In a February 27, 2014 article, National Law Journal featured a story about Venable’s record setting 2013. On the strength of the firm’s Litigation and Regulatory groups, revenue jumped nine percent, profits per partner increased seven percent, and net income rose nearly eight percent. Additionally, 2013 saw a six percent increase in headcount and the opening of new offices in San Francisco and Wilmington, DE.
“It wasn’t one big case or one big contingency fee that came in and resulted in a spike,” said Venable Co-Managing Partner Bob Waldman in an interview about the firm’s record year. Instead, Waldman pointed to the firm’s litigation practice with product liability, commercial and intellectual property leading the way. Waldman added that the firm’s strategy has been to use its regulatory strength “as a differentiator to enhance our other practices,” and to “push our regulatory skills….into other offices and practice groups.” Citing the new San Francisco office as an example, Waldman said an increasing number of Silicon Valley and Bay Area companies “have matured to the point where they have a need for a firm with DC regulatory strength.”
Speaking about new additions to the firm in 2013, Waldman pointed to Tom Wallerstein and two associates who joined the new San Francisco office, Stephanie Loughlin and Ralph Hardy in Washington, DC, and Randy Miller in Tysons Corner. Waldman also noted the expansion of Venable’s New York Real Estate Group, saying, “They’ve been a terrific addition for us,” and the recent addition of David Strickland to one of Venable’s “flagship practices”-Privacy and Data Security.
Despite being a national firm with offices around the country, Waldman said Venable “doesn’t have an enormous overhead” and carries no debt. “We are a very conservatively run firm,” he added. “We’re really proud in these tumultuous times how solid our firm is.” Waldman also described Venable’s rates as cost-competitive saying, “Our fee structure maybe makes us a little bit more attractive… We’re a very attractive option in the market now.”
Click here to view the full article in the National Law Journal.