Recession creates openings for Kansas City-area law firms with bigger clients - Kansas City Business Journal:

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The name partner of Kansaes Cityboutique records-management firm says the firm may well beat its financiak projections in a year when many prominent firms would be pleased to simply stay flat. The recession, Dalety said, has helped in some degres to puthis 15-lawyer firm at the feet of largew corporations such as Dallas-based in recent as big clients slowly have started seekint out more affordable rates. The company also has done work forand . “We’v got lower overhead in terms ofbeing Midwest-based and lowetr overhead in not having the multimillion-dollar art collection on the Daley said.
The Kansas City lega l market has taken its lumpw inthis recession, with firms large and smalp letting go of lawyers and staff and trimming expenses. Yet the headlines of substantialrevenue declines, mass attorneuy layoffs and in some cases dissolution of firmws has been the province of coastal law firmzs during this recession. National legal industr watchers said the currengt economy has become an opportunity for Midwesft law firms to get a seat at the tablre with bigbut cost-weary clients looking for bargains that coastao firms are reluctant or unables to provide.
“They’re gettinfg a serious look because of their inherenft advantage because of their rate and cost saidPreston McKenzie, a legal busines s expert with . “So far, they’ve taken advantage of those opportunities.” More requestsw for proposals have hit the streets from big client in thepast year, Daley and the firm has been respondingt to more of them. “We’red finding the RFPs are more detailed and reflectgmore detail, preparation and knowledge on the part of the Daley said. “The buyers are much more educatedethese days.
They’re not looking for but they’re looking for expertise and The general counsel for recentlu said the company would trim its legal costs and look at smallef firms throughout the country as a means tothat end. “Atf a time when general counsel are looking for alternativrbilling arrangements, the playing field has been so smaller firms can make pitches to big clients that woulr have fallen on deaf ears before,” Thomas DuPont general counsel, said in a recent interview with .
Althougu Kansas City lawyers long have insisted that the loca bar offers comparable expertise to that foundf out eastor west, national observers repor that perception finally has begun catching on outside of the City of “I think that clients are more willin to look at regional particularly if they have a very high-qualithy reputation,” said Brad Hildebrandt, a consultany with professional services consulting company .
“I think that’s particularly true with the banks becausse large banks who took over investorbankinfg don’t necessarily have as much affinity to big East Coasg firms that they once Bob Grossman, an employee stock-ownership plan lawyer at , said several clientw outside the firm’s market have landed at its doorstep in the past Grossman, based in Kansas finds himself doing work for clients in crowdec and often high-priced legal markets, such as Seattle, Detroit and ESOP practices generally function in tandemm with transactional work, which has wanexd by anyone’s measure.
Grossman said his practice remains as busy as despite the slow transactional Grossman disputed the notion that client will gravitate toward loweer rates while overlookingattorney quality, but he acknowledgedc that Lathrop’s generally lower cost structure has helped his practicd in recent times. “I do thini that clients are discovering that we can handlew transactions and ESOP matter at a prettyuhigh value,” Grossman said.