Sacramento’s third-largest law firm has hired nine lawyers in the past six weeks and plans to open its third satellite office in California, despite the recession.
Kronick Moskovitz Tiedemann & Girard also nailed down a significant chunk of new business this week with a preferred contract to provide legal services for Maloof Sports & Entertainment, owner of the Sacramento Kings and Sacramento Monarchs.
At a time when many law firms are retrenching, Kronick hit an all-time high of 64 attorneys this month, as its initiative to expand business services and become a full-service law firm pays off.
Eight of the nine lawyers are lateral hires; all but one come from other law firms in the Sacramento region, said Keith Bolte, the firm’s executive director. They will be working in the busy practice areas of business services, natural resources and education.
“Our firm historically has been mostly public agency work, but we’ve made efforts over the last five years to build up a free-standing business department,” said shareholder Bruce Scheidt, manager of the firm’s business services practice group. “A decision by the Kings’ to consolidate (their) legal services with one firm — really an honor and privilege — manifests the fact that we are there.”
Efforts to build a business and banking practice got a boost when Hayne Moyer joined the firm in March 2007, bringing a number of Northern California banks with him. Estate planning was added to round out services.
“When you are a full-service firm and get a client in with one matter, you can cross-sell legal services in other areas,” Scheidt said.
Shareholder Laura Izon Powell will provide labor and employment expertise to Maloof Sports & Entertainment, which has contracts with a handful of labor unions. She will do the balance of general legal counsel work.
The deal is structured as a strategic alliance that offers huge marketing potential and is expected to bring new business to the firm.
“Kronick Moskovitz Tiedemann & Girard is our law firm of choice,” Jaime Morse Mills, manager of business communications for Maloof Sports & Entertainment, wrote in an e-mail. “Entertaining clients up close and personal at a Kings game and providing unique hospitality experience in the Kings’ VIP club is a tremendous business builder that Kronick is capitalizing on to differentiate themselves from their competition.”
The hiring boom and new business at Kronick is a significant turnaround from six years ago. At 60 lawyers in 2002, attrition and the departure of four lawyers to start a class-action firm in 2003 brought the ranks down to 39.
Slow rebuilding and the addition of new practice areas followed. A satellite office in Bakersfield, opened in 2000, continues to bring in business. A second satellite office opened in San Luis Obispo in late 2007.
Another office will open in Walnut Creek on Nov. 1. It will have two attorneys and focus on private-sector labor, employment and education, Bolte said.
“Trying to take advantage of the fact the economy is in a downturn, you don’t want to hunker down, but get more aggressive,” Bolte said. “We are still giving raises. We’re still promoting people. We haven’t laid anybody off, but we have kept fees pretty flat.”
Two of the new hires in Sacramento are in the water-related resources group, which is up to 11, shareholder Dan O’Hanlon said.
“Significant new regulations are really cutting water supplies, and we are hiring folks to work on this,” O’Hanlon said.
Much of the demand comes from public agencies with contracts south of the Delta.
Kronick is not the only law firm bolstering its water resources group. The water law practice at Downey Brand LLP, Sacramento’s largest law firm, is “extremely busy,” said shareholder and water lawyer Kevin O’Brien.
The firm has a dozen lawyers in its water practice, with two more coming.
“There’s an overall recognition in California that our water infrastructure hasn’t kept up with demand,” O’Brien said. “Efforts to develop new supplies and new infrastructure also mean new litigation.”