Behind Benesch's Strategy To Add And Keep BigLaw Laterals

Law360.com, February 28, 2024

By Emma Cueto

Mid-sized Ohio-based firm Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff LLP has become an attractive destination for a certain type of BigLaw lateral partner, attracting a notable number over the past six months from firms such as Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Jenner & Block LLP.

Benesch's lateral-driven growth strategy has helped the firm expand in markets like Chicago and San Francisco, and industry observers say that the firm's entrepreneurial pitch and vision for the future has helped to bring aboard high-quality laterals from big-name firms, with the firm also boasting of high retention rates.

"They're clearly aiming at markets that have been served traditionally by larger firms … and they're bringing in partners that are very well-situated," said Michael Rynowecer of BTI Consulting. "They're bringing in partners that have experience but are still quite hungry."

Benesch, which was founded in Ohio but has since expanded to offices in Chicago, San Francisco, New York and Delaware, has long focused on growing through laterals rather than through mergers. For years, it has been steadily adding lateral partners, which has in part fueled its growth from 279 attorneys in 2020 to 330 attorneys in 2023.

Recently, the firm has also gained a track record for attracting talent from BigLaw. Since early October, it has added 14 partners. Some have been from fellow mid-sized firms like Hahn Loeser & Parks LLP and Ulmer & Berne LLP, but others hail from larger firms including Nixon Peabody LLP, Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP and Jenner & Block.

Recruiters in Chicago and San Francisco, the two markets that have been the firm's major focus for growth in recent years, told Law360 Pulse that attorneys coming from major firms often haven't heard of or seriously considered Benesch initially, but that they are often interested after learning more.

“Do they have the same name recognition as the big boys in the AmLaw10 or 20? No," said William Sugarman, a recruiter with Astor Professional Search who works mainly in Chicago but also in markets including San Francisco and New York. "But I think as people peel back the onion, they realize there's a lot there. I think they're gaining brand recognition."

Two laterals from BigLaw, Douglas DiMedio, who joined from Kirkland in January, and Stephanie Sheridan, who joined from Steptoe & Johnson in 2023 and now leads Benesch's San Francisco office, said that they were drawn to Benesch in part because of its entrepreneurial approach and the opportunity to be part of a growing organization.

"I spent my whole career at Kirkland prior to this," DiMedio said. "Kirkland is unbelievably successful in the [private equity] space, so at first I thought 'Why would I leave?' But the reality is it's already a well-formed institution. At Benesch ... it's exciting, the prospect of coming in and [being able to] help shape it."

Sheridan said that another big draw for her, one that has proved true in her year with the firm, was the more collegial culture. "People talk a lot about integration, but this is a place where that really happens," she said.

Sugarman and San Francisco recruiter Carla Khalife said that other BigLaw partners drawn to Benesch tended to be looking for similar things to Sheridan and DiMedio.

"I think that's a big selling point, the fact that they are growing from the ground up [in San Francisco]," she said. Many attorneys are drawn to that, she explained, especially those looking to grow or take on more responsibility.

Sugarman said he sees a potential Benesch lateral as someone who is "entrepreneurial, somebody who realizes they could maximize their potential with a platform that is … less bureaucratic."

Laterals and industry observers also tend to have a favorable impression of how the firm is managed. Managing partner Gregg A. Eisenberg, who has led the firm since 2015, comes up often when experts discuss the firm.

"I have to hand it to Gregg," DiMedio said. "I think he's a fantastic person to lead this practice. The optimism and vision he has for the vision of the firm … it's very refreshing."

"I think he's done a masterful job of firing on all cylinders," Sugarman said. "I think everything flows from leadership."

Eisenberg said that attracting BigLaw talent is a "significant part" of the firm's current strategy.

"We love attracting BigLaw talent and BigLaw lawyers that are very sophisticated and do what we do, but most important who match our culture," he said.

Eisenberg said the firm also isn't looking to "grow to grow," and spends a lot of time making sure that laterals are the right fit before bringing them on. Its focus is on finding partners who share the firm's entrepreneurial outlook, which he described as doing more than just providing legal services but taking the initiative for clients' businesses and finding ways to add value and bringing the client opportunities.

The firm also invests in a robust process to integrate laterals into Benesch.

"As we started to grow the firm, we realized we could do a much better job of integration," he said. Today, there are people at the firm dedicated to that integration as part of a process that goes on for years.

The firm touts its retention numbers, saying that more than 90% of its laterals stay. Numbers on law firm retention are hard to come by, but industry experts agreed 90% is well above the norm, making it stand out. Sheridan noted it specifically as something that helped cement her decision to join.

Specifically, the firm said that its retention rate in 2023 was 90% for equity partners and 89.5% for salaried partners; in 2022, it was reportedly 98% for equity partners and 89% for salaried partners.

In looking at all laterals announced by the firm in 2019 through the end of 2022, Law360 identified 32 partner laterals, 24 of whom are still with the firm, with more recent laterals being less likely to have moved on.

Industry observers agreed that the BigLaw talent would likely be a boost to the firm's ambitions as it continues to grow.

Rynowecer of BTI Consulting noted that the firm was growing especially in high-margin practices like litigation and private equity.

"If you're a mid-size firm and you have the right story, you can be attractive to these aggressive, high performers who are looking to make their mark in the marketplace," Rynowecer said, adding that Benesch seemed to have cracked that code.

Rynowecer said he sees the firm making smart moves in terms of how it is expanding and where. Focusing on Chicago and San Francisco are smart moves, he said, explaining that the Northern California market is likely to continue to grow and that Chicago has long been "rock solid."

And attracting laterals from top firms also helps to fuel more of the same.

Sheridan said one thing that stuck with her was the story of Erik Connolly, then a Winston & Strawn LLP attorney, joining Benesch in 2018, when the firm was still getting a foothold in Chicago. The story went, she said, that when he first learned the firm was interested in him, he asked, "What's a Benesch?" The fact that he and others wound up taking a chance on the firm was something that made her willing to take a serious look, as well.

And now, she said, friends who see how happy she is at the firm have in turn become interested, including Steptoe's former cybersecurity chair Michael Vatis, who also joined Benesch in 2023.

Eisenberg said that the firm is looking to continue growing, saying that its presence in three top markets — San Francisco, Chicago, and now New York — has already helped it secure serious talent.

"We're very excited about the future of this law firm," he said. "We think this is going to be a very busy year for us."

--Editing by Nicole Bleier

https://www.law360.com/pulse/articles/1807181