US firm Howrey is planning to cut costs by hiring more non-lawyers and setting up more litigation support centres manned by staff attorneys. The plans form part of the firm’s new five-year business strategy presented to partners at a meeting in Miami last month.
Firm chairman Robert Ruyak (pictured) told partners the firm intends to reduce its costs by using more admin staff, IT consultants and engineers instead of lawyers. It will also increase its numbers of staff attorneys - lower-cost lawyers who are not on the partnership track.
The five-year plan also includes a continued focus on the firm’s core areas: IP, antitrust and commercial litigation.
As well as cutting costs, the recruitment would also help the firm customise its offering to clients by using staff with experience of particular industries. The firm is already hiring for technology client Intel and is recruiting workers with a specific IT background.
Ruyak told Legal Week: “Clients want law firms to reflect their needs more, but they do not want to pay for it. We will work on customisation by staffing for specific clients with which we have strategic relationships. This leads to them saving money and us increasing revenue.
“We are willing to do that because we know we will have a stream of business. We will use engineers or staff lawyers where we can, rather than associates, which saves money for the client.”
The firm already has an administrative division - Howrey Global Services (HGS) - which includes non-lawyer support teams in the US offices and a separate litigation support centre in the US.
The standalone support centre was launched in 2005 in Falls Church, Virginia, not far from the firm’s Washington DC office. As previously reported in Legal Week’s sister title The American Lawyer, a second will be opened in Pune, India, later this year, housing around 15 staff. Legal Week has learned that the next likely step is to roll out the non-lawyer support centres beyond Asia and the US to Europe.
Ruyak denied that the change in strategy was brought on to reverse the 17.5% drop in partner profits last year to $1.01m (£512,000), compared to $1.22m (£618,000) in 2006. He said the shake-up had been prompted by client demand.
He added: “Clients want to change how they do business with law firms. They want a closer, more defined relationship. They want continuous knowledge and staff that are less expensive. We are responding to this by using not just partners or associates, but different types of professionals.”
