When law firm leaders think about growing in New York City, they often think about the city's big-ticket industries: real estate, mergers and acquisitions, banking and insurance, to name a few. At Perkins Coie, office managing partner Keith Miller is thinking about blockchain.

Seattle-based Perkins Coie, whose $862 million in revenue makes it the 45th-highest grossing firm in the Am Law 100, set up shop in New York City with one lawyer in 2011 after having built up a presence across the U.S. and in China. On the East Coast, it's still best known for its Washington, D.C.-based political law practice, which counts the Democratic National Committee among its key clients.

But the firm is also working to stand out in the Big Apple. In an interview at the firm's new Sixth Avenue offices, Miller, who has led the office since 2016, described the unconventional approach he and his team have taken to more than doubling the firm's New York revenue over the past four years, and growing profits swiftly along the way. In 2012, Miller recalls, he barely knew what bitcoin was; now, cryptocurrencies and the technology that supports them bring in “tons and tons” of clients.

Early-stage companies need help getting incorporated and raising capital, Miller said, and as they mature, they may need help drafting contracts or terms of service, or help responding to an investigation. As they grow further, he said, it could mean mergers and acquisitions. Growth areas like blockchain are no less lucrative than more traditional areas of law, Miller said.

“There's so few attorneys that understand the blockchain and understand the technology behind it,” he said. “As a result, we don't see clients demanding decreased fees or large discounts.”

Perkins Coie has identified New York as one of its strategic growth offices, Miller explained, and while there are no specific head count numbers he's trying to hit, the new space has 80 single offices for attorneys across four floors, and the opportunity to grow across more floors.

According to numbers provided by the firm, Perkins Coie had about 50 people total—lawyers and staff—in New York in 2015, and the office brought in a total of about $17.7 million in revenue and recorded $3.4 million in net income that year. That sum is what remains after rent, associate and staff salaries and expenses are paid, but before any payments to partners, a firm spokesman said.

Last year, total head count in New York grew to about 100, office revenue hit $36.6 million, and net income hit $15.8 million. Compared to 2017, revenue was up 12% and net income was up 18%. That beats the nearly 10% growth in revenue recorded for the firm as a whole in the same period.

On one hand, it is fitting for a firm with clients like Microsoft, Amazon and Intel to focus on new technologies. Among the 58 New York lawyers listed on Perkins Coie's website, 15 are in its blockchain technology and digital currency group. Public records show that its clients in those fields include payment processor BitPay, the nonprofit Bitcoin Foundation, the securities token firm Polymath Inc. and Overstock.com, which has invested in blockchain technology in addition to its traditional retail focus.

On the other hand, it's rare for a firm to staff its New York office so lightly when it comes to old mainstay practices and industries. Compare the tech head counts to just five attorneys listed in M&A, three in private equity and seven listed in bankruptcy.

Miller said the firm is open to hiring in such areas, recently adding trust and estates partner Lois Tilton. But he said bankruptcy is “not a practice we're going to concentrate on” because the office's client base is growing rather than struggling.

Other recent laterals in New York include John Delaney, a technology transactions and privacy lawyer from Morrison Foerster, and Kari Larsen, a former enforcement lawyer at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.