Strong Demand Fuels Growth for Big Four Labor and Employment Firms
Business has been booming for the top-grossing U.S. labor and employment law firms: Littler, Ogletree, Jackson Lewis and Fisher Phillips.
April 11, 2019 at 04:40 PM
10 minute read
The country's largest labor and employment firms enjoyed strong growth in 2018, thanks to high demand that has been spurred by litigation, new laws and regulations, multinational clients and the #MeToo era.
But each of the four top-grossing U.S. firms—Littler Mendelson; Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart; Jackson Lewis; and Fisher & Phillips—has relied on its own model for growth, ranging from differences in partnership structure and international strategy to the firms' specific practice priorities and investments in technology.
|Revenue and Head Count Gains
With more than 1,000 lawyers, Littler is the largest of the four, followed by Ogletree, Jackson Lewis and Fisher Phillips.
Tom Bender, the co-president of Littler with Jeremy Roth, said it was an “incredibly strong” year for the firm. “Financially it was very, very good. That may be even a bit of an understatement.”
What's more, Bender said, the firm made “major strides” in global expansion, tech and innovation, and diversity and inclusion.
At Littler, revenue grew an estimated 8.6 percent to $584.2 million, pushing up revenue per lawyer 6 percent to $547,000. (The firm discloses only head count data; revenue and profit figures are derived by ALM.)
Littler's overall lawyer head count increased 2.4 percent to 1,068 lawyers for its U.S. offices. Globally the firm has more than 1,500 lawyers, but Littler Global is structured as a Swiss verein, so the U.S. branch is a separate financial entity.
Ogletree's managing shareholder, Matt Keen, also said his firm saw “strong growth” across practices, adding that immigration, class actions, workplace safety, ERISA and traditional labor matters were busy areas last year.
Ogletree's revenue increased 8.6 percent to $509.8 million, resulting in a 5.4 percent RPL increase to $602,000. Total lawyer head count increased 3 percent to 847 lawyers.
At Jackson Lewis, co-chair Kevin Lauri said social forces and state legislatures “have driven tremendous demand for our services.”
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllBig Law Practice Leaders 'Bullish' That Second Trump Presidency Will Be Good for Business
3 minute readBig Law Lawyers Fan Out for Election Day Volunteering in Call Centers and Litigation
7 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Infant Formula Judge Sanctions Kirkland's Jim Hurst: 'Overtly Crossed the Lines'
- 2Election 2024: Nationwide Judicial Races and Ballot Measures to Watch
- 3Guarantees Are Back, Whether Law Firms Want to Talk About Them or Not
- 4How I Made Practice Group Chair: 'If You Love What You Do and Put the Time and Effort Into It, You Will Excel,' Says Lisa Saul of Forde & O'Meara
- 5Abbott, Mead Johnson Win Defense Verdict Over Preemie Infant Formula
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.