Bigger & Better? McDermott Cheers Benchmark

With this year’s fall associate class, McDermott Will & Emery’s L.A. office tipped the three-digit marker: Headcount has exceeded 100 lawyers. Next month, the firm will add a third floor to its Century City office to accommodate the growth.

“Having more than 100 attorneys here makes the firm more visible in the L.A. basin. It’s not ‘McDermott who?’ anymore,” said partner Doug Mancino.

The number means something in this market, said L.A. partner Robert Mallory: “It feels different to me — it’s a different place to be in the California legal market.”

Having a high level of staffing in L.A. — and California overall —is also helpful because GCs often want to make sure a firm has “all the bells and whistles” in the event a case “goes topsy turvy overnight,”  Mallory said.

The new class also tipped the scales for McDermott's overall presence in California. Its offices — in L.A., Silicon Valley, Orange County and San Diego— now house 215 attorneys.

“Having 200+ boots on the ground in California — that is a critical mass,” Mallory said. “McDermott is now recognizable as a significant firm in California, not just a Chicago firm with an acceptable California presence.”

Question:  At what point does size matter?  Legal Pad readers, when does a firm’s California presence hit a tipping point and make a real leap as a player in this market?

—  Kellie Schmitt

Comments

[McDermott cog]

Does MWE have 215 one-legged attorneys in California? Shouldn't that be "400+ boots" ?