20111205-NEWS--13-NAT-CCI-CL_--
12/1/2011
2:15 PM
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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS
DECEMBER 5 - 11, 2011
13
LEGAL AFFAIRS
INSIDE
16 IN SOME CASES, PARALEGAL HIRING ON THE RISE.
The renovated Calfee Building was home to East Ohio Gas Co. in 1916.
CALFEE BUILDING ON HISTORY Law firm set to move into renovated structure that first opened in 1916 as home to East Ohio Gas By AMY ANN STOESSEL astoessel@crain.com
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here have been times when Brent D. Ballard, managing partner of Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP, has felt like he was living out an episode of “This Old House.” “Every time you open a wall, there’s something that needs to be done,” Mr. Ballard said during a recent tour of the circa-1916 building that soon will be home to the law firm’s downtown Cleveland offices.
But the attorney’s personal version of reality TV soon will be coming to an end. Calfee’s nearly 300 employees are slated to move into the renovated space at the end of this month, occupying 100% of the 115,000-square-foot building, which will carry the law firm’s name. Located at East Sixth Street and Rockwell Avenue, the historic seven-floor structure that originally was constructed for the East Ohio Gas Co. had in recent years fallen into a state of disrepair and neglect. What once served as East Ohio’s See CALFEE Page 17
ABOVE: Brent D. Ballard, managing partner of Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP, says the new Calfee Building represents an investment both in the firm and in downtown Cleveland. LEFT: As part of the renovations, what once was used as a parking garage is undergoing a transformation back into a lobby. JANET CENTURY PHOTOS/ RENDERINGS AND PHOTOS PROVIDED
Managing partner title harder to define in a few words By MICHELLE PARK mpark@crain.com
Leaders’ roles expand as organizations adjust to new industry realities
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Aronoff LLP characterizes his debut as “walking into a tsunami.” Months after Mr. Kaplan became the attorney responsible for running the firm while maintaining a book of business, The Great Recession began, hurtling challenges at him he hadn’t anticipated.
ra C. Kaplan thought he had the wind at his back when he became managing partner of a local law firm in January 2008. Business had boomed the year before. In retrospect, the leader of Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan &
He and other managing partners continue to grapple with added pressures. A survey conducted in April and May revealed that law firm managing partners and chairs across the country are concerned about pricing pressures, erosion of demand,
continuing growth in profitability and the retirement and succession of Baby Boom lawyers. “Being managing partner is a lot easier when everybody’s making plenty of money,” said Eric Seeger, a principal with Newtown Square, Pa.-based Altman Weil Inc., the
legal consulting firm that conducted the survey. “When money gets tight, minor issues become major, and major issues become lifethreatening.” Today’s firm leaders are questioning their service delivery models and seeking ways to improve efficiency, Mr. Seeger explained. Perhaps this is a sign of how See PARTNERS Page 18