This law firm increased revenue by about 139% in 5 years while raising partner profits
Once known as a regional law firm in the Midwest, Spencer Fane is boosting revenue along with partner profits. (Image from Shutterstock)
Once known as a regional law firm in the Midwest, Spencer Fane is boosting revenue along with partner profits.
Spencer Fane has jumped to No. 142 in the American Lawyer’s rankings of the nation’s 200 top-grossing firms, with $266.8 million in revenue in 2023.
The firm has increased revenue by about 139% since 2018, the highest growth percentage of any of any Am Law 200 firm, Law.com reports.
At the same time, the firm’s size increased from 243 lawyers in eight states to about 419 lawyers in 14 states and the District of Columbia.
Average profits per equity partner at Spencer Fane are $779,000, an increase of about 24% in three years.
The firm “is a case study on how a law firm can add market share, climb the rankings and grow profits, all at the same time,” Law.com reports. “The firm did it through a little bit of everything, including adding practice groups, to mergers and groups additions, to expansion in major and minor markets, and growth in the equity and nonequity tiers.”
Pat Whalen, the firm’s chair and managing partner, discussed firm culture and policies in an interview with Law.com.
Spencer Fane has a culture of autonomy that means that it doesn’t have across-the-board mandates on office work, Whalen said. Newly hired partners start as nonequity partners, even though they receive equity-partner pay. And the firm aims to set billing rates at the lower end of the spectrum compared to similar firms.
Whalen told Law.com that “the merger front” will largely account for “a big part of our trajectory I think over the next two years.”
“It wouldn’t take many or wouldn’t take a real significant combination to get us knocking at the Am Law 100 door,” he said, referring to the American Lawyer’s list of the nation’s 100 top-grossing firms.
