Law.com - Manatt Employment Partner to Start Boutique

Law.com - Manatt Employment Partner to Start Boutique
As we close the year 2009, I would like to point out and comment on this provocative article about the future of the large law firm, which John Fox of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, suggests is too expensive and inefficient. If this is so, how can one justify the megafirms, which is another way of describing the large, global, integrated law firms.

There is no question that the practice of law is changing again. In fact, it has been changing for the last 20 years or so, as lawyers experiment with different models to address the needs of rapidly growing and internationalizing clients.

One of the most significant trends of the last 20 years was the globalization of business, and lawyers and law firms had to address the changes this caused. There still is no generally accepted model for addressing this globalization of business phenomenon. However, there have been no paucity of models that have emerged to address it.

The reality seems to be these days that being big and being everywhere you think your clients might need you leads to superior profits. In fact, in troubled economic times, such as those we have just been through, this philosophy has led to the demise of many fine, venerable, old law firms. In fact, regional, niche, and boutique law firms have often seemed to weather the hard times better than their much larger rivals.

It seems certain now that the global economy is poised for a rebound, which some say will be a stunningly strong one. It remains to be seen which law firm business model will be best suited to take advantage of the opportunities this will offer to lawyers and law firms. I tend to think that Mr. Fox and his colleagues who have joined with him are on to something.