Q&A

Getting to Know You: Feature Your Firm in Mid-Market's Q&A Series

Lizzy McLellan | David Gialanella | October 15, 2018

The Mid-Market Report's Q&A series helps readers get to know midsize law firms around the country, and how they are innovating in an ever-changing legal landscape.

Analysis

This Is How We Do It: Automation as a Teaching Tool in Law Practice

Jared D. Correia| October 15, 2018

Automation removes routine tasks from the lawyer’s calendar, allowing them to spend more time practicing at the tops of their law licenses—you know, making more money. Automation supports the traditional lawyer’s role, in much the same way that a paralegal does—it does not replace the lawyer.

Analysis

'Client Value' Roles are All the Rage in Big Law, but Midsize Firms Are Quietly Taking Notes

Zack Needles | October 12, 2018

Novel job titles like "chief value officer" and "client relationship manager" have increasingly become part of the Big Law lexicon, but it would be a mistake to assume only large firms are pouring more resources into managing client relationships, according to consultants and law firm professionals.

Analysis

Mid-Market Recap: A Limitless Future for Parent Lawyers?

Lizzy McLellan | October 12, 2018

Is unlimited parental leave an unrealistic prospect, or an investment worth making?

News

Who Got the Work: Golf Ball Maker Takes on Funny Business

Jonathan Erway | October 12, 2018

Midsize firms getting big-time work.

Midsize Moves: Southern Firms Expand, and a Finance Vet Joins Mid-Law

Jonathan Erway | October 12, 2018

Lateral hires and strategic moves in the legal mid-market.

Q&A

At Obermayer Rebmann, Midsize Brings Tech Challenges, Relationship Opportunities

Lizzy McLellan| October 09, 2018

"Not only can we more cost-effectively do the same work, but companies have begun to realize our value beyond our lower prices," managing partner Mathieu Shapiro said.

Analysis

Branding Your Firm by Shaping It

Jeff Coburn| October 08, 2018

Firms throughout the country have retained branding consultants to help them become more distinctive … largely by changing their name (mostly by shortening it), creating a distinctive logo, developing a catchy tag line, advertising themselves (as on NPR), or affixing their names to charity events. How much have mid-size firms achieved “brand equity” or “competitive differentiation” from these efforts?

News

Mid-Market Recap: Texas Boutiques Under Siege

Hank Grezlak | October 05, 2018

  We’ve noted in this column numerous times how aggressive larger firms are gobbling up midsize firms or grabbing laterals from mid-market…

News

Market Focus Denver: What Does Boom Mean For 'Legacy' Firms?

David Gialanella | October 05, 2018

Sabrina Stavish, a native of Upstate New York, recalls graduating from University of Colorado Law School in 1987 not expecting to remain in the state…

Q&A

Porter Hedges: Competing for Talent in the Hottest of Markets

Lizzy McLellan | October 04, 2018

Firm managing partner Robert Reedy discusses the opportunities and challenges his firm faces in Houston and Oklahoma City.

News

Midsize Moves: Two New Offices, and Litigation Laterals

Jonathan Erway | October 03, 2018

  Midwest firm Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale has launched an office in the Cortex Innovation Community in St. Louis, adding to its existing…

News

Who Got the Work: Defending Law Firms, Cement Companies, Auctioneers

Jonathan Erway | October 03, 2018

Client representations at midsize firms.

Analysis

Litigation Finance: Noisy Propaganda Obscures a Basic Truth

Richard Levick| October 01, 2018

To portray litigation finance as a kind of piracy is disingenuous when its real impact is to help ensure what the public expects of every business transaction—a level competitive playing field.

News

Mid-Market Recap: Growing Revenue Minus Head Count Increases

Hank Grezlak | September 28, 2018

Ever since the Great Recession, the emphasis for a lot of law firms, and law firm consultants, has been on efficiency. It hasn’t come naturally to…

Analysis

Finding the Perfect Fit: Midsize Firm Real Estate Balances Growth, Efficiency

Lizzy McLellan | September 28, 2018

Midsize firms know it best—bigger isn't always better. And that goes for office space too.

Q&A

Barley Snyder: A 'Young' Firm Looking to Grow

Lizzy McLellan| September 27, 2018

Managing partner Jeff Lobach says the central Pennsylvania-based firm has implemented several innovative new processes.

News

Midsize Moves: Michigan Boutiques, and Northwest Associates

David Gialanella | September 27, 2018

Lateral moves at midsize and smaller firms.

News

Who Got The Work: Taking Flight, and Other Deals

David Gialanella | September 27, 2018

Midsize firms getting big-time client work.

Expert Opinion

10 Tips for Conducting Effective Lawyer-Editorial Board Meetings

Gina Rubel| September 24, 2018

Meeting with a publication’s editorial board is an excellent way to establish relationships with its editorial leaders. Building this type of relationship enables lawyers to advocate for your law firm or client’s cause, to share newsworthy story ideas, to provide insight and information, and to gain the interest of a group of influential journalists.

Mid-Market Recap: Rate Pressures Aren’t Just a Big Law Issue

Hank Grezlak | September 21, 2018

  There was a time when many of the issues affecting large law firms didn’t really impact midsize and small firms. “That’s another world,”…

There Are 500 Million Reasons to Start Taking Online Services Like LegalZoom Seriously

Zack Needles | September 21, 2018

State bars have tried to hobble them, small firms and solos have tried to co-exist with them and midsize firms have mostly just tried to ignore them, but online legal services companies seem to only be getting stronger. Now, some midsize firm leaders say it's time to acknowledge them as real competition—and maybe pick up a few pointers in the process.

News

Who Got the Work: From Dealmaking to Ownership Disputes

Lizzy McLellan | September 20, 2018

Midsize firms involved in deals and litigation.

Q&A

Litigation Boutique Desmarais is All In on AFAs

Susan DeSantis| September 20, 2018

"We do not bill by the hour. Instead, we bill a monthly, flat fee and, if a client prefers, we also will bill a flat monthly fee for the expenses, which we will then manage," said John Desmarais, founding partner of Desmarais.

Midsize Moves: Going Inside, Going Big, and Lateral Va. and W. Va.

David Gialanella | September 20, 2018

Lateral moves involving midsize firms.

Commentary

Associate Development in 2018 and Beyond

Mark Wechsler| September 18, 2018

How does a law firm go about developing its associates in a mutually beneficial way, in 2018? There may not be a hard and fast game plan that will succeed in every situation.

News

Mid-Market Recap: What You Don’t Know About Cyber Insurance–Probably A Lot–Can Hurt Your Firm

Hank Grezlak | September 14, 2018

A roundup of recent news involving and affecting midsize firms nationwide.

Beyond 'Better Call Saul': Why ABA Advertising Rule Changes Matter for Midsize Firms

Zack Needles | September 14, 2018

Even if you're an attorney at a midsize law firm who is serving highly sophisticated clients and has never run a single daytime television commercial, you should be paying attention to the American Bar Association's recently adopted changes to its model rules on advertising and business solicitation.

News

Who Got The Work: Wages, State Farm, and Midsize Goes to the Movies

David Gialanella | September 13, 2018

Midsize firms getting big-time client work.

News

Midsize Moves: Growing a Cannabis Practice, and Litigation Teams

Lizzy McLellan | September 13, 2018

Lateral moves involving midsize and smaller firms.

Q&A

At Morris James, an Eye on the Future, and the Client

Lizzy McLellan | September 13, 2018

"Opportunity often comes from our ability to intentionally and rapidly act and react to changes in the market," managing partner Keith Donovan said.

Commentary

What Will Your Technology Platform Look Like in 2019?

Jared D. Correia| September 10, 2018

In the spirit of that forward motion, these are the questions you should be asking yourself about the changes you can make to your law firm technology platform in 2019.

News

A Broad Path For Midsize Firms Making it Abroad

Gina Passarella Cipriani | September 07, 2018

Midsize firms have taken differing approaches to growing an international practice. We look at how three firms tackled the issue.

Analysis

Mid-Market Recap: Modern Warfare

Zack Needles | September 06, 2018

Competition has always been fierce among small and midsize law firms that derive their business from everyday consumers, but waging battles via billboards and TV ads has given way to a more high-tech form of combat.

News

Midsize Moves: Mobile Michigan, and Bulking Up in the Big Apple

David Gialanella | September 06, 2018

Lateral moves at midsize and small firms.

Who Got the Work: Development Plans, Solicitorship and a Pop Star Dispute

Lizzy McLellan | September 06, 2018

Attorneys from Rutan and Tucker are representing Adventurous Journeys Capital as it fights a Palo Alto City Council ordinance that would require the…

Q&A

At Wiggin and Dana, Growing with the Client

Lizzy McLellan | September 06, 2018

Managing partner Paul Hughes discusses his firm's competitive advantage, and its future.

Commentary

How to Work Successfully With Your Head Hunter to Hire Laterals

Dan Scott| September 03, 2018

This article focuses predominately on working with a head hunter on the client side. Conversations about working with a head hunter as a prospective lateral is a topic for another article.

Analysis

Midsize Firm Leaders Awash in Big Law Merger Offers

Lizzy McLellan | August 30, 2018

Large firms are jumping on the M&A bandwagon, taking big chomps out of the legal mid-market in pursuit of marketshare.

News

Mid-Market Recap: What Exit?

David Gialanella | August 29, 2018

It's a colloquialism often used, at least by reputation, by New Jerseyans such as myself: "What exit?"' When travelling far afield and (inevitably)…

News

Midsize Moves: Bolting Big Law in San Fran, and a Branching-Out Michigan Boutique

David Gialanella | August 29, 2018

Lateral moves at midsize firms.

News

Who Got the Work: Changing of the Guard, Fracking and Church Scandal

David Gialanella | August 29, 2018

Midsize firms getting big-time work.

Commentary

Legal Marketing and Ethics Experts: ABA Model Rule Changes Are Too Little, Too Late

Gina Rubel| August 27, 2018

The ABA has revised Model Rules of Professional Conduct 7.1 – 7.5 relating to lawyer advertising. It has been a long time coming; a small step in the right direction. Our industry still has much work to do to modernize rules on lawyer communications, as it often moves at a snail’s pace in a race dominated by stallions.

News

Mid-Market Recap: Cutting Price and Using Technology to Get New Clients

Hank Grezlak | August 24, 2018

Law firms don’t like to talk about reducing their prices. Despite rate pressures from clients, you don’t hear law firms bringing it up. Reducing…

Analysis

Small Firm Struggles Make for Midsize Firm Growth

Lizzy McLellan | August 23, 2018

Dozens of small firms have been acquired by midsize firms in the first eight months of 2018.

Q&A

At Stites & Harbison, Managing Generation Shifts in Firm and In-House

Lizzy McLellan | August 23, 2018

"It just requires firms to embrace change and be more flexible in how they provide required information to in-house legal departments," chairman Robert Connolly said.

News

Midsize Moves: Cleveland Rocks! And So Does Columbus, and Maryland, and...

David Gialanella | August 23, 2018

Four employment lawyers departed Weston & Hurd for fellow Ohio firm Roetzel & Andress, Crain's Cleveland reports: Partner Nancy A. Noall,…

News

Who Got The Work: A Spirited Dispute, and Matters of Competition

David Gialanella | August 22, 2018

Midsize firms getting big-time client work.

Commentary

Tips on How to Better Protect Client Data

John Parmley| August 20, 2018

All companies are expected to keep data and documents in their databases safe and secure, but law firms, even more so because of the nature of the profession.

Analysis

Mid-Market Recap: Your Tech Update Can't Wait

Zack Needles | August 17, 2018

Much like how you’re eternally hitting the “Remind Me Later” button when that annoying box pops up on your screen asking to update your operating system, many established law firms have been doing anything they can to put off overhauling their technology.

News

Midsize Moves: Mid-Market Comings and Goings in Michigan, Plus Planting a Flag in Lancaster

David Gialanella | August 16, 2018

Lateral moves, mergers and more at midsize firms.

News

Who Got the Work: Deal Work Opens Doors, Firm Tweets to Serve

Lizzy McLellan | August 16, 2018

Midsize firms getting big-time work.

Analysis

'Good Stress' vs. 'Bad Stress': How Law Firms Are Evolving

David Gialanella | Lizzy McLellan | August 16, 2018

"Most of the time, people get excited when they're dealing with professional challenges," said Joseph Guiliano of Haley Guiliano. "The types of stress that people have a harder time dealing with are institutionally induced."

Q&A

In 75th Year, Fowler White Leverages Tech to Stay Ahead

Catherine Wilson| August 15, 2018

Fowler White Burnett has 75 attorneys in four offices with a focus on health care, products liability, insurance, business transactions, tax issues and maritime.

Commentary

What Is My Law Firm Worth?

William F. Brennan| August 13, 2018

I am often asked this question by the owner of a law firm who is contemplating his or her exit strategy. The amount invested in the law firm may comprise a significant portion of the individual’s estate.

News

Mid-Market Recap: What's in a Name?

Lizzy McLellan | August 09, 2018

A Connecticut firm took brevity to the next level with its recent rebrand.

Analysis

Stress Strikes All Firms, But Does Size Matter?

David Gialanella | Lizzy McLellan | August 09, 2018

"I don't think I could have sustained that," Nicholas Duston said of the 14-hour days he routinely put in during his years in Big Law. "Those people probably don't sleep a lot, and maybe don't need to. But I do."

News

Midsize Moves: Building in Jacksonville and Indy, and New Leadership

David Gialanella | August 08, 2018

Lateral moves at midsize law firms.

News

Who Got The Work: The DACA Fight, and Delaware Might

David Gialanella | August 08, 2018

Midsize law firms are handling clients' biggest matters.

Q&A

At Porter Wright, Balancing Client Service With the Long Game

Lizzy McLellan | August 08, 2018

Bob Tannous is the managing partner of Porter Wright Morris & Arthur, based in Columbus, Ohio, and a corporate lawyer at the midsize firm.

Commentary

Layers: Why a Law Firm Is Like an Onion

Jared D. Correia| August 06, 2018

Law firms are obligated to protect their client’s data, as dictated by federal and state laws as well as local jurisdictional ethics rules. You’ll read and understand the relevant rules—you’re a lawyer, that’s basically what you do.

Mid-Market Recap: Go Big (and Then) Go Home

Zack Needles | August 03, 2018

The week's biggest news involving midsize firms.

Analysis

The Big Four Threat is Real. Are You Ready?

Lizzy McLellan | Ben Seal | August 02, 2018

Midsize firm leaders aren't running scared, but the competition is no joke.

News

Midsize Moves: Virginia is for Movers, Plus Midwest News

David Gialanella | August 01, 2018

Lateral moves at midsize law firms.

News

Who Got the Work: Tariffs and Opioids, Plus Other Work

David Gialanella | August 01, 2018

Midsize firms are handling clients' biggest matters.

Q&A

Harter Secrest & Emery: How a Midsize Upstate NY Law Firm Competes With Big Law

Susan DeSantis| August 01, 2018

Craig Wittlin, managing partner of Harter Secrest & Emery in upstate New York, discusses his firm's competitive advantages: its partnership structure, low overhead and meaningful work for younger associates.

Commentary

The 'Vision Thing' and How It Can Improve a Midsize Firm's Future

Jeff Coburn| July 30, 2018

Law firms have come a long way over the 40-plus years since Brad Hildebrandt, Steven Brill, David Maister and The American Lawyer introduced modern management and planning to the U.S. legal industry.

News

Mid-Market Recap: The Value of Lawyers in Smaller Cities

Hank Grezlak | July 27, 2018

A recent study featured in The American Lawyer suggests midsize firms are pretty damn good when compared to the Wall Street and Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C., firms.

Analysis

How Midsize Firms Get—and Keep—Government Work

Zack Needles | July 27, 2018

At a time when law firms are increasingly looking for new revenue streams in a low-demand market, doing work on behalf of and in front of government entities can prove both a lucrative and steady source of income. The trick, however, is getting that work in the first place—and understanding what it takes to hold on to it.

News

Midsize Moves: Denver Does Corporate Laterals, Plus Wisconsin and Ohio Moves

David Gialanella | July 26, 2018

Lateral moves involving midsize firms.

News

Who Got the Work: Retailer Woes Make for Real Estate Deals

Lizzy McLellan | July 26, 2018

Midsize firms getting big-time work.

Q&A

Greenberg Glusker: Leveraging the One-Office Platform

Lizzy McLellan | July 25, 2018

Bob Baradaran is the managing partner of Greenberg Glusker, a California law firm with just under 100 lawyers.

Expert Opinion

Book of Business: Headhunters Will Ask About It

Dan Scott| July 23, 2018

In partner searches this is the question my firm clients often focus in on the most. In the middle market, even large firms want their partners to originate business.

News

Mid-Market Recap: Fear the Big Four?

Hank Grezlak | July 20, 2018

The week's top news involving midsize law firms.

News

Who Got The Work: Taking On and Defending Fiat Chrysler, a $1.5B Settlement Approval, Plus Deals

David Gialanella | July 20, 2018

Midsize firms are involved in the biggest matters.

News

Midsize Moves: New Offices in the South, and Two New York Hires

Lizzy McLellan | July 19, 2018

Midsize firms active in the lateral market.

Q&A

Don't 'Relax and Enjoy' Growth, Parker Poe MP Says

David Gialanella | July 19, 2018

"We would be making a mistake if we were to relax and enjoy the fact that we’re in a growing market, or to think that we can succeed without constantly adapting and adding value."

Analysis

Decisions, Decisions: How Midsize Firms Manage Staff

Ben Seal | July 19, 2018

“I think running like a business and less like a law firm, we run into less strife than a lot of law firms have,” Munck Wilson's Bill Munck says.

Beyond the Assembly Line: Could Big Law Firms Defeat Al-Qaeda? 

 John M. Pierce| July 18, 2018

Situation: an intellectual elite devotes uncountable hours of training and practice to address the legal needs of global business. Configured as law firms, they grow, they get rich. Yet as the problems of their clientele become increasingly complex, they become increasingly dysfunctional.

Analysis

Field is Crowded for Those Providing Outside General Counsel Services

David Gialanella | July 13, 2018

The dynamic—that entities unable or unwilling to bankroll staff lawyers turn to law firms for outside general counsel—is not new. But just how readily law…

News

Mid-Market Recap: California, Mid-Atlantic Firms Take Their Bite of the Big Apple

Lizzy McLellan | July 12, 2018

This week's midsize law firm news brings about two of our hottest topics here at the Mid-Market Report: spin-off firms, and geographic expansion strategies.

News

Midsize Moves: Coast-to-Coast Adds For Tressler, Plus Other Moves

David Gialanella | July 12, 2018

Midsize firms active in the lateral market.

Q&A

At Much Shelist, Size Is the Biggest Advantage, and Threat

Lizzy McLellan | July 12, 2018

Mitchell S. Roth is the managing partner of Much Shelist, a midsize firm based in Chicago. He has served in that role since 2012, and joined the firm’s…

News

Who Got the Work: A Spicy Dispute, Plus Antitrust and Government Work

David Gialanella | July 12, 2018

Midsize firms are getting big-time work.

Expert Opinion

8 Tips From GCs for Outside Legal Counsel to Win and Retain Business

Gina Rubel| July 11, 2018

Outside counsel, business development professionals, and legal marketers want to know the secret to increasing client retention and new business acquisition rates.

How Smaller Firms Like NY's Otterbourg Compete in a Supersized Market

Susan DeSantis| July 06, 2018

Richard Stehl, the chairman of Otterbourg, a 50-attorney law firm, speaks to the New York Law Journal about the advantages and challenges of being a smaller law firm in a city where everything is supersized.

News

Mid-Market Recap: CLOC Survey Suggests Opportunity for Midsize Firms

Hank Grezlak | July 06, 2018

If you’re a mid-market firm leader, you’ve probably read way more recently about the escalating salaries of large law firm associates than you…

News

Who Got the Work: Poolside Drinks at the Gym

Lizzy McLellan | July 06, 2018

Midsize firms working on big engagements.

News

Midsize Moves: Two Longtime Partners Make a Change

Lizzy McLellan | July 06, 2018

  Mid-Atlantic regional firm Rawle & Henderson has added Philadelphia workers' compensation lawyer J. Brendan O'Brien as a partner. O'Brien…

Analysis

Despite Steady Head Count, Legal Mid-Market is Changing Rapidly

Lizzy McLellan | July 05, 2018

The NLJ 500 shows transformative change taking place at law firms with 200 lawyers or less, which make up almost 60 percent of the 500-firm list.

Commentary

Litigation Funding: What Recent Lawmaking Might Mean for In-House Counsel

Richard Levick| July 03, 2018

Recent legislative activity intended to make litigation funding more transparent may or may not be warranted, but it does at least continue one salutary trend, which is to broaden the debate on the ethical and social issues at play.

News

Mid-Market Recap: Midsize Firms Find Competitive, Strategic Advantage in Focusing on Work-Life Balance

Hank Grezlak | June 29, 2018

There’s evidence that work-life balance is viewed as a more substantive benefit than it once was, and that midsize firms use that not just as a selling tool for prospective lawyers, but as part of their strategic vision.

Analysis

Co-Leadership Minus Coordination Equals Chaos at Midsize Firms

Zack Needles | June 28, 2018

There are sound reasons for midsize law firms to split a single leadership role among multiple people, but as a number of firms have learned the hard way, an idea is only as good as its execution.

News

Midsize Moves: Atlanta-Based Constangy Sees Multi-Market Churn, Plus Celebrity IP in L.A.

David Gialanella | June 28, 2018

Midsize firms making moves in the lateral market.

News

Who Got the Work: Deal Work in Scottsdale and Beyond

Lizzy McLellan | June 27, 2018

Midsize firms working on big engagements.

Commentary

What They Did Not Tell You in Law School About Building Your Brand—Part II

Kristy Bourgeois| June 27, 2018

As you may recall, in my column last month I discussed characteristics of Baby Boomers, Gen Xers and millennials in the legal profession. The values, work preferences and communication styles of these generations can differ greatly, and create gaps, or worse, dysfunctional relationships between the generations.

Q&A

Going 'Toe to Toe' With Big Law, Improving Processes, Drives Benesch Friedlander, MP Says

David Gialanella | June 27, 2018

"The fact that we have a favorable rate differential works to our benefit, but that is not why we get the work," Gregg Eisneberg says. "We can stand toe-to-toe with our peers at the Big Law firms."

News

Midsize Moves: U.S. Army Attorney Goes Midsize in Philly, Plus Moves in Dallas and NYC

Jonathan Erway | June 22, 2018

A roundup of lateral moves at midsize firms across the U.S.

Analysis

Mid-Market Recap: Big Law Flood Insurance

Zack Needles | June 22, 2018

Either sink, swim or climb aboard.

Analysis

Amid Associate Raise Frenzy, Midsize Firms Seek the Right Number

Lizzy McLellan | June 22, 2018

Matching Milbank and Cravath is laughable at most firms, but they're keeping track of the competition.