There’s leverage, and then there’s leverage. At Morristown, N.J.’s Porzio, Bromberg & Newman, paralegals outnumber the attorneys 64 to 56. The ratio is not accidental, nor does it reflect a recent outsurge of lawyers. In fact, the firm’s leaders see it as a marketing tool.
“This is something we’re very open about. We think there are a lot of benefits,” says Porzio managing principal D. Jeffrey Campbell. “One of the things we tout to our clients is our ability to delegate.” Since the firm does a lot of document-heavy litigation in the areas of toxic and mass torts, Porzio is the type of firm that can benefit from the heavy use of paralegals. But Mr. Campbell acknowledges, “I’m not aware of any other firms of any size across the country that have more paralegals than lawyers.”
