Editor's Note: This story is adapted from ALM's Mid-Market Report. For more business of law coverage exclusively geared toward midsize firms, sign up for a free trial subscription to ALM's weekly newsletter, The Mid-Market Report.

Firms of all size have found themselves scrambling as the novel coronavirus pandemic throws a wrench into both carefully crafted talent strategies and more informal processes.

Many midsize firm leaders worry that the shift to online programming will dilute their culture—a facet that many believe is their advantage over Big Law in the war for talent.

But some managing partners, touting their lean model and low overhead, see an opportunity to punch above their weight class as austerity measures including pay cuts and furloughs roil even the biggest law firms.

"One of our biggest growth periods was between 2008 and 2014," said Dean Cannon, managing partner of Florida-based GrayRobinson.

Maintaining Culture

In many ways, firms small and large have found themselves in comparable positions as they scramble to transition summer associate plans into virtual programs and onboard lateral attorneys despite the virtual chasm that has become characteristic of the global pandemic.

And for smaller and midsize firms that take pride in a tight-knit culture, moving their recruiting plans online poses unique problems.

"So, the most concerning thing to me has been: How do we maintain our culture when we're used to all being together?" said Courtney Paulk, president of Virginia-based Hirschler Fleischer. "We're within two hours of each other and see each other quite a lot between offices."

As statewide business closures rolled across the U.S. in spring, Paulk and her firm debated their summer associate program. Should they still have it? Should they postpone it? In the end, the firm decided the program is too important to suspend for the year.

"For us, having those summer associates come in helps feed the associate pipeline. If you lose that, it's going to impact [the firm] long term," Paulk said. "Part of what makes a law firm successful is having that bench strength. And that starts to erode without a pipeline."

Then the firm encountered a new problem: How would they bring their summer associates into the fold? Hirschler, like many firms of its size, sees its close-knit culture as a recruiting advantage over Big Law competitors. But without the in-person events and close contact with firm attorneys, Paulk has found it difficult to transmit its "family-like" atmosphere virtually.

The firm has planned Zoom happy hours and bingo nights, as well as very small in-person events. But even so, Paulk is worried that the firm's culture will not carry over.

"Then you get the 'get to know you' aspect. That's the difficult piece," Paulk said. "I don't know that we have a good answer for that yet, but we're going to do our best."

Florida-based 12-attorney firm Mark, Migdal & Hayden is working to address cultural complications for its lateral talent.

The firm hired two attorneys in the spring—and since interviewing the new hires in January and February, has rarely, if at all, seen them in person, said firm cofounder Etan Mark. To address this gap, Mark said, the key has been "excessive communication."

"We do Zoom calls twice a week where we talk about how things are going, what people are up to," Mark said. "We laugh, and we go about our day. We've had happy hours and sent everyone a bottle of wine so we can have a toast together."

But Mark sees a cultural advantage as well. As the effects of closures roil law firms, many have taken to cutting pay and implementing other austerities that have left many associates in Big Law clamoring for breaks on their billable hour requirements. But Mark, Migdal & Hayden has no billable hour requirements, and the firm has been clear that they do not expect their attorneys to be as productive as they were before the pandemic, according to Mark.

"To not expect [that] people won't have a drop in productivity, I think it betrays a significant lack of empathy," he said. "I think there will be a reckoning with firms that have treated their attorneys that way."

'Cautiously Optimistic'

Like other firms, GrayRobinson in Florida has truncated its summer associate program to six weeks and is conducting most of its programming virtually.

But Cannon sees an opportunity. The firm's lean head count and low overhead, he said, has put the firm in a good position to capitalize on attorneys who are dissatisfied with the "Draconian cuts" instituted at other firms. Cannon said that GrayRobinson has not furloughed or cut pay firmwide, although it did reduce partner draws by 10% as a "proactive, temporary measure."

The firm recently brought on Texas-based recruiter Charles Gillis as its chief administrative officer. And in May, it brought on two shareholders to its family law and elder law practices.

"In the last few weeks, I've spoken to several laterals who we're looking to bring on soon," Cannon said. "We're cautiously optimistic."

Legal recruiter Frank D'Amore, who often works with midsize firms, said he's gotten several requests from smaller firms looking to bring on talent despite the pandemic. Many of the laterals hired in March and April, he said, were already in the pipeline before the pandemic. D'Amore is looking toward the fall as a truer indicator of the lateral market's health.

Small and midsize firms, if well managed, may have an advantage come fall, he said. Smaller firms have less expensive real estate and overhead. And many had already incorporated the flexible work hours and work-from-home techniques that have become a hallmark of the pandemic.

Before the pandemic, D'Amore placed a group of six young partners. The group decided to forgo Big Law and chose a midsize firm, because they valued flexibility and wanted the option to work remotely, he said.

"The midsize firm was open and flexible," D'Amore said. "If the remote stuff is deeply entrenched, a lot of the midsize and small firms already had an advantage that they could exploit."

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