The Mid Market Report
Midsized firms in Orange County have managed to hold onto their piece of the market, in part by maintaining relationships with businesses within the community. William Meehan, managing partner of Rutan & Tucker since 2016 told ALM’s Mid-Market Report that his firm has been able to keep business steady even as outside firms come into the region. Meehan said his firm is well positioned within the competitive landscape because clients looking to do business in Orange County know that “we’ve seen it all, done it all.”
Midsize firms also maintain a pricing advantage over their larger competitors, Meehan said. With a more flexible structure, midsize firms in Orange County can take on both smaller and middle-market deal work, and big-ticket litigation and bet-the-company matters.
Despite the broad national interest in Orange County, it can still be a challenge for firms looking to grow via the lateral market, Meehan said. Rutan & Tucker pays salaries competitive with any firm in the country, he said, but the dearth of lateral activity in Orange County contributed to his firm opening up a San Francisco office to aid in the search for high-quality attorneys.
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