Orange County’s largest law firms trimmed their workforces last year, marking the second straight year of modest cuts in the number of lawyers here.
This week’s Business Journal list features 69 law offices in OC, about half of which have their headquarters here. It ranks them by the number of attorneys in their local offices, with a threshold of 10.
The law firms combined for 2,311 lawyers here as of December, down by 50, or 2%, year-over-year. Last year’s list reflected a drop of less than 1% following two straight years of increases.
About 40% of the firms—27—increased their attorney headcounts in OC, while 30 firms made cuts. Ten firms made no changes, and the Business Journal made estimates for two firms.
Any move—whether hiring or cutting—was moderate, as the majority of the changes were of fewer than three. Two firms made cuts in the double digits.
The list also includes overall employment at each firm’s OC office, including paralegals and other support staff. The sum came to 4,819 at the end of 2013, a 1% decline year-over-year following a 3% increase a year earlier. The measurement doesn’t figure into the ranking.
• Perennial No. 1, Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP, added seven lawyers last year for a total of 175. About half—88—are partners, up from 77 a year ago. The Irvine-based law firm focuses exclusively on intellectual property work. It has seven other offices, including in Los Angeles, Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C., with 273 attorneys overall, up by two.
• Costa Mesa-based Rutan & Tucker LLP added four lawyers to its OC office, for a total of 138, which includes 79 partners. The firm has 268 employees here, including new hires in support staff roles. It has a smaller office in Palo Alto, where it has about 10 lawyers. The firm ranked No. 2.
• No. 3, Newport Beach-based Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth, which shrank its local base of lawyers by five to 84.
The Irvine office of Los Angeles-based Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP, No. 4 on the list, closely trailed Stradling Yocca, with 81 lawyers after hiring five.
• Newport Beach-based Newmeyer & Dillion LLP added one lawyer in its OC office for a total of 53, moving up one spot to No. 10.
The firm has 133 employees here overall, an increase of about 21% over the year. It expanded into Las Vegas last year and now has three offices and 67 lawyers overall. Nathan Owens moved from OC to head the Nevada office as managing partner.
• An improving housing market has helped boost business for Santa Ana-based Green & Hall, which focuses on commercial and real estate litigation and has a roster of clients that includes the Irvine Company and Lennar Corp.
Green & Hall hired five lawyers last year for a new total of 35, pushing the company up nine spots to No. 20. The firm also has hired several paralegal assistants to bring its office employee total to 77.
“We’ve always specialized in representing large land developers and builders, and we’ve seen a considerable increase as the housing market recovers,” Managing Partner Robert Green said.
“We’re very busy right now, and I think those firms that are focused on providing high-quality work at reasonable rates are getting more work. It opens up room for more hires.”
Green & Hall has another office in Roseville with 14 lawyers.
• Atlanta-based labor and employment law firm Fisher & Phillips LLP made a three-spot jump to No. 27 after hiring three lawyers in its Irvine office, a 10% growth that led to a total of 32 attorneys.
OC office Managing Partner James McDonald said it’s had increased workload over the past year, thanks to “continued growth in class-action cases and more regulations coming out of Sacramento.”
Fisher & Phillips has 59 employees in its OC office, up by one.
“We, like other law firms, are looking for ways to be more efficient,” McDonald said.
“As more lawyers are computer savvy, they need less in the way of secretarial support. Business clients continue to put pressure on their lawyers to be more efficient. So over time, this is necessarily going to require fewer lawyers. On the other hand, we’ve been generally busier even while more efficient, and we’re adding people.”
Fisher & Phillips opened a few offices last year and boosted its overall lawyer headcount by 24, for a total of 300.
• Irvine-based Murtaugh Meyer Nelson & Treglia LLP notched the largest rankings jump, as well as the largest percentage gain in the number of lawyers. The firm climbed from No. 42 to No.
30, with 29 lawyers as of December, up 21%.
Firms with reductions in their attorney numbers included Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP in Costa Mesa. The Los Angeles-based firm’s OC lawyer base decreased by 10 for a total of 51 as of December, a drop that pushed it down from No. 6 to No. 11. Lewis Brisbois has 30 offices and 875 lawyers overall after hiring 38 last year.
• No. 33 Greenberg Traurig LLP said the number of lawyers in its Irvine office fell by 24% for a total of 28. The Miami-based law firm is among the largest when considering firmwide totals, with 1,742 lawyers across 36 offices.
This year’s list features 18 newcomers, making up mostly the lower quarter of the list.
• The Irvine office of Los Angeles-based Buchalter Nemer debuted at No. 43, with a total of 22 lawyers, up by two. It employs 38 in OC, down by two year-over-year. The firm has 147 lawyers overall, up by seven in four offices.
• Irvine-based Kring & Chung LLP was No. 47 after gaining one lawyer for a total of 20, five of whom are partners. It has five other offices and a firmwide total of 31 lawyers.
• The Irvine office of Best Best & Krieger LLP made the list at No. 57, with 16 lawyers here, down by one year-over-year. The Riverside-based firm has nine offices overall and 181 attorneys.
• No. 63, Bingham McCutchen LLP, had 12 lawyers in its Costa Mesa office, down from a year-ago total of 17. The Boston-based firm has 1,000 lawyers overall.
