Biglaw

72 Attorneys Have Left This Biglaw Firm In 2018, But Leadership Insists They Aren't Worried

The firm is making some changes, but will it be enough?

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Twenty-three partners, 31 associates and 18 of counsel have left Holland & Hart since the beginning of 2018. That’s according to Law.com, but managing partner Thomas O’Donnell doesn’t seem worried:

“We are in a profession that has not historically been known for our ability to adapt and change,” O’Donnell said. “And we are in a marketplace that is evolving and changing rapidly, and I think we pride ourselves for being in the category of law firms that are working hard on changing and adapting.”

The market for lateral partners is as hot as it’s ever been, and we’re on pace for 2,000 moves in 2018. And firms with comparatively low profits per partner (Holland & Hart rank 191st in the list of the Am Law 200 by this metric) are at a disadvantage. And H&H has been feeling the pinch:

This year, two notable groups departed Holland & Hart’s Salt Lake office for Dorsey & Whitney, the latter of which named a new leader last month. The first, a team of 10 intellectual property partners, departed in February and included brothers Grant and Brett Foster, Mark Miller and Bryan Pratt. In September, a seven-lawyer corporate transactions team, including partners Matthew Wells, Aaron Murdock, James Kelly, Craig Frame and Jeffrey Bowman, made the jump. Wells is one of three Band 1 M&A partners in Utah ranked by Chambers and Partners.

Polsinelli, a firm whose namesake announced his retirement this week, also picked up three former Holland & Hart partners in Colorado earlier this year in Scott Berdan, Chuck Cotter and Elizabeth Harding. In Las Vegas, litigator and former local managing partner Patrick Reilly joined Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck in late September.

But O’Donnell insists, that at least at the partnership level, everything is normal, if a little active. In addition to the hot lateral market, H&H has also weathered some retirements. And O’Donnell reports that of the partners that left, only 14 went to other “platforms,” while the firm picked up nine lateral partners this year. However, there’s concern at the firm the issues run deeper than the partnership level:

“They have so many good, quality people that are 10-, 12-, 14-year lawyers but aren’t partners,” said one former Holland & Hart partner who requested anonymity in discussing firm affairs. “They’re leaving to go be partners.”

In response to this sentiment, H&H has added a new, non-equity partnership. We’ll see if that’s enough to keep young attorneys at the firm.

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headshotKathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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