Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr will move back-office functions to Dayton, Ohio, in September. The center is expected to house as many as 190 workers in technical support, billing support, conflict checks, data entry, finance and other business and administrative functions. No lawyers will be located at the new business center at first, but the firm plans to add some basic document-review attorneys down the road, said co-managing partner William J. Perlstein. The new setup will add efficiency and cost less than housing business services in pricey offices in major cities, he said.
At present the firm divides back-office functions between its Washington, New York and Boston offices. “As we addressed the question of trying to consolidate, that freed us up to look outside the metro areas, where space is less expensive and we can get a business campus setting,” Mr. Perlstein said. “It’s a combination of cost savings and the efficiency of having everyone in one location.” The firm is still securing space for the new business center, and it’s not yet clear how much money it will save with the move, Mr. Perlstein said.
