Midsize Law Firm Growing as Others Struggle to Survive: Focus on Niche Practice Areas and Client Service is Key to Success

Loeb & Loeb, a mid-sized national law firm, has grown despite the economic downturn most midsized big law firms have felt over the past year.  Specialization in key industries and developing close relationships with its clients has been a successful ingredient to its success. Read the full article on ABA Journal –Law New Now by Martha Neil: Growing Midsize Firm Pays Big Bucks, Targets ‘Core Industries’.

Loeb & Loeb, a five-office national firm with some 300 lawyers on its attorney roster, anticipates both a larger headcount and a bigger footprint as it continues with a program of targeted growth in identified "core industries," says David Schaefer. He serves as managing partner of the firm's New York office and its national practice management chair.

Although ready to provide standard legal services when called upon by clients to do so, the firm's attorneys don't simply wait for the phone to ring or urgent e-mails to light up their BlackBerries, according to Schaefer. Instead, they talk to clients about their businesses, helping them anticipate and address legal issues and corporate concerns before they become major problems.

When the Lehman Brothers investment bank failed about 15 months ago, for example, Loeb & Loeb lawyers called up clients and asked "Do you have business relationships with Lehman? We know that there are some things that you need to do … let's be proactive," Schaefer says.