California’s Largest Law Firms Continued to Expand in 2022
The Recorder, July 3, 2023
By Jessie Yount
Most California law firms saw head count growth in 2022, while more than a dozen new offices among the nation's largest firms launched in the state.
Large and midsize firms in California continued to gain lawyers in 2022, as the Golden State remained the No. 2 locale among lawyers at the nation’s largest firms, according to the 2023 NLJ 500.
According to the NLJ 500, the 500 firms with the most lawyers in the U.S. had 20,825 lawyers in California in 2022, up 3% compared to 20,212 in 2021. Firms had a total of 640 offices in California in 2022, with an average of 22 lawyers in each. In 2021, firms had 626 offices in California.
Only New York had more lawyers at NLJ 500 firms in 2022 than California.
California has been a top destination among out-of-town firms in recent years. A handful of the most profitable Am Law 100 firms have flocked to the Bay Area, while both large and midsize firms have inundated Los Angeles and smaller cities in Southern California.
This year, Reed Smith, Armstrong Teasdale and California-based Hanson Bridgett opened offices in Orange County, putting them in closer proximity to existing clients and lawyers. Earlier in the year, Greenberg Traurig opened its sixth California office in San Diego, while Davis Wright Tremaine launched a second Los Angeles office in Century City.
A number of Second Hundred Am Law firms entered California last year, such as Quarles & Brady, Frost Brown Toddand Offit Kurman, all of which found their footing via a merger with a smaller midsize firm or boutique. Yet, a little over half of Second Hundred firms do not have an office in the Golden State.
California will remain a high priority for geographic expansion, recruiters said, noting that many firms are hoping to take advantage of a slower market to play catch up or pull ahead of their competitors.
“A lot of midsize firms, or Am Law 100 to 200 firms, are focused on growth,” said Jenny Swan Meyer, a legal recruiter and COO at Swan Legal Search. “If there’s a dip on the transactional side, they can lean heavily on other practice areas like litigation and L&E, which is where we’ve had most of our placements this year. We’ve seen quite a boom in those areas.”
A slowdown in the corporate realm hasn’t impacted all firms in the same way, Meyer said. “A lot of midsize firms on the transactional side are still busy, and they continue to work on broadening their practices,” she said. “Some Am Law 200 firms want a bigger presence in California, and that’s a good opportunity for associates if they want to help build an office.”
Nick Goseland, a Bay Area partner recruiter at Macrae, said most firms continue to look for top corporate talent, even amid a slowdown in work. Both highly profitable and diversified firms are in a great position to invest, he said.
Firms like that are “in a position to seize on this moment, which some believe is a watershed moment to attract partners—especially from corporate firms that have been hard to dislodge in the past,” Goseland said.
The NLJ 500 firms with their largest offices in Northern California include Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, which grew its overall head count 8.6% in 2022, Fenwick & West (up 11.8%), Morrison & Foerster (up 6%) and Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani (up 5.8%).
About two dozen firms have their largest office in Los Angeles, which was the fourth-largest city among this year’s NLJ 500 firms (with 7,422 lawyers in the market). They include Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith (up 5.4%), O’Melveny & Myers (up 10.7%), Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton (up 8.3) and Jackson Lewis (up 3.9%).
About half of the Am Law 100 firms that got started in California, however, have a larger presence elsewhere. At Cooley, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Latham & Watkins, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, Paul Hastings, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan—all of which saw head count growth last year—their largest office is in New York. Miami is Littler Mendelson’s largest office by head count.
https://www.law.com/therecorder/2023/07/03/californias-largest-law-firms-continued-to-expand-in-2022/