City of the Big Shoulders definitely works as a metaphor for Chicago’s legal scene. The city is one of the fastest-growing legal centers in the country, with an estimated 45,000 attorneys in Cook County, Ill., by the Illinois Supreme Court’s tally. And while many firms were forced to cut back during the recession, a significant number of out-of-town firms, both Midwestern regional and national, actually opened satellite offices within the Chicago area.
It’s a trend that will continue for the next five years, said consultant Gary D’Alessio, president of Chicago Legal Search. He estimated that at least 91 out-of-state law firms maintain offices in Chicago, including 20 that opened during the past two years. He expected “at least a dozen or more Am Law 100 to 200 as well as regional firms to open an office in Chicago in the next few years.”
