Biglaw

The Partner Departures At This Biglaw Firm Are Really Piling Up

January isn't even over and the firm has already lost 20 partners in 2019.

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2019 is shaping up to be the year of the partner exodus for LeClairRyan.

We’ve reported on some of the lateral moves that have already happened this year, and now comes word that LeClairRyan’s Rochester, New York, and Williamsburg, Virginia, offices have been raided. A group of intellectual property attorneys — partners Michael Goldman, Gunnar Leinberg and Andrew Zappia and counsel  Edwin Merkel and Tate Tischner — are opening up a Rochester office for Pepper Hamilton. While the Virginia contingent of departing lawyers, including retail industry co-head Susan Childers North and estate and trust litigation practice group leader William Sleeth, is heading to Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani.

January isn’t even over and the firm has already lost 20 partners in 2019.

But according to an interview with Law.com, Elizabeth Acee, head of LeClairRyan’s litigation department, the firm isn’t panicking. Indeed, they’re preparing for “law firm 2.0” (think less legal research and more technology) and understand that not all lawyers at the firm are on board with the new vision:

But, Acee said, “It is not accurate to say that we don’t expect the firm to be in existence in 2019 because we think we’re building law firm 2.0 and we’ll be stronger,” referring the firm’s newest venture with alternative legal services provider UnitedLex Corp.

In June, LeClairRyan partnered with UnitedLex to launch ULX Partners LLC, which outsources nonlegal operations for law firms for a minority equity stake in the venture. As a result, more than 300 LeClairRyan employees joined the new venture.

This type of venture creates a fairly significant level of change, and that level of change is difficult and uncomfortable for some lawyers, Acee said.

“That’s OK and we understand that but we are very, very committed to the vision and we’re very committed to changing the firm’s business model,” she said.

Given the seemingly radical nature of the shift, it isn’t a surprise that many lawyers are packing up their books of business and leaving. The real variable is just how many partners will decide to depart the Biglaw firm before their new vision is fully realized.

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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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