Midsize Firm Shuns ‘Gigantism,’ Touts Service in Ad Campaign

Taking a swipe at conventional wisdom that bigger is better, an 85-member Chicago law firm is touting its midsize status in a new ad campaign.

Much Shelist Denenberg Ament & Rubenstein will tell the world that it intends to remain independent, the Chicago Tribune reports.

The firm asks in one ad (PDF) featuring a sky full of hot air balloons: "Is your business getting lost in the crowd at a huge law firm?" The ad then urges clients and possible recruits to "cut loose."

The Tribune notes that there have been more than 150 law firm mergers involving U.S. firms. Included are several midsize Chicago firms—Ross & Hardies, Sachnoff & Weaver and Gardner Carton & Douglas—which were all acquired by larger law firms.

Much Shelist partner Mitchell Roth tells the paper that his firm doesn't want to become another branch office. "We're targeting middle-market companies that are feeling they are not getting the level of service at a price point they are looking for," he is quoted saying.

On the firm's website, a new message from the management committee shuns law firm consolidation "and the 'gigantism' that results."

Those megalaw mergers, the firm notes, "has created a ripple effect for clients and their attorneys. Both face the possibility of conflicts, not to mention culture clashes, within these new hybrid firms."