Former BigLaw Clients Helped Small Offit Kurman Add Nearly 80 Attorneys Since 2001, Partner Says
Founded by two brothers in 1987, a small Maryland-based law firm known as Offit Kurman grew gradually over the years but still had only 10 attorneys in 2001.
But rapid BigLaw expansion and a recessionary economy in which other legal partnerships have struggled helped fuel a growth explosion at his firm, Ted Offit tells the Baltimore Sun. It added nearly 80 attorneys in a decade and doubled its revenue between 2008 and 2011.
As a number of major law firms expanded internationally and raised their fees to a point where entrepreneurs and other small businesses were no longer a good fit for their services, his firm added highly qualified lawyers with a book of compatible clients and expanded regionally by opening offices in Philadelphia, Tyson’s Corner, Va., not far from Washington, D.C., in addition to two more Maryland offices.
“The two of us went into private practice under the theory that small business needed sophisticated transactional planning help and estate planning help. … He took the family side and I took the business side of creating wealth,” recounts Offit. Now 56, he is a certified public accountant as well as a lawyer.
With the advent of the Internet age, “the world got smaller and local law firms were able to represent clients on a national and international basis,” Offit says. “The practice of law changed, and we were a beneficiary of the change.”
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Offit Snags 9-Lawyer Philadelphia Firm; BigLaw Mergers Help Us, MP Says”
