Terry Brantley, Swift Currie McGhee & Hiers (Photo: John Disney/ALM)

This interview is the first of what we hope will be a series of conversations with leaders of midsized law firms in the region. These are firms with 50 to 199 lawyers that tackle challenges distinct from those facing boutiques and Big Law.

According to his firm biography, Terry Brantley represents clients in Georgia and South Carolina in a wide variety of tort actions involving both personal injury and property damage. Following graduation from the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University in 1997, Brantley began his legal career by representing plaintiffs in lawsuits similar to those he currently defends. In 1999, he joined Swift, Currie, McGhee & Hiers. He became managing partner in January 2016.

How big is your firm, where is it located, and what are its primary areas of practice and focus?

Since July 2016, we have grown from 107 attorneys to 123 at present, an increase of 15 percent in the past 17 months. Swift Currie is the 12th-largest law firm in Atlanta. Our firm is based in Atlanta, but we have a Birmingham office as well. Our primary focus is litigation, primarily in insurance law, product liability law, workers' compensation and commercial law and a number of other areas. We practice in 22 different areas altogether. In addition, we are in the process of adding lateral partners who will strengthen our business and our position in the marketplace.

What do you view as the two biggest opportunities for your firm, and what are the two biggest threats?

Our biggest opportunities result from our ability to attract new clients and legal talent. These opportunities arise from the fact that we handle a substantial amount of litigation throughout the Southeast. We tried more than 100 cases last year and expect the same this year. Furthermore, we have a long-standing reputation of competently and efficiently handling litigation matters throughout the Southeast and nationwide. These facts have enabled us to attract dozens of new clients and to hire 16 new attorneys this year, recruiting the top attorneys in our sector. We expect to continue to capitalize on these opportunities.

As for threats, the ever-changing landscape of the legal industry continues to be challenging. Many firms have opened offices and moved into our market, trying to gain market share. Nonetheless, as referenced earlier, we continue to grow. Another challenge we face is continued pressure to keep legal rates low. Because litigation matters can be unpredictable and, therefore, costs can escalate quickly, we spend a great deal of time trying to identify the most efficient manner in which we can handle our clients' litigation. We also make it a point to honestly communicate the budget with the client and then keep them updated throughout the course of their matters.

After the recession hit, the prevailing theory was that midsized 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?

Yes, while this has certainly been true, and we have seen a significant uptick in work since the recession, I think it is in large part due to a combination of factors, including clients who did not want to pay the higher costs of large firms, our focus on quality and positive outcomes and our ability to efficiently handle our clients' matters.

Are your clients pushing for more alternative fee arrangements and, if so, what types? Is your firm amenable to those requests?

Our firm leads conversations with clients about alternative fees. Having said that, we've seen a slight uptick in alternative fee arrangements but it has not been adopted wholesale. If I'm being honest, the theory that alternative fee models would predominate following the recession didn't really play out as much as people thought.

There is much debate around how law firms can foster the next generation of legal talent. What advantages and disadvantages do midsized firms have in attracting and retaining young lawyers, particularly millennials?

Millennials comprise the largest generational group at law firms of our size and will soon be taking over leadership positions. Our advantage as a midsized firm is that less-experienced attorneys work directly with senior-level partners, allowing them to receive excellent training. As a result of this dynamic, Swift Currie is uniquely positioned for success in the coming years. Up and coming lawyers have a voice and want the chance to make a noticeable difference within the firm. In addition, we work hard to create an atmosphere that will attract the top millennial attorneys. For example, during the eclipse in August, we held a party at our building for the firm's employees, and on Halloween, we closed early so that attorneys with young children could spend that quality time. We think these are examples of situations that help our recruiting.

Does your firm employ any nonlawyer professionals in high-level positions (e.g., COO, business development officer, chief strategy officer, etc.)? If so, why is it advantageous to have a nonlawyer in that role? If not, have you considered hiring any?

Yes, we have and rely extensively on our high-level nonlegal professionals. We have directors in various departments, including billing, benefits, business development, finance, human resources, IT and marketing. We understand and encourage bringing in nonlawyer talent and the vital role such individuals play in helping our firm to operate at its finest. As lawyers, we are not trained in areas such as human resources, IT and marketing and, for many of us, these business disciplines do not come naturally. The proper staffing of our firm's administrative management team helps the firm operate at maximum efficiency and allows the attorneys to do what they do best—practice law.

What would you say is the most innovative thing your firm has done recently, whether it be internal operations, how you work with clients, etc.?

Internally, we have retained various outside speakers to help with the professional development of our lawyers. These training sessions have included LinkedIn training and workshops on how to have more meaningful and efficient conversations with clients. The “Client Conversations” workshop was facilitated by Laura Meherg of the Wicker Park Group and was implemented in partnership with our director of business development. In one case, an attorney put to use the principles he learned during one of these seminars and shortly thereafter met with a client from which he received four additional matters after originally expecting to receive one, which this attorney attributed to asking the right questions and getting his client to talk about his challenges and goals.