The 'Out of Towners'

Public relations or not. If you are a reader of The New York Times, you may have noticed that when journalists quote an attorney for a particular piece, it seems that the quote comes from an expert in a firm outside of New York. What's going on? I will admit that for many years New York law firms shied away from being quoted at all, feeling perhaps that they were above it all and that their clients, for the most part high profile Fortune 500 corporations and large banking institutions would scowl at their outside counsel garnering attention. Now it seems that these firms have been relegated to the occasional quote while the regional/national firms have embraced the media and are truly “out there.” In speaking with Jay Jaffe, President and CEO of Jaffe Associates, about this issue, Jay indicated to me “that it is just inconceivable that New York law firms, with Madison Avenue as part of its demographic, have been a vast wasteland in the area of marketing and communications. Other professions get it … have you seen the marketing and communications that plastic surgeons and dentists have launched?” Jay and I are in agreement that New York law firms have resisted being high profile for a variety of reasons including the fact, as Jay points out “these firms didn't need it; times were good and there was little or no competition.” New York law firms saw national/regional firms as no threat to their client base. Jay also points out that this scenario mirrors that of London until competition from across the pond came calling.

Hits and Misses. We've all seen the trends. Law firms that were once considered to have regional practices are expanding into the major cities at a rate that creates national firms in an instant. When these expansions are announced, we all take notice. In most instances, the regional firm wants to gain a foothold in a major market like New York, Washington, DC, Boston, Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles or San Francisco. The usual scenario is to acquire a small to mid-size general practice firm or a boutique practice like intellectual property or litigation. In one of the latest national expansions into the New York market, Troutman Sanders, an Atlanta-based firm, acquired an entire local general practice branch office from another, for the most part regional (Southwest) firm with a New York office that of Jenkens & Gilchrist. From a marketing and communications standpoint, the issue with this particular acquisition comes from a historical perspective. When Jenkens & Gilchrist wanted to expand into New York, they acquired Parker Chapin, a long established general practice firm in the New York metropolitan area, with over one hundred attorneys. It was decided that the firm name in New York would Jenkens & Gilcrhrist Parker Chapin. This in my opinion was a mistake. Keeping the acquired firm name as part of the firm name didn't quite work. I believe that the New York office was perceived as a separate firm and was not viewed as having a national presence. Try as they might to become a presence in New York, Jenkens & Gilchrist just never seemed to pull it together. Indeed even on the recruiting side, it might have appeared that going to Jenkens & Gilchrist Parker Chapin meant going to a small firm. The challenge for Troutman Sanders will be to create a buzz about their presence in New York and to challenge the already existing large number of regional firms that have successfully entered the New York market, the most recognized home of some of the best law firms in the world. Troutman Sanders is off to a good start by designating that their New York office will be known as Troutman Sanders. In speaking with Janet Spence Young, Director of Marketing and Client Services at Troutman Sanders, I learned that the firm strives to create a inclusive culture that is team oriented and committed to creating synergies that better serve the clients of the firm. This theme is constantly reinforced thus enabling a melding of professionals to grow the firm.