To staff work from start-ups, firms recruited laterals, raided practice groups and went on merger sprees. Those days are so over. And firms that set up shop last year with a strict tech focus are hurting.
Most firms downplay the bad news.
We're just growing more conservatively. Brobeck, for example, which opened offices in downtown Washington two years ago, had billable hours drop to the unsustainable level of fewer than 100 hours a month for some lawyers, said D.C. managing partner Stephen A. Riddick . Internal squabbling also led to departures. While many firms are scaling back their ambitious growth plans, a lot are sticking with their blueprints for new or bigger offices in Northern Virginia. Morgan Lewis's Robert J. Smith said he hopes his focus on employment law will attract ailing companies planning layoffs.