News: In the News
Leadership Planning is Key at Expanding Mid-Atlantic Firm Offit Kurman
Tim Lynch Interviewed for The Legal Intelligencer
By: Lizzy McLellan, The Legal Intelligencer
Tim Lynch is the managing partner of Offit Kurman. The mid-Atlantic regional firm got started in Baltimore in 1987, and opened in Philadelphia in 2006.
How big is your firm, where is it located and what are its primary areas of practice and focus?
170-plus attorneys and growing. We have 12 offices in four regions: Washington D.C. metro, Baltimore metro, Philadelphia metro and New York metro regions.
Our primary focus is to represent the privately held marketplace, from owner-managed businesses, to entrepreneurs and families of wealth, as well as to act as specialty counsel to institutional clients.
Please explain your firm’s governance structure and compensation model.
Governance: The firm has a governing board with eight shareholders and the firm’s COO. The board appoints a five-person management committee that runs the day-to-day operations of the firm. The firm also has principals that manage on a regional and practice group level. Those attorneys report to the managing principal. The firm also has a chief operating officer and a number of nonlawyer firm-level and regional-level managers.
Compensation model: Offit Kurman is a professional association. All of the attorneys have a salary and the opportunity to earn objective bonuses based on their billable production and their origination. The shareholders share in the profits of the firm as well.
What do you view as the biggest opportunities for your firm, and what are the biggest threats?
Opportunities: Expanding on a regional basis, leveraging our service platform with an affordable pricing structure.
Threats: Competition for lateral movement of attorneys.
After the recession hit, the prevailing theory was that midsize firms would start to see more work come their way from large clients who could no longer justify paying Big Law rates. What has been your experience?
Offit Kurman experienced growth in its institutional practice areas during the recession, as large clients pushed back on rates and large firms pushed out lawyers who could not meet the large firm metrics. Offit Kurman added a number of our current attorneys during this timeframe. As Offit Kurman has grown a deep full-service platform while maintaining its pricing structure, it has become more attractive to large market clients.
"Offit Kurman provides all our attorneys an entrepreneurial path to growing their practice. The younger generation of lawyers want leadership opportunities and training. Offit Kurman provides support to lawyers at every level to help them reach their goals," says Tim. "In that regard, Offit Kurman has developed a multi-year training and support program for all associates as well as many of our junior level principals."
ABOUT TIMOTHY LYNCH
Mr. Lynch’s practice is focused on complex civil litigation matters as well as acting as outside general counsel to many owner managed businesses and entrepreneurs on a wide array of business issues. In addition, Mr. Lynch serves as a corporate advisor to senior level executives, physicians and professional athletes throughout the United States. He serves as a board member for several privately owned companies advising on growth and management issues. Mr. Lynch is also a member of the firm's Executive Management Committee.
ABOUT OFFIT KURMAN
Offit Kurman is one of the fastest-growing, full-service law firms in the Mid-Atlantic region. With over 170 attorneys offering a comprehensive range of services in virtually every legal category, the firm is well positioned to meet the needs of dynamic businesses and the people who own and operate them. Our eleven offices serve individual and corporate clients in the Virginia, Washington, DC, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York City regions. At Offit Kurman, we are our clients’ most trusted legal advisors, professionals who help maximize and protect business value and personal wealth. In every interaction, we consistently maintain our clients’ confidence by remaining focused on furthering their objectives and achieving their goals in an efficient manner. Trust, knowledge, confidence—in a partner, that’s perfect.
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