Smaller firms, according to The Boston Globe, are 'starting to nab more corporate business' by 'agreeing to hourly fees that are sometimes 25 percent less than what top-tier firms might charge'. They are also keeping costs lower by using fewer junior staff to cases.
Lower cost of living
Among the firms adopting new business models are WilmerHale and Goodwin Procter. WilmerHale, with 316 lawyers, has opened a 'business centre' in Dayton, Ohio where the cost of living is a third less than in Boston and which allows them to employ staff more cheaply. Goodwin Procter, which has 400 lawyers, now outsources work and record management to a firm in West Virginia, another area where the cost of living is lower.
Requests
Joseph Ryan, chief executive of Boston-based, 430-lawyer Brown Rudnick, says: 'The business has had to change. Because clients are more cost conscious, we’re spending more and more time [pitching to clients] and answering their requests for proposals.' Source: The Boston Globe
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