For reasons that may linger — the echoing alarms set off by the Great Recession, the retirements of baby boomers, the migration to the role of in-house counsel — many law firms are learning to operate with fewer lawyers.
According to South Carolina Lawyers Weekly’s 2014 survey of the state’s 20 largest law firms, half of those ranked in the top 20 saw lawyer counts shrink or stall over the past year.
The annual survey measures the number of lawyers and other statistics as of Jan. 1 of each year.
The rosters of the top 18 firms, all of which were among the top 20 in the 2013 survey, lost a total of six attorneys, with 1,281 reported in the 2013 survey, 1,275 reported this year.
The sharpest percentage decreases were at three of the state’s five largest law firms, each of which has at least 11 percent fewer attorneys than a year ago. The two firms tied for third on the 2014 survey — Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd and The McNair Law Firm – have, respectively, 13 percent and 12 percent fewer attorneys than a year ago. Turner Padget Graham & Laney, the fifth largest in attorney numbers, has 11 percent fewer.
Haynsworth Sinkler’s loss of 17 lawyers dropped it from second place. Nexsen Pruet, which added three lawyers, for a total of 125, moved up from third largest a year ago.
Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, South Carolina’s largest firm for the sixth straight year, grew slightly, adding four lawyers to lead the way with a roster of 203. Jim Lehman, managing partner of the firm, said the Great Recession slowed Nelson Mullins’ growth.
“Because of some trends we noticed in some large litigation matters we were handling before the recession,” Lehman said, “we started to trim our sails before the crisis. As a result, we found ourselves in a better position to react to the changing environment. We were fortunate in that we did not have to withdraw any job offers. Of course, we didn’t hire as many, nor make as many new offers, and were very cautious during the recession.”
John Sowards, board chairman of Nexsen Pruet, sounded a theme repeated by many firms: Client needs are the reason for his firm’s growth.
He said Nexsen Pruet has added to its white-collar criminal defense practice as well as its health care, litigation, bankruptcy, and taxation practices.
While Nelson Mullins and Nexsen Pruet nudged their numbers higher by 2 percent each, three South Carolina firms made large percentage point gains.
Tied for 12th largest firm, Willson Jones Carter & Baxley was first in percentage increase in the last 12 months, adding eight lawyers for a 22 percent growth rate. That follows the firm’s 2012-2013 increase of 13 percent.
Harold J. Willson Jr. said the firm added attorneys in each of its South Carolina offices in 2013. In addition, he said, Willson Jones expanded its practice beyond workers’ compensation with the addition of a group of liability attorneys in Greenville.
By adding 10 lawyers in 2013, Gallivan White & Boyd’s 20 percent growth rate trailed only that of Willson Jones. Gallivan White & Boyd reached No. 9 on the largest firm’s list, moving up one slot from the 2013 survey.
Richardson Plowden & Robinson had the third largest percentage increase with 12 percent. It added four attorneys and moved from 18th place to 16th.
At No. 5 on the top 20 list, Turner Padget retained its 2013 ranking despite a decrease of 10 lawyers.
Edward W. Laney IV, Turner Padget’s managing partner, said the contraction in law firm sizes isn’t attributable to any single factor.
“We did see an overall loss last year,” Laney said. “Some is typical stuff that occurs: Some folks retire, and we had one leave to become a probate judge. I saw people move out of private practice to in-house or government positions.”
Laney continued: “We have had some move to more specialized law firms. I also wonder if the decrease of other firms is increased competition, because more and more regional, national, or international firms move into the state. That hasn’t been true for us, but I wonder if it could be the truth for other large firms.”