Business

This is a bit more of an introspective post than I typically write, but it has been an unusual week.  Another large law firm in Indianapolis announced a layoff of 10 attorneys and 17 staff on Thursday.  I heard word of another local firm quietly laying off 5 attorneys and a handful of staff.  Within the last year the top 5 size Indianapolis law firms have either downsized or been acquired.  The troubled economic climate has clearly hit the legal profession.

At the same time, my law firm, Alerding Castor, continues to expand.  Our offices have been under construction this week as we are taking over the remainder of our floor.  We have been working amongst dry wall dust and the sound of power tools all week.  I found myself at one point complaining about the noise.  Shame on me - Right?  Complaining about something as great as a true sign of our business growing!  Especially when so many others are contracting.

While many firms have been actively downsizing, we continue to grow.  This week, in addition to bringing in several general business matters, we brought in three new private equity deals, a debt-financing transaction, and a corporate reorganization project.  So what is the difference between our firm and these other firms?

Key #1 is our clients. 

Key #2 is our people.

Sounds simple, but it absolutely is not.  Building a good client base is 100% about doing excellent work and building trusted relationships.  This takes tremendous effort and time.  Most attorneys don't want to put in the effort needed at this step.  Building an outstanding team of attorneys who understand this first point and work well together takes much time and molding. 

Michael Alerding and I were talking this week about how much fun we continue to have in building this firm and partnering with our clients.  What a great thing!