Is a Boutique Law Firm the Right Choice For You? 5 Reasons to Consider
AmLaw100, AmLaw 200, BigLaw, Boutique. Whether you're a law student or a practicing attorney, you have heard these terms and probably have a good idea of what these classifications mean. In order to prevent any misunderstanding, let's define what a boutique law firm is. Boutique is pronounced "boo-teek," not "bow-teek," and these are usually small law firms with fewer than 20 attorneys. Boutiques can specialize in a particular practice or niche practice areas, or they can specialize in a few selected practice areas. To be clear, there are some BigLaw or AmLaw firms that also specialize in one practice or a few selected practice areas, but generally, boutiques refer to smaller, niche practice firms focusing on specific areas of law.
Boutique law firms come in various forms. Some offer specialized practice areas such as litigation, business/corporate transactions, intellectual property law, employment law, tax law, or immigration law. Other boutique firms may focus on serving a particular industry or client base, such as startups or non-profit organizations. There are also boutique firms that offer a combination of specialized practice areas and industry focus, providing clients with comprehensive legal services tailored to their unique needs. Regardless of their focus, boutique law firms can offer a more personalized approach to legal representation, as they are able to dedicate more attention and resources to each individual client. This personalized service is a key differentiator from larger, full-service law firms, which may not be able to provide the same level of attention and specialized expertise. They may also offer more nimble fee structures and lower billing rates.
Why are boutiques often comprised of former BigLaw attorneys?
Training and reputation
Starting your legal career in a larger firm makes a lot of sense. Large, full-service law firms have name recognition, high-profile clients, cases for larger companies, experienced attorneys at all levels to mentor you—senior partner, junior partner, mid-level/senior associates—and support staff members to help with administrative tasks. In short, BigLaw firms have the resources to train you. However, they operate on a highly-leveraged model. Most big firms do not expect you to spend your entire career with them. Anticipated attrition is built into their business model. Did you know that the majority of attorneys will make at least one or two moves within their first five years of practice?
When you work in a large law firm, it could be years before you feel like you're getting meaningful hands-on experience. By the time you are a mid-level or a rising senior associate, you may feel frustrated that you aren't playing a principal role on your matters. You may be tired of jockeying for position and rigid progression structures. You may feel overlooked. Doing good work and being a "good soldier" are not enough to set you up for success.
Do boutique firms offer better work-life balance?
A common misconception about smaller firms is that a boutique law firm automatically means a "lifestyle" firm. Size does not automatically equate with good work-life balance or with a more relaxed pace of work. There are AmLaw firms that have 1800 or 1850 hour targets, and there are boutiques where attorneys routinely bill over 2500 hours. There are also boutiques with 1400 hour targets. Size is not dispositive. It's very important that you do your homework. However, with smaller firms, there is a higher likelihood of better work-life balance, a more manageable caseload, and hours transparency.
What are the advantages of joining a boutique?
1) Specialization
When you're passionate about a particular practice area, working with partners who share your passion can be very rewarding. It's nice working with a client base that has chosen your firm because they want a team that is completely devoted to the legal needs that their businesses require. With the rise of boutique law firms, small businesses have more options when it comes to legal representation. Boutique firms often specialize in a particular practice or niche practice areas, which can provide small businesses with access to specialized legal expertise. As smaller law firms, often boutique law firms offer more competitive rates. Joining a firm that is known for excellence in your field can help with your client development efforts as you progress in your practice.
2) Economic stability
Boutique firms don't go through massive hiring cycles, and they don't go through massive lay-offs like traditional firms. During "hot" markets, boutiques that aren't paying top market compensation can get overlooked. When it's a "hot" market, BigLaw firms entice attorneys by increasing base compensation, offering signing bonuses, retention bonuses, big year-end bonuses, and "special" bonuses. It's easy to be dazzled by dollars. It's also short-sighted.
Law firms are businesses. When it's advantageous for firms to pay more money, they will. When client demand drops, cost cutting measures kick in, leading to--lay-offs. Laying off legal professionals (staff) is usually the first step. If that isn't enough, attorney lay-offs are implemented. Attorneys who were considering going to smaller firms during a "hot market," can make far more compelling cases for leaving BigLaw than someone who is simply seeking shelter from the storm. No one wants to have their time wasted and boutique partners can spot genuine interest.
3) Culture
With larger law firms, you need to attach yourself to mentors with sway. Office politics are a way of life, even for rainmakers. If you don't have the right team behind you, it's very hard to take your career to the next level. For many attorneys, that next level means making partner.
Many boutiques have been founded by former AmLaw attorneys. Some of these partners were tired of office politics and hierarchy. Others felt that they didn't need the bandwidth of 1000+ attorneys across the globe to meet their clients' needs. Others wanted more agency over their careers. Some were tired of billing rate pressures and feared losing their clients. Some wanted work-life balance without having to sacrifice the quality of their work or clients. When you talk with attorneys who have joined smaller firms, you are likely to find yourself "preaching to the choir," while finding kindred spirits.
4) Early responsibility and more hands-on experience
Boutique firms look for associates and partners who have strong legal skills, who want to do more for their clients, and more on their matters. If you are an associate working on ten-figure cases, you are not going to be first chairing those cases. You probably won't second chair either. In fact, you might not even have a seat at the table. Once you're ready to take on more responsibility on your cases, the powers that be may not be able to meet your needs. Big cases, big clients, big money, fewer opportunities for early experience.
If you are a junior partner in BigLaw, you’re probably discovering how difficult it is to bring in new business. You are often captive to large institutional clients, and captive to the partners who are responsible for keeping those clients happy. Even when your partners want to give you additional responsibility, their clients may not. Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. When "bet the company" cases are your firm's stock-in-trade, autonomy is likely to elude you. When you go to a firm with a wider variety of clients and case sizes, you will have the opportunity to play a senior role without having to wait to become a senior attorney.
5) Lower rates and client development
Top-notch boutiques and smaller firms have intellectually challenging cases. When companies and organizations don't have in-house counsel, they look to their outside counsel to play a larger advisory role. You get the benefit of being a de facto General Counsel without being captive to only one client.
Leaving a big firm does not mean sacrificing the quality of your practice. Fewer employees means direct contact with clients. In fact, it's likely that as the firm’s clients get to know you and your work product, they will start referring business directly to you. Originations are always good! When clients start seeing you as "their attorney," the possibilities are limitless.
Joining a boutique firm can provide early responsibility and more hands-on experience. Lower rates can lead to increased opportunities for client development, which makes it easier to develop your own book of business. If you're a big firm partner or counsel without portable business, you have a target on your back. Your rates make it very hard to bring in new business. Big firm overhead is expensive. Unless you're in a highly specialized practice, being a service partner makes you a very expensive mouth to feed.
If you're in a rate sensitive practice, joining a boutique with lower rates can help you build your book of business. If your clients are balking at your rates, no matter how great they think your work is, at the end of the day, your clients are looking out for their bottom line. Don't you want to continue being able to offer them great service at rates that will ensure that they don't give their business to other firms?
Keeping your options open
We are judged by the company that we keep. Quantity is not synonymous with quality. Bigger isn't necessarily better. Going to a smaller firm does not mean that you are foreclosing the option of returning to BigLaw. In fact, attorneys who leave bigger law firms may decide to return to AmLaw firms. Sometimes they need more bandwidth for their clients. Sometimes they miss BigLaw and now they are more valuable because they have gained significant experience and portable business. When you have your own clients, you can write your own ticket. With the right boutique, you will probably find a firm where you enjoy working and want to stay. If you want to return to BigLaw, your achievements follow you wherever you go. However, if you choose the right boutique with a good reputation, you will probably find a firm where you actually want to stay. And isn't that the ultimate goal?
