Many firm leaders seek growth of their organizations through lateral hiring, which can at times seem like a silver bullet. But with its inherent risks and potential costs to the firm, lateral hiring is not the cure-all to a firm’s desire to expand. Only with proper strategy and implementation can it be a powerful tool in building growth. Today, this reality seems to be regaining acceptance after a period of relative immobility. The National Association for Law Placement reported in its April 2011 NALP Bulletin that lateral hiring was on the rise again after two years of decline. This statistic has become very evident to me over the last 12 months as I have set about to establish a new Washington, D.C., office for Ratner Prestia and populate that office with individual laterals and groups.

During its first 30 years, Ratner Prestia grew its intellectual property practice from its headquarters in Valley Forge, Pa., to include offices in both Allentown and Wilmington, Del. In February 2011, after 14 years with the firm, I became its second CEO. Armed with a strong belief that firm expansion into Washington is a significant part of our firm’s future, I made that expansion a strategic priority. With surprising ease, I gained quick and unanimous support for the plan, first from our management committee and then from the shareholders. Here is where you might wonder if I am embellishing a bit. I assure you, I am not. The reasons for opening the new office and the success we are seeing to date are actually manifestations of the reality that existed for years and which recently became more evident. Specifically, we simply observed that clients (existing and future) and lawyers (existing and future) told us to be there.

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