Insurance defense work is seeing an uptick. Just ask the partners at New Jersey-based Bressler, Amery & Ross, a 150-lawyer firm that has added 10 associates in its insurance defense practice in South Florida since May, representing a 25% increase in the firm's attorney head count in the state.

Defense group co-chair Hope Zelinger described the swath of associate hires as necessary for keeping up with client needs in the practice area. "As we've grown as a team, our relationships with our clients have strengthened, we've diversified our practice groups and the work we're doing for our current client base, and there was just a need to add great attorneys," Zelinger said in an interview.