In 2019 when Benesch, a business-focused law firm, becomes an anchor tenant in nuCLEus, a new office complex in downtown Cleveland’s Gateway District, let’s hope the building has rubber walls.
Gregg A. Eisenberg, the firm’s managing partner, describes it as “the finest office location since Cleveland built the Terminal Tower.”
But with the impressive growth the firm has seen in the past year, and its anticipated future growth, the walls may need to stretch to accommodate expansion.
In addition to its office at 200 Public Square, Benesch (long known as Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff LLP) has additional locations in Columbus, Indianapolis, Wilmington, Hackensack, Shanghai and Chicago. The Illinois office opened in 2015.
“Chicago is a priority for us in 2016,” says John H. Banks, chief operating officer/chief financial officer. “We are investing our dollars there and will be very actively recruiting.”
Eisenberg says, in particular, five core practice areas in Chicago will be expanded, including corporate, litigation, intellectual property, health care and real estate. Benesch serves national and international clients, public, private, middle-market and emerging companies, as well as private equity funds, entrepreneurs, nonprofits, trusts and estates, according to the firm.
At the beginning of 2015, Benesch counted about 150 lawyers firm-wide. Now it has “north of 170 full-time lawyers,” according to Eisenberg, and that number is expected to hit 200 before long. The initial push was to add to the firm’s litigation arena. But now expansion is occurring in other areas as well.
“When we are able to get in front of someone who is thinking about joining our firm, we can convince him or her pretty quickly that we are a good choice,” says Banks.
The firm certainly celebrated its latest accomplishments. The respected 2016 edition of The Best Lawyers in America (considered the definitive guide to legal excellence) included 53 Benesch lawyers. Benesch also was named Law Firm of the Year in Transportation Law in the 2016 edition of U.S. News & World Report/Best Lawyers. Only one law firm per practice area in the U.S. received this recognition.
Eisenberg says he believes Benesch is “really in the talent business.” The firm attracts the best and the brightest because it successfully supports lawyers with tools and resources to grow their practices and provides opportunities for them to drive a law firm if that is what interests them. Banks believes that focus allows relationships with clients to grow naturally. Also, the firm’s retention rate is “super,” according to Eisenberg, who has been with Benesch for 18 years.
The 78-year-old firm also continues to flex its pioneering and entrepreneurial spirit. Mark E. Avsec, partner and vice-chair of the Innovations, Information Technology and Intellectual Property (3iP) Practice Group, has been tracking the legal ramifications of 3-D printing for several years.
“Our clients are all very affected by 3-D printing, and they don’t even know it yet,” says Avsec. “They should be thinking about this as they file new patent applications, trademarks and develop their businesses. 3-D printing is an event that will change the world. It is in its early stage, but it’s our job to be on it. Client service is of utmost importance. And by making that our mission, we are growing our firm as well. We are all rowing in the same direction.”
Avsec also says he believes 3-D printing has the capability of making Northeast Ohio take its place again among top-producing regions.
“Cleveland was a great manufacturing center in the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s,” says Avsec. “With 3-D printing we have the chance to be great again.”
Eisenberg believes it is that enduring spirit, the ability to look into the future and a willingness to be adaptable that sets Benesch apart and will bolster its growth.
It’s also a fun place to work, he says. Eisenberg considers those who are employed at Benesch to be his “extended family” and believes many other employees feel the same way. Working in teams means everyone expands the business together. Eisenberg considers the firm’s collegial environment of people with multi-dimensional backgrounds to highly benefit the firm’s growth and its clients.
Avsec, for example, was a studio musician, producer and songwriter before becoming a lawyer. (Think songs for Donnie Iris, Bon Jovi and Carlos Santana.) That experience gives Avsec a unique perspective of entertaining licensing matters and other concerns specific clients may have.
Banks was in manufacturing and says running Benesch more like a business over the past few years has helped add to its growth. He notes that the “team approach taken by the practice” is the lifeline of the operation.
“We don’t want our young associates working crazy billable hours,” says Banks. “We want them to work normal billable hours so they have plenty of time to develop other facets of their careers. We want them to have a reasonable work schedule and balance their personal lives.”
“We all want to grow this business, not just sit on it,” says Eisenberg.