate planning, agricultural law, elder law, general and commercial litigation, Plaintiff’s personal injury litigation, domestic relations, juvenile law and adoptions.  The firm’s mission is to offer high quality, affordable legal services to its clients throughout the Northwest Iowa region.