DLA Piper Partner Moves to Smaller Firm Over Clients’ Cost Concerns
As a partner of 3,700-attorney DLA Piper, Thomas Durling could promote the megafirm’s international platform and deep capabilities on major corporate matters.
The problem was, a number of his intellectual property clients were local Pennsylvania businesses more interested in how much he charged for his services as an intellectual property lawyer, reports the Legal Intelligencer. So a week ago Durling moved to a partnership position in the Philadelphia office of 72-attorney Flaster Greenberg.
“My experience was it was difficult to engage local businesses with a higher rate structure. There were people down the street that could do the same thing I could at a cheaper rate,” he tells the legal publication. “Somebody from Lansdale didn’t necessarily care that I had an office in Kuwait.”
Lawyers moving to another firm right now are looking, first and foremost, for a law partnership on solid financial footing, says consultant Frank D’Amore of Attorney Career Catalysts. Shifting from a big firm to a smaller one, however, is definitely a trend.
Additional related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “6 DLA Piper Lawyers Leave Megafirm for Mid-Sized Phila. Practice”
Updated on July 23 to link to subsequent ABAJournal.com post.
