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Thursday, August 24, 2006

Law - "Small Litigation Shops Produce Big Results"

Law.com has an interesting feature today, from the Daily Business Review, on litigation boutiques. Some quotes from the lengthy story by John Pacenti:

Litigation boutiques generally are characterized as having one dozen to two dozen lawyers, a payment system other than billable hours and careful selection of cases to enhance the firm's ability to provide individualized client service. The boutiques argue that they often provide better value than the litigation departments of larger firms.

Unlike bigger firms, many litigation shops offer a variety of payment options for clients: flat fee, contingency or a mix that may include some billable hours. The billing approach depends on the type of litigation, and litigation shops focusing on commercial defense differ from personal injury firms.

"At the large firms, often what is heard is a large sucking sound," said Steven L. Schwarzberg, of Schwarzberg Spector Duke Schulz & Rogers, an 11-attorney firm in West Palm Beach that focuses on defending employers in suits filed by employees or former employees. "There are lots and lots of fees, but not a lot of results."

Ervin Gonzalez, of the 15-attorney Miami firm Colson Hicks Eidson, said his firm only does plaintiff-side, high-stakes complex litigation. "The benefit you get is real trial lawyers who are not afraid of trying cases and who can get to the bottom line effectively and efficiently without overbilling," he said.

In addition, boutique firm leaders say, their clients don't get the beehive treatment seen at large firms, where junior associates may be brought in to carry the load.

"If a client hires me, they are going to get me, not just me lightly overseeing young associates doing the work," said Gonzalez, who has won a string of huge verdicts and settlements in Florida over the last several years. "The philosophy I use to meet the test is I ask myself what kind of lawyer would I want, how would I want that lawyer to act, and then I try to be that lawyer." * * *

Christopher Duke, a partner at Schwarzberg's firm, said attorneys leave the bigger firms because they want to be hands-on in cases, not just a bit player. "You can have much more of an immediate impact," he said. "All of our partners here have come from big-firm backgrounds. We know what it takes to do high-level work." * * *

But leaders of larger law firms say they still have lots of advantages over litigation boutiques. Some have structured their litigation departments to concentrate on particular fields of law, somewhat mimicking the boutiques.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on August 24, 2006 08:40 AM
Posted to General Law Related