Hybrid law firm Rimon, P.C. is looking to get bigger even as its competitors urge lawyers to return to in-person work. The 14-year-old, 200 attorney firm has embraced remote work, and founding partner Michael Moradzadeh says it is now pursuing mergers with firms ranging from 60 to 120 lawyers.
“We’ve done so well financially, we’re now in a position to invest in further growth,” Moradzadeh said. “We are in buying mode.”
According to Moradzadeh, Rimon has grown revenue by 50% for two consecutive years and has also enjoyed a recruiting boost since the pandemic began, with headcount growing about 30% a year since 2020.
Rimon has long been a critic of the “wasteful” office spending of Big Law firms. While it has 46 offices on five continents, the firm has never asked lawyers to come in to the office.
Like many other hybrid firms (and virtual ones, as well), Rimon is able to let its attorneys keep a greater share of the revenue they generate than most traditional firms. Rimon takes 30% of fees, while lawyers split the remaining 70% between rainmakers and the attorneys who handle the work.
According to Moradzadeh, while some Big Law firms paused profit distributions to partners and froze hiring in April 2020, after the onset of the pandemic, Rimon actually saw its recruiting increase. Now that the pandemic has for the most part wound down, Moradzadeh fully expects his firm to have a continued recruiting edge over Big Law, as more lawyers who have enjoyed working from home will be looking for new firms who can accommodate their preferred work location.
“Once the law firms had adapted a bit, we wondered if it meant we’d lose our competitive edge,” Moradzadeh said. “But we haven’t, because the traditional law firms were in this in-between zone, and they still are. They’re not sure if they want to give their lawyers the freedom they’ve become accustomed to, and at the same time they still have the high overhead cost and bureaucracy of a traditional law firm.”
While traditional law firms remain stuck between giving their lawyers more freedom and having to pay high overheads, Rimon’s in-betweenness as a hybrid firm is propelling it to expansion and increased revenues.
