Dennis Dimka discusses his company’s success and thanks the local people who helped him along the way

Dennis Dimka

You wouldn’t call this a rags to riches story. Not exactly. Dennis Dimka wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth, not by any means. But he was born with parents, Lori Dimka and Duane Ege, who worked with him and encouraged him to learn, and he had a family of friends that helped guide him. Essential steps, he says, that helped him form Uptime Legal Systems, a company headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

As the Chief Executive Officer Dennis has guided his business to become the world’s leading provider of cloud-based services to the legal industry.

When I reached out to him, he was happy to answer some questions about his company, and his life.

Q- What year did you graduate from Cook County I.S.D. 166?

I was in the Class of 1998 but didn’t graduate. I dropped out in my senior year, went to night college in Duluth the following year, and moved to Minneapolis a few years later. Though it’s worth noting that while at CCHS, I learned what may be two of the most useful skills to entrepreneurship from Jane Gellner: information technology and accounting.

Q- I see you attended Duluth Business University (DBU). Did that prepare you for your career?

It was an essential first step, yes. I got an associate degree in IT; that education was the foundation upon which I would eventually start my company, Uptime Legal Systems.

Q- How did you come up with the idea to start a cloud-based company that deals with legal matters?

What Uptime Legal is today is a product of a series of evolutions. I started the company as a small local IT company. Later I refocused the company to become “cloud-first”. Later still I narrowed our focus to cloud technology to the legal industry. We believe that law firms, in particular, have a lot to gain from modern cloud technologies, and are generally underserved in this regard.

Q- Were you always computer savvy? I have trouble spelling computer let alone running one.

Since I was young, yes. I vividly remember building computers from scratch with my father (Duane Ege), and pouring over giant, complex DOS computer manuals late into the evening with him. Just one example of how much my dad influenced my career trajectory.

Q- How many clients does your company have? And where are they located?

Uptime Legal serves over 700 law firms and 6000 legal professionals across the United States and Canada. We have clients in every state and every major city throughout North America.

Q- What exactly does your company provide for a client?

Uptime Legal is a “company of companies” with three discreet lines of business: Private Cloud services for law firms (Uptime Practice), our own cloud-based Document Management software for law firms (LexWorkplace), and digital marketing for law firms (JurisPage).

Q- How many employees work at your company? And has the business consistently grown?

Currently we’re at a headcount of 40 fulltime employees including our teams in the US and Canada. We’ve consistently grown, in team-members and revenue, year-over year since I founded the company in 2005.

Q- Do you have a family? Any hobbies? Do you get back to Cook County?

I have two amazing children (no bias), Addyson, 12 and Dimitri 10. Both are brilliant and creative, and I’m confident will do great things. I haven’t been back to Cook County in a while, but absolutely need to! I’d love a coffee from Java Moose right now.

Q- Was there anyone else from Grand Marais that was influential in your professional life?

The Lashinski Family, in particular Jason, Daniel, Jarid and Jamin, were profoundly influential in both my childhood and well into my adulthood. Much of what I know and practice around entrepreneurship and the value of hard work I learned from them. I owe much of my success to what I learned from them.

Q- What’s next for Uptime Legal?

We’re growing fast, and I don’t see that stopping any time soon. We’ve acquired two companies so far, and I expect we’ll do more in the years to come. We’re also doubling-down on expanding our own intellectual property, something vital to our long-term success. Ultimately, we aspire to become the Google of legal tech.