Smaller law firms are putting their hands up for work that was once automatically bestowed on only the largest of firms. The reason for the new shift in firm size is simple: corporate clients want lower rates and more personalized attention. For those reasons, Rock Fusco & Connelly, LLC has found itself in a unique situation where it can provide top level expertise while charging a fraction of what the big firms demand.
Created from the merging of Rock Fusco, LLC and The Connelly Law Group, the firm has a staff of over 30 employees. RFC has established itself as a leading firm in corporate, municipal, and civil affairs. Municipal entities such as the City of Chicago and various other counties and municipalities have turned to RFC for its legal expertise. Likewise, dozens of closely held and publicly traded companies use RFC as legal counsel for all their legal needs. In fact, the Government of Romania has hired RFC to handle a matter with an exposure of up to $200 million.
THE INCREASED COSTS OF LEGAL REPRESENTATION
The attorneys at RFC have been able to garner such business by capitalizing on established networks of colleagues as well as a favorable marketplace. Chicago lawyers point to the growing trend of general counsels being tired of paying high hourly rates for routine legal work since the recession. Companies are looking at ways in which they can get more value for their legal expenses, and RFC is a perfect example of one way in which they can do that.
After the 2008 recession, the majority of large firms suffered through massive layoffs and internal restructuring. Much like the banking sector, large firms had grown too large and expensive to work effectively in a post-recession world. Hourly rates of $800-1000 for 1st year attorneys were no longer cost effective for the largest of corporate clients. As middle sized clients left the big firms, the expenses of carrying hundreds of attorneys demanded higher rates and more hours billed. As a result, the Fortune 500 and municipal clients began to see greater legal expenses as the large firms refused to shrink. Now, even the most profitable companies are seeking to find the biggest bang for their buck, and the answer is Rock Fusco & Connelly, LLC.
DIVIDE AND CONQUER
Every year since 2011, more corporate law departments have cut their spending on outside legal counsel rather than raised it, according to surveys from Altman Weil, a law firm consultancy in Newtown Square, PA. Instead of treating large firms as one-stop shops, they increasingly are willing to disperse their legal business among different players, seeking the best deal for the same services.
That’s the strategy the attorneys at RFC are pursuing as well, with its division of lawyers focusing on a variety of practice areas, such as business litigation disputes, labor and employment issues, and also commercial and intellectual property transactional work. Good quality legal representation is an art honed from decades of experience at an effective and economical rate, which is one of the cornerstones at Rock Fusco & Connelly, LLC.