November 23, 2011
THE DAILY TRANSCRIPT
By Doug Sherwin
SAN DIEGO – The San Diego legal landscape is poised for a shakeup next year, according to recruiter Larry Watanabe.
He said the industry should expect to see a significant number of partners changing firms during 2012 and a number of boutique practices entering the marketplace.
“With the economy not being strong, the lateral activity in San Diego has been very, very quiet (lately),” said Watanabe, a partner with the legal placement firm Watanabe Nason. “I think we’ll see more lateral movement the first half of next year.
“There are a handful of major national and international firms in town that will be the beneficiaries of a lot of movement.”
Among the firms ready to take advantage of a fluid market are Jones Day; Foley & Lardner; Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo; and K&L Gates, all of whom are actively seeking growth.
“A lot of other firms in town, like Morrison & Foerster, Paul Hastings, Latham and Cooley, that have established core offices in town, will be selective,” Watanabe said.
Additional activity could be spurred in 2012, depending on the outcome of merger talks between San Diego-based Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps LLP and the international firm McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP.
No agreement has been reached between the two firms and discussions are still ongoing. Luce Forward is San Diego’s oldest firm, having been founded in 1873, while McKenna boasts 475 attorneys in offices across the United States and in Brussels.
“MLA’s national platform, practices and depth would enable us to better leverage our West Coast presence and more than 135-year reputation for the benefit of our clients and communities both now and in the coming decades,” Luce Forward managing partner Kurt L. Kicklighter said in a statement.
Jeff Haidet, the chairman of McKenna Long & Aldridge, said the firms are both solution-oriented and have the ability to find opportunity in change.
“We share similar cultures and strategic plans, and are both interested in exploring opportunities to bolster our practices and services in order to provide even greater value to clients,” he said in a statement.
Watanabe said he could see the attorneys who do not move over with the merge opening up their own boutique practices or joining local firms in town.
Like in any economy, however, Watanabe said partners with a strong client base that can go with them are very attractive in this market.
But some national firms may not have as much success maintaining offices here.
“I think San Diego is a market that has too many law firms,” Watanabe said. “It’s not Silicon Valley; it’s not San Francisco; it’s not Los Angeles in terms of size and scope of its business industry.
“With the San Diego economy — the business climate itself — a lot of firms can’t justify it (opening an office here).”