In the Media
As Midsize Firms Seek Scale to Compete, Should They Choose Mergers or Grow With What They Have?
Read Time: 2 minsMcGlinchey’s Managing Member, Michael Ferachi, was interviewed by LAW.com on October 18, 2024 in “As Midsize Firms Seek Scale to Compete, Should They Choose Mergers or Grow With What They Have?” He discussed midsize law firms’ paths to growth.
Michael Ferachi, managing member of McGlinchey Stafford, said the firm needs to grow, but prefers to do it by adding groups of lawyers instead of merging with another firm.
McGlinchey’s most recent office opened when the firm debuted in Tampa in September. It opened that office as a result of hiring lawyers that were already based there, which is a departure from how it usually approaches new markets.
Instead, the firm normally tends to follow client demand, according to Ferachi.
In fact, its Tampa office is its third Florida office, but the first to land in the Sunshine State as a result of lawyer demand.
The firm followed the same strategy it used in Seattle for its Tampa office, specifically focusing on accommodating lawyers and attracting new ones, Ferachi said.
“We opened a Seattle office through Heidi Urness, who is a nationally preeminent attorney in the cannabis space,” managing member of the Tampa office Will Grimsley said in September comparing the vision for Tampa to its already established Seattle outpost. “Opening the Seattle office to focus on that practice and her is something we were successful with. Since her hiring, we’ve brought on a few more attorneys in her practice.”
Ferachi emphasized the firm’s need to grow while balancing its need to also keep the firm’s culture intact. The overriding theme of the firm’s strategic plan is growth, he said.
“We know in order for us to survive, we need to grow,” he said.
The biggest challenge in Florida has been acquiring talent, where the market has been saturated with new law firms and partner-level talent has remained scarce due to competition.
The firm has hired headhunters and relied on its in-house talent acquisition team to overcome the challenge. But Ferachi admits that because the firm is small, its name recognition in Florida isn’t strong, which makes it even harder to find attorneys to hire in such a frenzied hiring environment.
And while McGlinchey isn’t necessarily looking to merge, Ferachi said when a larger firm reached out, “We always take the call.”
“I learn something about the other firm, and in fact, I think I’ve stolen some ideas from those conversations. It also helps me learn a little bit about our firm,” he said.