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Dear Judged
Chicago to dunno where and whyI am currently working at a Chicago-based law firm.
But now the firm is shifting its base to a new city. Wouldn’t
mention it though… It’s not the one I would go ga ga over.
The firm is planning to cut costs and that’s what is causing the
shift. Do you think this will affect the credibility of the firm dear
judge?
Worried
posted 2007-04-11 02:46:43
Dear Doppiedaps,
Let me ask you a
question. Which city do you think most people perceive to have a higher
quality of legal practice: Chicago or Peoria? If you said Peoria,
I’m thinking you’ve got a lot more to worry about than the
credibility of your firm, and if you really want to stay employed in
Chicago then maybe you should check to see if Wrigley Field could use
another vendor. (Can you yell “BEER HERE! GET YOUR ICE COLD BEER
HERE! really, really loud?)
It’s not particularly common
for a law firm to actually shift its base; you just don’t hear of
that very often. It sounds like you’re not really in a very big
firm, and if they’re doing it to cut costs as you say, I’m
guessing that they’re not shifting their base to some high-powered
legal market like New York or DC or LA. Sounds like Peoria’s more
likely. And if you’re a Cubs fan, then with your luck you’ll
probably end up in somewhere in Indiana. (No offense to anyone from
Indiana, but there’s not a single decent city in that state outside
of Bloomington.)
Healthy firms just don’t switch their
base from a major legal market to a smaller one. Firms in smaller markets
will often do anything they can just to get a foothold in a major market
like Chicago. OC-based firms will place an attorney or two in downtown LA,
Richmond-based firms open offices in DC, Philly firms maybe try to get into
the NYC market. The reverse doesn’t happen quite so often. Any
existing or potential clients of the firm hearing about this type of move
will have to wonder what
the hell is up.
Back to the question of where the legal practice
is better: It doesn’t matter where the legal practice is actually better, what matters is
where clients and potential clients perceive the practice to be better. Anyone who has
ever read a John Grisham book knows that most of the smartest lawyers in
the country actually practice in small- to medium-sized cities in
Mississippi. A few others might be based in New Orleans or Memphis. In
any case, I’m sure there are some great lawyers in Peoria. Maybe
even in Gary or South Bend.
However, many potential clients will
simply think of your firm as a small-market firm, and on the credibility
issue, all else being equal (including fees, etc.), they’ll just be
more confident in a big-market firm. People swoon over names like Chicago,
New York, Washington, Los Angeles. They don’t swoon over St. Louis,
Milwaukee, Indianapolis, or Des Moines. (Maybe Milwaukee, but only if they
really love beer.) I’m not saying it’s right, I’m just
saying it is. Your firm’s basically the same firm, but perceptions
will change.
Also, if they hear that cost-cutting was the motive, they might worry
about the firm’s stability. On the other hand, they might just
expect a big reduction in fees. So it’s not necessarily all bad.
Anyway, I don’t mean to be like the guy on the corner saying
that the end of the world is nigh. (I also don’t mean to sound so
pretentious, despite the fact that I just used the word “nigh”
in a sentence.) Your firm can expect to keep almost all of its existing
clients, and will still be able to get new ones. But you asked about the
credibility issue, and the answer is that your firm will be taking a step
down in that area.
Dear Judged > Archive
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Dear Your Honor,
Dear Judge,
Do you ever experience any physical danger in the courtroom? You do deal with all those criminals, right?
Sincerly,
Concerned Bailiff's Mommy
+ more Judged Dear
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Do you ever experience any physical danger in the courtroom? You do deal with all those criminals, right?
Sincerly,
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