The firm now known as Montgomery & Andrews was born in December 1936 when J. O. Seth, a well-established and highly respected Santa Fe lawyer, took a sheet of foolscap and penned a two-sentence partnership agreement with his young associate and recently elected State Senator, A. K. Montgomery. The cornerstone of that partnership was their commitment to develop and maintain long-term relationships with their clients by rendering skilled, effective and efficient representation and counsel.

We also recognize Bill Federici and Frank Andrews as founding partners. Bill Federici joined the firm in the late 1940s, served on the New Mexico Supreme Court in the 1970s and 1980s, and returned to the firm as of counsel until his death in 2009. Frank Andrews, was a respected trial lawyer and former FBI agent, who joined the firm in the mid-1950s. At one time known as Seth, Montgomery, Federici & Andrews, the partners, including J. O. Seth, decided in 1962 that the name “Seth” should be dropped after President Kennedy appointed J. O.’s son, Oliver, then a member of the firm, to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. For the same reason Bill Federici’s name was removed when he was appointed to the New Mexico Supreme Court in 1977. Shortly thereafter the partners decided the name of the firm should permanently remain “Montgomery & Andrews.”

By the 1970s the firm had grown to become the largest in Santa Fe and has consistently remained among the largest in the State. In 1976, the demands of a growing practice caused the firm to construct the building in which it is now headquartered in Santa Fe.

During its more than seven decades, the firm has produced a chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals, a United States District judge, two State Supreme Court justices, a State District Court judge, a president of a Fortune 500 company, several presidents of the State Bar Association, a nationally recognized advocate for equal access to justice and director of the federal Legal Services Corporation, and numerous directors and officers of local and statewide civic, charitable, cultural and economic development organizations. Among its current members is a former United States Attorney for the New Mexico district and chairman of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee of United States Attorneys.

The core values of the partnership formed by J. O. Seth and A. K. Montgomery live on in the firm today. We strive continuously to offer our clients, many of whom we have represented for decades, legal services of the highest quality on time and at reasonable rates, and to advocate their interests zealously when needed. We pride ourselves on a collegial, diverse, and respectful working environment of motivated, energetic and service oriented professionals, on our reputation for competence, integrity, and professionalism with the courts and agencies in which we practice, and on constructive and respectful relationships with our colleagues outside the firm, be they ally or adversary.