Is the legal industry languishing or booming? It depends on where you look, and whom you ask.

According to the 2017 Report on the State of the Legal Market, released at the beginning of the year by Georgetown Law's Center for the Study of the Legal Profession and the Thomson Reuters Legal Executive Institute, many U.S. law firms have spent the last decade treading water in terms of profitability. The consensus among firms seems to be that we're in a market slump, with revenue at a plateau, and client demand and attorney productivity in decline.

Two more reports published in November 2017 by Wells Fargo and Citi Private Bank's Law Firm Group confirm this pattern—save for one exception: Pennsylvania. In an article for The Legal Intelligencer, Lizzy McLellan writes that “Pennsylvania firms appear to be in better shape than most,” and moreover, that “revenue growth at firms headquartered in Pennsylvania has not been driven by rate increases, but by demand.”

At Offit Kurman, we've experienced this phenomenon firsthand. Over the past year, our firm's offices throughout Pennsylvania have undergone significant growth. We are currently affiliated with 40 attorneys in the state, including seven at our office in the Philadelphia suburbs, which opened its doors just months ago.

While market conditions have certainly facilitated Offit Kurman's growth in Pennsylvania, location and timing are just a couple factors in our larger strategic initiatives. Indeed, our firm has continued on a path of sustained expansion in every state in which we do business. That's because, unlike other law firms, we have developed a culture and compensation model that encourages collaboration and rewards practitioners based on their unique strengths. We think of ourselves not only as the perfect legal partner^® for our clients, but for our attorneys.

In “Legal Field Growth Is Rooted in Lateral Recruitment,” also published in the Legal Intelligencer, I wrote about our firm's lateral recruitment approach, explaining that most firms that are growing are doing so by lateral acquisition of legal talent. Lateral recruiting is and will continue to be a “seller's market” for the next decade, and firms should recognize that any lateral partner will ask questions about their potential new firm's long-term financial soundness as well as management's plan to help integrate them into the firm culture.

It's not just a financial matter. To sell potential recruits on a firm, the organization needs to adopt of a lawyer-centric mentality that emphasizes training and development opportunities. I believe the law firms that are most likely to “win” in this marketplace will need to implement development programs for lateral teams to help with client acquisition.

Timothy Lynch is the managing partner of Offit Kurman. He also sits on the firm's executive committee. As such, he is responsible for all of the lawyer operations at the firm and he is heavily involved in the daily operations and strategic planning for the firm. Before moving into these roles, he chaired the commercial litigation practice group at the firm. Contact him at [email protected].