Attorney Michael Katz set out to prove that a law firm can prioritize quality over profit—and succeed.
His boutique litigation firm, Katz Ruby & Carle LLP, seeks to replace the billable-hour grind in favor of a more balanced, results-driven approach.
“Many firms have become commercial vehicles for profit generation and sacrificed professionalism,” Katz told the Business Journal on March 6.
Founded in 2023, the Costa Mesa-based firm has grown from two partners to three, with a fourth set to join in April. Revenue has surged nearly 2.5 times year over year.
As managing partner, Katz is deliberate about the firm’s expansion, emphasizing “calibrated growth” and a multi-generational partnership structure.
This ensures a dynamic mix of experience levels while fostering long-term stability.
“It’s very crushing to work the hours that big firms expect, or that people tend to do if they want to make a ton of money,” Katz said. “They get overwhelmed with the sheer amount of work.”
Partner Byron Ruby echoes this sentiment: “Lawyers need to work smarter to prioritize results for their clients.”
Big Firm Experience, Boutique Flexibility
Katz brings big-firm pedigree to his boutique practice.
His career launched with a staggering 400 billable hours in his first month at New York’s elite Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
Determined to break the cycle of relentless hours, Katz and his team have built a compensation model that prioritizes overall contribution over raw billable hours. Lawyers at the firm earn equity earlier in their careers—an intentional departure from traditional partnership tracks.
“We believe that the most talented younger lawyers are less willing to trade long hours now for the perhaps illusory promise of equity much later,” Katz explained. “I decided to break the cycle and go even-steven with partners from different generations, giving them the equity they want up front.”
Starting with just two attorneys, Katz Ruby & Carle will soon expand to seven—all while maintaining a workload that disincentivizes excessive hours.
The Go-To Firm for High-Stakes Litigation
Katz Ruby & Carle is establishing itself as a premier litigation firm, specializing in complex business, commercial and intellectual property disputes.
“We have a ton of work—we’re turning it away,” Katz noted.
The firm’s clients include MaxLinear Inc. (Nasdaq: MXL) of Carlsbad; chip company Litrinium of Mission Viejo; Quality Health Partners Inc. of Santa Ana and addiction treatment company BioCorRx Inc. (OTC: BICX) of Anaheim.
The firm has been retained for litigation in key jurisdictions such as the Southern District of New York, Delaware, and Northern California.
Out-of-state clients are increasingly seeking out Katz Ruby & Carle for its ability to deliver top-tier legal talent without the overhead of a large law firm. The firm also handles probate, real estate, and other high-stakes litigation matters for high-net-worth individuals.
Partner Nathan Carle sums up the firm’s philosophy: “Big firms count on clients to pay ever-increasing fees for ever-larger teams of lawyers tasked with overlapping assignments and duplicative effort—without delivering superior results. Clients, we believe, prefer to count on results, not billable hours.”
