Between a presidential election, the possibility of Brexit, a trade war with China and the looming risk of recession after more than 10 years of growth in the United States, 2020 is shaping up to be a year of uncertainty. For thousands of Big Law attorneys, there's also going to be change at the top of their firms.

Several firms in the Am Law 200 will welcome new leaders early next year, including Covington & Burling, Holland & Hart, Jenner & Block, Kelley Drye & Warren, Kirkland & Ellis, Proskauer Rose, Ropes & Gray and Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel. The firms brought in $8.5 billion altogether in 2018 and comprise some 6,400 lawyers.

Their business strategies, backgrounds and firm cultures differ, but their incoming leaders agree that stability and consistency, competition for clients and legal technology are among their main focuses. Several of the new leaders, including Julie Jones of Ropes & Gray and Katya Jestin of Jenner & Block, say they will put renewed emphasis on diversity, especially racial and ethnic diversity.

The incoming chairs and managing partners say keeping the trust of their colleagues is a high priority. Some, such as Dana Rosenfeld of Kelley Drye, intend to shun big, disruptive mergers in lieu of small-scale additions to the partnership and organic growth, and others, including Jones, aim to continue the successes of their predecessors.

The new leaders are also thinking about how to build client loyalty. Some, including Rosenfeld and Holland & Hart's Christopher Balch, say technologies that keep clients informed or reduce the amount of attorney time needed to resolve their legal matters will play a major role in that effort. Delivering victories in litigation and helping corporate clients avoid surprises is also key, says Randall Mehrberg, who is slated to take the reins at Jenner & Block with Jestin.

"We try very hard to go to our clients, who we view as our strategic partners, and say, 'We have an idea that may enhance your revenue,'" he says. "So, yes to secondments, yes to understanding our clients' business, yes to trying to proactively deliver value."

Not all new chairs were announced as this piece was coming together, and some couldn't be interviewed, but several of the incoming chairs and managing partners spoke with The American Lawyer about their areas of focus.

Julie Jones, Ropes & Gray

A Ropes & Gray lifer and accomplished private equity dealmaker, Julie Jones is slated to take the reins from longtime firm chair Brad Malt in January. Under Malt, the firm continued to grow its strength in traditional areas like asset management, private equity and life sciences, but diversified and grew beyond its Boston base. It now has 1,200 lawyers spread across six U.S. offices, one in London and four in Asia, and revenue over $1.7 billion.

Julie Jones

Jones was tapped to lead the firm nearly two years ago, and transition efforts have been underway since. Lately, she says, she has been on something of a listening tour, meeting with about 80 clients and relationship partners. She has heard widespread concern about the global economy, but knows it's out of her control.

"What is within my control, though … is being really tight with clients," she says. If the economy does falter, she says, the firm is well positioned because of its good relationships with private equity funds, which look for opportunities when valuations drop, and hedge funds, whose need for legal services can also be countercyclical.

"As long as there's credit liquidity, the [private equity] practice remains robust," Jones says. As for the asset management practice, she says, "choppy markets keeps hedge funds more active."

Jones says she also wants to get the word out about what Ropes & Gray has to offer and drum up more business. She thinks the firm's lawyers have the skill and energy to handle more. "I think it's OK to use a trumpet when you have a firm that's the quality of ours," she says.

Christopher Balch, Holland & Hart

Balch, a mergers and acquisitions and finance lawyer in Denver, says his focus will be to continue to execute on the firm's strategic plan. The firm will continue to focus on its high-performing practices and keep up its focus on technological innovation, he says, adding that its "Innovation Lab" of data scientists, engineers and software developers are creating tools that cut costs for clients in form-heavy areas of law, like patent, trademark and immigration law.

Chris Balch, Chair of Holland & Hart in Denver.

He is taking over for Elizabeth Sharrer as firm chair, with a four-year term. Sharrer, a commercial real estate partner, led Holland & Hart for six years. During that period, the firm's revenue rose a net of about 5%, and its lawyer head count see-sawed, but Balch says head count has stabilized and he expects revenue per lawyer and profits per equity partner to be up this year. In recent years, the firm has added nonequity tiers meant for rising partners and those nearing retirement.

One area of concern is the prospect of a recession, but Balch says Holland & Hart weathered the last economic slump better than many firms thanks to its diversified client base. As a member of the firm's management committee from 2009 to 2011, he saw the challenge up close. Partners "took it on the chin," he says, but the firm avoided associate layoffs.

"My goal, and the goal of the plan, is fundamentally to continue to offer and build upon what I view as our unmatched legal [strength] in the Mountain West," Balch says. That includes growing opportunistically, keeping up a commitment to innovation and preserving the firm's culture of teamwork, he says. In his eyes, leverage and profitability matter more than head count.

Dana Rosenfeld, Kelley, Drye & Warren

Rosenfeld, a Washington, D.C.-based veteran of the Federal Trade Commission who joined Kelley Drye from Bryan Cave in 2009, was selected by firm chair Jim Carr to take over the managing partner post in January from Lewis Rose, an advertising partner who has held the role since 2015. Rosenfeld has led the firm's privacy and information security practice since she joined, and has had stints on the compensation committee, executive committee and another committee that considers promotions to partner and counsel.