While his name figured prominently on the letterhead of the international law firm Dorsey & Whitney, attorney Peter Dorsey was a legend in his own right.
A successful trial lawyer for 45 years with the powerhouse Minneapolis-based firm who often represented the titans of the Twin Cities business community, Dorsey valued and nurtured relationships well beyond his considerable client base.
"He enjoyed people and people clearly enjoyed him," said Bill Stoeri, the firm's managing partner.
Dorsey, of Minneapolis, died peacefully at home on Sept. 12. He was 99.
Born in Minneapolis to Mary and James Dorsey, he graduated from the Blake School in 1940 and headed to Harvard University. When the United States entered World War II, Dorsey enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1942 and served as a lieutenant in the 77th Infantry Division during combat on Okinawa. After Japan surrendered, he served in the Army of Occupation in Sapporo until 1946, returning to Harvard to complete his undergraduate and law degrees.
Back in Minneapolis in 1949, Dorsey began practicing law at the firm his father helped establish, representing high-caliber clients such as Cargill, SuperValu, Ford, Xerox and First Bank System (now U.S. Bank). He was instrumental in getting Metropolitan Stadium built, which cleared the way for the Washington Senators to eventually move to Bloomington and become the Twins.
"By the time he retired, he was well known and highly regarded as a rainmaker," Stoeri said.
But Dorsey also branched out, serving as president of the Minnesota Civil Liberties Union, representing defendants facing anti-Communist hearings held by Sen. Joseph McCarthy. He helped form the Legal Rights Center in Minneapolis, which still provides culturally sensitive, community-based legal counsel to clients, many of them indigent.
