Does Law Firm Size Matter?

When choosing legal representation, does firm size matter? That depends. If you want legal services from a firm that has a global presence and a wide range of resources under one roof, bigger may indeed be better. On the other hand, if you need a lawyer who limits their practice to a specialized area, such as immigration law or personal injury cases, you may want to consult with a small- or medium-sized firm.

No matter what your legal concerns are, when shopping for counsel, you should consider qualities such as personalized attention, prompt service, research efficiency, and technological resources. You can get a consultation from multiple law firms of different sizes to see who will best represent your interests.

Law Firm Size and Legal Representation

Law firms come in all sizes and types. A sole practitioner could represent their own law firm and handle all their own cases. Big law firms can have hundreds or thousands of attorneys in multiple cities and countries. Depending on where you live, the definitions of small, medium, and large firms can also vary.

Generally, law firms are categorized as small or boutique, midsize, and large law firms. The following information comes from attorneys representing smaller law firms (15 or fewer), medium law firms (16 to 350 attorneys), and larger law firms (more than 350). They present their perspectives on choosing the right-sized practice for your needs.

Advantages of a Small Law Firm

Small “boutique” firms that specialize in a specific practice area are the best choice for some clients. “We don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach,” says Deborah Jean Notkin, past president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and a partner at Barst Attorneys at Law.

“We only deal with immigration law, which is as complex — if not more so — than the tax code,” Notkin says. Their attorneys speak 20 different languages, and the firm established units geared specifically toward Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and South American clients. “Basically, people come to us because they know we are the best in immigration law.”

“We deal primarily with employment law issues, an area of the law that is constantly changing and can be extremely complex,” says Kathleen L. Bogas, president of the National Employment Lawyers Association and a partner with the Bingham Farms law firm of Bogas & Koncius, which employs eight attorneys. “Our clients come to us because they know we are experts in this particular area. They’re dealing with very personal, life-altering issues — getting fired, being victimized by sexual harassment and discrimination — so personalized attention is crucial.”

Flexibility of Small Law Firms

Experience in a niche area of law draws some clients, but small law firms offer other advantages, too. According to BTI Consulting Group in Wellesley, Massachusetts, which ranks the top 200 law firms based on 17 key factors that drive client relationships, more and more Fortune 1000 companies are turning to small firms in all areas of legal expertise. Why? In a word: flexibility.

“Clients note that small firms are better at adopting new ways of doing things, based on what’s most convenient for individual cases or client needs,” says Michael Rynowecer, president of BTI. “There’s generally less bureaucracy at small firms, so they can be more flexible.”

Ease of Forming Attorney-Client Relationships

Another benefit small firms offer clients is the ease of developing relationships with all of the major players.

“There’s generally a lot less bureaucracy at small firms, so they can remain keenly focused on the client’s objectives,” says Terry Abeyta, a partner at Abeyta Nelson in Yakima, which has four attorneys and specializes in plaintiffs’ personal injury cases.

“At a small firm, whoever picks up the phone will know at least a little bit about your case, will probably recognize you by face, and even know something about your family,” says Deborah Gordon, Michigan attorney at The Law Offices of Deborah L. Gordon. “In a larger firm, the person who picks up the phone may have no idea who you are.”

“Going to trial is an intense environment for clients, and they want to develop a close and trusting relationship with their attorney,” says Bob Christie, of Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice in Seattle. “My clients are hiring me primarily, and they trust that my team reflects my values.”

Rynowecer says even large companies are turning to smaller legal firms to find those personal relationships. “At a large firm, a client may only work with one or two partners, and many of their needs are relegated to junior associates,” he explains. “The partners are more likely to share clients at a small or midsize firm.”

Advantages of a Medium Law Firm

Medium-sized firms may provide the personalized client service of a small firm along with the staff and financial resources of a much larger firm.

“Our firm’s culture is defined by being large enough so that our attorneys represent a variety of expertise, and small enough so that we all know each other,” says James Dickens, a partner at Miller Nash. “I know who does what best, and when a client calls me with a problem, I know exactly whom to send them to.”

Midsize law firms increasingly succumb to offers to merge. “A firm of our reputation and size is constantly approached with merger offers by larger firms,” says Jay Neveloff, a partner with Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, a full-service law firm with offices in New York and Paris. Neveloff, with more than 30 years of experience in real estate law, is a member of the Real Estate Advisory Board of the Practicing Law Institute.

Midsize Law Firms Competing With Larger Firms

Though growth was inevitable, the partners’ dedicated focus on excellent service and lawyer recruitment has led to exceptional results for clients. “A global presence for law firms is important in today’s business environment,” says Neveloff. “We choose to accomplish that global presence through alliance partnerships and affiliations instead of growing the size of our firm at a rate that would sacrifice the quality of our staff or client services.”

Striking a Balance Between Small and Large Law Firms

Midsize firms must strike a balance between boutique-firm rapport and big-firm amenities. “The broad resources of a large firm can be an advantage if you have a client-focused relationship, but if you don’t, it means nothing,” Rynowecer adds. “Some of the largest organizations are using midsize firms because that’s where the close relationships and trust are, in addition to the depth of resources.”

“My experience is that the medium-sized firms deliver a work product that is just as good, if not better, than the large firms and with greater efficiency, better service, and quicker turnaround,” says Michael S. Khoury, vice chair of the business law section and a former chair of the computer law section of the State Bar of Michigan.

Growth and Responsiveness of Midsize Firms

Peter Canellos, chairman of the New York State Bar Association Tax Section, says, “We don’t do general counsel work, but for business transactions that need to be handled very quickly, responsiveness is key.”

Canellos is head of the tax department at Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz, a business law firm with about 200 attorneys. “A client will contact a particular partner who promptly assembles a team with representation from all relevant disciplines,” says Canellos. “Everyone in the firm is essentially available for work on deals, and people are added to deal teams as needed. It’s a crisis-driven firm, so everything is done on a very fast track.”

Advantages of a Large Law Firm

The biggest advantage of a large law firm is the breadth of expertise and services under one roof. This is a significant consideration when it comes to broad disciplines such as corporate law or real estate.

“The small-firm real estate lawyer is not an endangered species, just a marginalized one,” says Andrew J. Weiner, partner of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, a multidisciplinary law firm with more than 1,000 lawyers around the world and more than 300 attorneys in the New York office alone.

“Real estate today is increasingly bi-coastal and international and is mutating into a capital-markets practice,” he says. “It requires a range and depth of expertise beyond the scope of traditional real estate law practices and is best serviced by law firms with sophisticated finance, corporate finance, and tax expertise.”

“A large firm like ours has tremendous flexibility due to the sheer volume of resources that cut across a number of areas of practice,” notes Michael Morgan, a corporate law partner with Ballard Spahr with more than 750 attorneys nationwide. “I often work with our HR group on employment and benefit matters and with our tax group on sophisticated [financial] transactions.”

Large Firms and Responsiveness in the Attorney-Client Relationship

Jonathan Mechanic, chairman of the real estate department at Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson, a full-service, multidisciplinary law firm with approximately 600 lawyers in offices around the world, says, “Responsiveness is key to any lawyer-client relationship, regardless of the size of the firm.”

“Clients want to know that their problems are your problems, and that you are going to respond to them in a timely fashion,” he says. “In today’s world of the Internet and cell phones, response time has become significantly shorter. [Clients] don’t even want to wait an hour — they want an immediate response.”

Find the Right-Sized Law Firm for You

A law firm’s size reveals nothing about its capability. You should think about your legal needs, the importance of responsiveness and personal attention, and the firm’s financial resources.

“What you need is good lawyers willing to fight for you if you’re a plaintiff on the litigation side,” says Gordon. “You need experience and expertise to win your case — and that can be found at any-size firm.”

Visit the Super Lawyers directory to search for litigation attorneys and law firms in your location.