Overview of New Orleans’ Legal Landscape
The city of New Orleans has long been a major player in the legal arena. It currently has some of the fastest-growing and largest firms in the country and provides a significant portion of the legal services needed by business and industry operating in the state. For the last two years, New Orleans has been the center of the largest expansion of law firms in the country. From 2002 to 2007, the biggest law firms in the country added 30% more offices and more than 13,000 attorneys. More than 100 of these new offices and nearly 4,000 of these new attorneys joined existing large firms in New Orleans.
That’s right, more than 100 new offices – in just five years. That is 20 a year! What is going on here? I believe that there are several factors. The most important is that firm expansion has hit New Orleans like a tidal wave, but has passed over Louisiana at the same time. The only law firm of the 15 largest in the country to open a new office in Louisiana was Baker Donelson, with its office being opened in 2008. Baker Donelson’s move was driven by the opportunity presented by the influx of people and money into New Orleans following the damage to New Orleans in August 2005 by hurricane Katrina. At the same time, the nation’s other 14 largest firms opened 144 new offices and hired nearly 6,000 additional attorneys . Baker Donelson saw this as an opportunity to expand not just into New Orleans, but to grow its presence in adjacent Texas, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi.
So what does the future look like for the legal industry in New Orleans? Historically, there have been few, if any, law firm mergers in Louisiana. Whenever a big firm – or a big account – becomes available, the largest national firms sweep in and grab it. Small firms are still going to continue in the Louisiana market, but in my view the influx of larger firms will have a significantly distorting impact on competition. Big firms become expensive, and so they raise fees, and as they raise fees, they lose clients, and as they lose clients, they increase the pressure on their partners for billable hours and lawyers leave, and as lawyers leave, the quality goes down. All of these dynamics mean higher fees for consumers and a progressively wider gap between the size of large law firms and the smaller firms that often can offer more specialized practice expertise. So in my opinion, the future of legal services in Louisiana is grim because of the steady encroachment of larger firms squeezing the mid-market of small firms with aggressive pricing and wide geographic reach.
New Orleans’ Top Law Firms
Stone Pigman Walther Witkowski
Stone Pigman was formed in 1929 and has been operating for almost 90 years. The firm of 50 lawyers operates exclusively in Louisiana. Its clients range from infant to Fortune 500 companies, and the firm has handled most of the high-profile civil and criminal cases in Louisiana during its lifetime. It has a reputation for excellence, diligence, loyalty, and wisdom.
Baker Donelson
The New Orleans office of Baker Donelson was founded in 1992 and has 36 lawyers. It is a full-service business and litigation firm and is experienced in Louisiana law. The areas of practice include trademark and copyright, corporate law, worker’s compensation, and litigation. The firm has an excellent reputation; four of its practice groups were ranked highest in Louisiana by the U.S. News – Best Lawyers 2019 evaluation of law firms.
Liskow & Lewis
Operating almost 50 years, Liskow & Lewis is a 45-lawyer New Orleans based firm. The firm offers a wide variety of practice areas, including corporate finance and securities, estate planning and administration, maritime, and oil & gas. The firm has won some high-profile cases, earning a reputation as one of the best litigation firms in New Orleans.
Why are New Orleans Law Firms so Big?
Several factors contribute to the growth of large law firms in New Orleans. The most important factor is that clients have diverse needs in a legal services provider. Many clients require litigation, IP, and corporate legal support on both the local and national levels. The more diverse your firm’s practice areas, the more appeal your firm has. Many firms have large group offerings, either in specific practice areas, or have separate business units that specialize in certain markets or industries. Additionally, New Orleans is a great market for lawyers because of the relative size of the city. New Orleans has many major corporations based in the same area, which means that if a firm can get one account, they’ll be competitive for others as well. An example of this is the healthcare sector in New Orleans, which is large enough to support several big law firms with practice groups dedicated to that industry.
The economy, of course, plays a huge part in growth and firm size as well. A booming business climate leads to high demand for many types of legal services: SEC compliance work, corporate transactions, litigation, and IP. Not surprisingly, as the economy has expanded, so have many of the firms in the Big Law category. Large law firms with offices in New Orleans and across the country include Jones Walker, Adams and Reese, Phelps Dunbar, Breazeale Sachse, and Gordon Arata, among others. Despite the competitive legal environment in New Orleans, firms like Chaffe McCall and irondequoit have closed their doors due to lack of volume and client fees. Companies are still looking to expand into the New Orleans market; many have the financial capacity to do so, but they cannot find legal representation to capitalize on opportunities.
New Orleans’ Most Popular Practice Areas
All of the largest firms in New Orleans have practice areas in personal injury, real estate, and governmental relations. These are three areas that dominate New Orleans – as the most populated municipality in Louisiana, there are many real estate transactions, as this is a hub for commerce and tourism in the state. Government, carried out at the local level by city council and at the state level by the State Capitol in Baton Rouge , is also large and thus requires many lawyers to manage their relationships with the government and the private sector.
Other areas of practice include bankruptcy, business transactions, tax, utility regulation, insurance, trusts and estates, mineral and environmental law, maritime law, securities, and tax and bankruptcy. All of these areas are common in big law and some are on the rise. In addition, there may also be specialized areas in private wealth management, tax, and corporate transactions.
How Large Law Firms Impact the Community
The largest law firms in New Orleans, while maintaining a global presence, also play an indispensable role in the local economy and community. They serve as significant sources of employment, not only providing jobs directly to the attorneys and professional staff they employ, but also indirectly by supplying work to countless other businesses in the community. From IT to janitorial services, the operations of a large firm offer economic opportunities both directly and indirectly to the local economy.
Beyond direct economic contributions, these law firms often take active roles in supporting their communities, from volunteer work by firm members to direct support for nonprofits. Many of the top firms have structured pro bono programs and initiatives that encourage their attorneys to engage with pro bono groups. These efforts can help improve both the communal legal landscape and the lives of the individuals who benefit from pro bono client counseling and representation.
Overall, the association with the largest law firms in the region extends beyond that of client and service provider; these firms are often indispensable partners in the development and growth of the community.
Trends in the Future of New Orleans Law Firms
Emerging Trends Affecting New Orleans Law Firms
Perhaps the largest challenge, especially for large law firms with significant numbers of new associates, is the increasing automation of many routine areas of law. Indeed, many law firms are now exploring the use of Artificial Intelligence ("AI") in legal research, contract review, discovery and e-discovery, and due diligence. These processes often take significant amounts of associate time and man-hours. Technologies already exist that can allow users to complete these and other processes in a fraction of the time it takes human attorneys. Other automation technology exists that offers to automate large parts of firm management. For example, Crm, or Client Relationship Management systems that are now taking hold of the legal industry to assist in maintaining client communication, scheduling, case tracking, and billing. Algorithms powered by AI, machine learning, and other technologies are beginning to encroach on workloads once reserved for law firms. From the creation of standard contracts to tracking progress through a deal or litigation, the tasks formerly done by paralegals and junior associates are also poised for disruption . The use of detailed settlement data analytics to track settlements awards in litigation, class action or multi-district litigation (MDL) are becoming increasingly valuable to ensure clients are maximizing their litigation settlements. The changing legal landscape thanks to advances in technology has already given rise to several companies offering legal services via a subscription model. Examples include: LegalShield, Rocket Lawyer, LegalMatch, The competition from legal tech companies is becoming more significant, requiring traditional law firms to increase their investment in technology to keep up. Perhaps one of the most significant effects of AI and the efficiencies it affords is how it will shape the high-end of the industry. As it becomes easier to enter innovation and deliver superior legal services at lower cost, subscription model companies such as LegalZoom and Rocket Lawyercould begin to revolutionize the way legal services are offered. According to legal tech experts, this will create a bifurcation in the industry with big box firms losing ground, while smaller, specialized firms are left with larger practices. The big boxes will become less relevant as they price themselves out of existence.