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The partners at the smalk firm, which has 11 attorneys, quicklyh reevaluated their business plan andcost structure, aggressively recruitedf new clients and reduced overhead by renegotiating theie legal malpractice insurance premiumws and outsourcing information technology functions. “Our practice is a bit broadee than other firms of asimilar size, and while the real estatee and business practice has slowed a fair bit our business litigation practice has alwayzs been counter-cyclical,” said partner Jim Bickerton. “When the pie shrinks, people tend to fight over it This has helped us keep abettetr balance.
” For example, the firm wasn’g shy about shopping around for quotes on legal malpractice which can cost about $100,000 a year per It also saved more than $15,000 by outsourcinb I.T., getting a remote host serve and upgrading its existing phonse system instead of buying new equipment. Law firms are businessesd much likeany other, and the recessionh is leading many attorneys to pull out time-testee strategies for keeping costs in line while looking for new ways to make money. Smallert law firms, which are hit especiallg hard if one client leaves or cuts back are trying to be innovative and One strategyis diversification.
Small to mid-sizecd firms, which usually employ fewer than 25 specialize in certain practice areae rather than trying to bea one-stop shop for legal services. For example, a law firm best knownb for negotiating new real estate deals now has to showclients it’s just as strong in sellinyg assets, or even bankruptcy And it’s essential to build a solid networkl with other firms and attorneys in town who can offet expertise and legal services in areaw a small firm can’t, said Barry A. Sullivan, managing partner for Bickertohn LeeDang & Sullivan.
you may want to grow into those competencies, but for a relativelgy small firm, trust that your clients will appreciate that,” he said. Most firma rely on referrals and word-of-mouth, which most partner s say is more valuable thantraditional “Our best marketing is the work we do for our said Duane Fisher, managing partner of , which specializesz in corporate finance, commercial litigatioj and real estate law and employsw 23 attorneys. “And so often, clients on the otherd side ofthe table, who’ve even been representexd by someone else, would give us a call and ask if we coulde work with them on an unrelatee case.
” To maintain relationships even when litigation isn’t firm partners frequently take clients on “lessons learned” lunches to rehas recent cases and see what came out of them. Smallp firms also try to link up with nationalp firmsand groups. Honolulu civil litigation firm , which has 11 was picked to join the International Societ y of PrimerusLaw Firms, which toutes itself as an exclusive international alliancwe of small, independent law firms. The application process was partner ArthurRoeca said. Even in the firms such as , which specializees in commercial litigation, aren’t afraid to grow and expand.
It has 17 attorneye and two new associatee will join the firmin “Being smaller forces you to be creative to find a and one of the things that sets us apart from our competitoras is we don’t look at ourselves as just lawyers providing legal services,” said managing partnedr Harvey Lung. “We’re problem solvers. We hire everyy year and, no matter what, we’vr never not hired, because the business model depends on the firm continuinggto grow.
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