Wednesday, February 21, 2007 7:26 AM
Amy Campbell wrote a short post yesterday, Advantages of Boutique Law Firms, referencing both Seth Grodin's book Small in the New Big and an article in Mass High Tech entitled Small: The new big.
The Mass High Tech article is also interesting: While giant law firms become behemoths through mergers and acquisitions, and midsize firms become giants, the smallest firms of them all -- so-called boutique firms -- are more interested in staying small. But, apparently it is not necessarily a simple matter to stay small, as the article notes that also larger firms continue to acquire small firms: ...nearly three-fourths of all acquired firms in 2006 had 20 or fewer lawyers. Nearly one-half had 10 or fewer.
Larry Bodine smelled a "golden opportunity" for boutiques/smaller firms in his post a couple weeks back, Marketing Opportunity: Megafirms overpay $160,000 for First-year Associates:
This creates a huge opportunity for mid-size and boutique law firms. Not only can they offer better rates but also more specialized expertise. Corporate Counsel are going to be a looking for a 20-lawyer trial boutique in Minneapolis -- which does nothing but work in court-- as opposed to the litigation department of an expensive New York megafirm. Litigation accounts for 34% of overall corporate legal spending.
I am sure we will all hear more about this topic in the coming months and years. The question will arise: does "small is the new big" apply to the legal vertical? If you are curious and want a little more background in just what is meant by "small is the new big," you might try Seth Godin's own posts on the subject, as well: Small is the new big and more on small, among others at his blog.