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.

News

Who Got the Work: Egg-cellent News for an Egg Farm, 37 Cats and 5 Parrots

Jonathan Erway | June 21, 2018

  Porter Wright Morris & Arthur helped secure a major defense win for Seymour, Indiana-based Rose Acre Farms in a $3 billion federal antitrust…

Q&A

Susman Godfrey Focused on Innovation, Efficiency Before They Were 'Buzzwords'

Lizzy McLellan| June 21, 2018

The firm has been competing with larger counterparts in Big Law for over four decades, using its size to its advantage, Manne says.

Expert Opinion

Employment Law in General Practice Firms and the Rise of the National Boutiques

Dan Scott| June 20, 2018

I’ve spent a lot of time in the two decades recruiting employment lawyers. It’s an interesting area of practice and seems to present some unique challenges for general practice law firms.

Q&A

Health Care Litigation Steers Innovation, Progress at Murtha Cullina, Knag Says

Michael Marciano| June 14, 2018

Murtha Cullina has established itself as a big fish among firms in the Nutmeg State and a nationally competitive midsize player that takes on complex litigation issues and health care cases that are constantly evolving with the regional and national political tides.

Analysis

Midsize Boutiques Acted Quickly to Keep Up on Associate Comp

Lizzy McLellan | June 14, 2018

At most midsize law firms, matching Milbank is not in the cards. But for highly profitable boutiques, it was the obvious choice.

News

Mid-Market Recap: Midsize No More

David Gialanella | June 14, 2018

Our take on discussion-worthy news and events at midsize firms nationwide.

News

Midsize Moves: A Former Mayor, and a Law Firm CEO Find New Homes

Jonathan Erway | June 14, 2018

    Maynard Cooper & Gale welcomed three new attorneys to its Huntsville, Alabama, office—Dale Gipson, Katherine “Katie” McGuire and…

News

Who Got The Work: Natural Gas, Racetracks and Cryptocurrency

Jonathan Erway | June 14, 2018

Midsize firms handling big-time matters.

Analysis

'Call Me': Many Components to Building a Local Counsel Book of Business, Lawyers Say

David Gialanella | June 08, 2018

Every day, law firms needing to handle a matter in a jurisdiction where they lack "boots on the ground" seek out a local lawyer to help represent…

Analysis

Mid-Market Recap: For California Boutique, Expansion was a Slow Burn

Lizzy McLellan | June 07, 2018

"Appellate lawyers are very deliberative types and we give things a lot of time and a lot of analysis," Horvitz & Levy's David Axelrad said.

Q&A

Leadership Planning is Key at Expanding Mid-Atlantic Firm Offit Kurman

Lizzy McLellan| June 07, 2018

"We believe in letting our lawyers practice and our professional managers do the managing. That said, there will always need to be lawyers to participate in practice group management as well as high-level management of a law firm," managing partner Tim Lynch said.

News

Midsize Moves: From New York to Detroit, and Two Jumps to Big Law

Jonathan Erway | June 07, 2018

  Bodman announced May 16 that banking attorney Adam S. Weiner has joined as a partner in the firm’s Detroit office. Weiner represents financial…

Who Got the Work: A Healthy Aquisition, Big-Money Allegations

Jonathan Erway | June 07, 2018

Cole Schotz in Hackensack, New Jersey represented Delos Capital in its acquisition of US Fitness, which operates health clubs across the Mid-Atlantic…

Analysis

To Vote or Not to Vote—Is That the Question?

Jeff Coburn| June 06, 2018

The issue of partnership voting is largely a function of two variables: the size of the law firm, and the nature of the issues under consideration. The trend in AmLaw’s 100 largest firms—with the exception of some of the more tradition-bound New York City firms—is clearly in the direction of greater centralization of decision-making by the firm’s management.

Who Got the Work: Work Continues After the Gavel Falls, and the Delaware Constitution

Jonathan Erway | June 01, 2018

Edelson and Loevy & Loevy, plaintiff counsel in class litigation against Caribbean Cruise Line and others over allegedly illicit telemarketing…

News

Midsize Moves: Planting a Flag in Charm City, and Multi-Move Michigan

Jonathan Erway | June 01, 2018

  Insurance defense law firm Swartz Campbell opened a Baltimore, Maryland office, the firm announced, to be initially staffed by Maryland-admitted litigators…

Analysis

Mid-Market Recap: California Dreaming Hard to Come By For Some Midsize Firms

Hank Grezlak | June 01, 2018

When it comes to U.S. legal markets, outside of New York City there’s probably no market as competitive as California. The challenges can be amplified…

News

New Information: Interpreting Data in Novel Ways in the Law Firm Environment

Jared D. Correia| May 31, 2018

While sports teams have been making better decisions using data for decades—to the point where an annual conference, the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, covers the subject—other industries, including the legal field, have been somewhat late to the party.

Analysis

Student Debt 'Anchor' Drives Career Choices, Raises Tricky Questions for Midsize Firms

Ben Seal | May 31, 2018

“It caused me to think very carefully about whether or not my career at a particular law firm is sustainable. I literally cannot afford to be at a law firm that wants me to burn it at both ends for three to six years and then dispose of me when they don’t make me partner.”

Q&A

Murphy & McGonigle: A Firm Without the 'Sharp Elbows You May Find Elsewhere'

Susan DeSantis| May 30, 2018

"We represent many of the major financial institutions in the country ... most have told us they appreciate the combination of cost-efficiencies and specialized talent," said Len Amoruso, managing partner of the New York office of Murphy & McGonigle.

Mid-Market Recap: The Case for Firm Leaders to Be Firmer Leaders

Zack Needles | May 24, 2018

Bruce Springsteen once said, "Democracy in rock bands, with very few exceptions, is often a ticking time bomb." There's cause to believe that quote would be just as accurate if "rock bands" were replaced with "midsize law firms."

Midsize Moves: Business Lawyer Moves Abound

Jonathan Erway | May 23, 2018

                  Archer & Greiner has hired Richard Gilly as a partner…

News

Who Got the Work: Shoes, Horses and a $9M Apartment

Jonathan Erway | May 23, 2018

Midsize firms handling big-time matters.

Analysis

Investing in Cybersecurity No Longer Optional for Midsize Firms

Lizzy McLellan | May 23, 2018

“Large institutions have made it clear that they don’t just desire a law firm to be able to secure their data, but they require it,” said Alan Promer of Philadelphia-based Hangley Aronchick Segal Pudlin & Schiller.

Q&A

'Open Access to Management' Gives Mandelbaum Salsburg 'Family Business' Feel, New CEO Says

David Gialanella | May 22, 2018

"I think that we are in a unique position to attract some of the most successful attorneys in our region because we offer an entrepreneurial atmosphere coupled with a sophisticated full-service platform allowing attorneys to develop and originate business in any practice area at any level."

Patent Lawyers in General Practice Firms

Dan Scott| May 22, 2018

While many patent attorneys are in boutiques (firms that focus exclusively in this area of practice) many others benefit from being in a large commercial general practice firm. It’s important for management of these firms to understand this practice and its fundamental differences from other areas of law in order to work with these practitioners successfully.

Analysis

Finger on the Pulse, Not the Ballot Box: Midsize Firms Rarely Use Partnership Votes

Gina Passarella Cipriani | May 18, 2018

Walking the halls to build consensus is the go-to choice over partnership votes at midsize law firms.

Analysis

Mid-Market Recap: A Controversial Work-Ethic

Lizzy McLellan | May 18, 2018

Midsize firms often tout the work-life balance they offer attorneys. But one of the hardest working law firm partners in the U.S. can be found at midsize firm Howard & Howard.

News

Midsize Moves: Homecoming in Dallas, New Boss in Birmingham, and Boulder-Bound

Jonathan Erway | May 17, 2018

Midsize law firms and their lateral moves.

Q&A

Hangley Aronchick Aims for High-End Practice in a Small Setting

Lizzy McLellan | May 17, 2018

David Pudlin is the longtime president and CEO of Hangley Aronchick, a Philadelphia-based firm that also has offices in Harrsiburg and Norristown, Pennsylvania, and Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

News

Who Got the Work: A Piece of Wells Fargo

Jonathan Erway | May 17, 2018

Midsize firms handling big-time matters.

What Mid-Size Law Firm Attorneys Can Learn From Michael Avenatti

Gina F. Rubel| May 16, 2018

In my many years of working with high profile cases and trial publicity, I have come across only a handful of lawyers who are exceptional at using the court of public opinion to influence the outcome of matters in the court of law. Like it or not, Michael Avenatti is one of them.

Analysis

For Midsize Firms, Geographic Expansion Should Follow the Work, Not Vice Versa

Zack Needles | May 11, 2018

For midsize law firms mulling whether to open up shop in a new locale, there should be only one guiding principle, firm leaders said: go where the work is.

News

Mid-Market Recap: Spinoffs Aren't Just Happening at Big Firms

Hank Grezlak | May 11, 2018

While it’s typically been big firms that have been the origins for the spinoffs, it does seem to be something happening more and more with midsize firms and boutiques.

Hear the Stories Behind the Numbers in The Am Law 200 Rankings

Gina Passarella Cipriani | May 10, 2018

The Am Law 200 results tell an interesting, complex story. We will examine what the results mean for that market segment and the firms around it.

Who Got the Work: $33M in Coverage, and an $8.5B Merger

Jonathan Erway | May 10, 2018

Midsize firms taking on big-time client matters.

News

Midsize Moves: From California to New York, and Back

Jonathan Erway | May 10, 2018

Midsize firms and their lateral moves.

Q&A

Berger Singerman Counts on Being Nimble in Law and Operations

Catherine Wilson| May 09, 2018

Paul Singerman is co-chair of the 75-plus attorney law firm, which focuses on Florida commercial law.

Reputation Crisis and What a Law Firm Can Do About It, Part II

Gina Rubel| May 09, 2018

In life and business, reputation is everything. It only takes one misstep to cause irreparable damage to a law firm and its attorneys.

Analysis

Net Gain: How Systems Help You Capture More Time

Jared D. Correia| May 09, 2018

Since most law firms still bill their clients on an hourly basis, time quite literally equals money. Yet, there are many siphons through which law firms lose time, at each level of the billing process.

News

Mid-Market Recap: Are Midsize Firms in Pittsburgh Vulnerable to Partner Poaching?

Hank Grezlak | May 03, 2018

While there has been lots of lateral movement in markets like Philly for more than 20 years, it’s always been little quieter, a little more polite, in Pittsburgh. But that seems to be changing.

Analysis

What Makes a Law Firm GC? Trust, and Much More

David Gialanella | May 03, 2018

As midsize law firms tackle the issue of how to handle the role of general counsel, the principal question, more so than even the job's framework, is who will fill it.

Q&A

Raines Feldman Adopts the 'Tech Startup Feel'

Lizzy McLellan | May 03, 2018

"Since we are newer, we tend to be more forward-thinking and entrepreneurial than most well-established firms," managing partner Jonathan Littrell said.

Commentary

Reputation Crisis and What a Law Firm Can Do About It, Part I

Gina Rubel| May 03, 2018

In life and business, reputation is everything. It only takes one misstep to cause irreparable damage to a law firm and its attorneys. But how do we determine the value of a law firm’s reputation?

Midsize Moves: A Lieutenant Gov Lateral, and More Movement, in Jersey

Jonathan Erway | May 03, 2018

Midsize firms and their lateral moves.

News

Who Got The Work: Eyeing Up Opioids and NYPD Surveillance

Jonathan Erway | May 03, 2018

Midsize firms taking on big-time client matters.

Analysis

Compensation Models Vary, But Transparency the Best Policy, Firm Leaders Say

David Gialanella | May 01, 2018

“It may not be perfect, but it’s fair, and we have yet to see a better system.”

Analysis

Litigation Funding: The Dam Is About to Break

John M. Pierce| May 01, 2018

From a legal profession perspective, a mini-revolution is indeed underway, empowering a population of leaner, cost-efficient law firms. But there’s a larger perspective as well.