Pryor Cashman is proud to announce that it has been named to the National Law Journal’s inaugural “Midsize Hot List.” The June 29, 2009 article names 20 law firms across the country that have demonstrated creative, innovative strategies to stay competitive.

The article notes that firms like Pryor Cashman have been more adept in addressing clients' concerns about price constraints, their frustrations with traditional billing structures and their desire to staff matters efficiently.

Although numerous firms were nominated for the list, the National Law Journal selected those firms that have found new ways to recruit and retain top talent, develop practice areas, manage their operations and position themselves to stay on track during the economic upheaval. Pryor Cashman, like other firms on the list, has shown the nimbleness and adaptability that come from lean operations and strong client ties.

The National Law Journal article featured the following profile of Pryor Cashman:

For New York's Pryor Cashman, the key to success is mixing things up. Managing partner Ronald Shechtman said that no one client makes up more than 4% of the firm's business and the top 20 list of clients constitutes less than one-third. "It just shows that every client of ours is indispensable," Shechtman said.

Not having one huge client ensures that every lawyer at the 133-attorney firm has to bring in clients, creating what Shechtman called an "entrepreneurial culture." He pointed to an associate whose representation of distressed debt hedge funds generated more than $2 million in legal fees and added to a 15% increase in revenue. The firm's entertainment, media and communications practice, which boasts clients such as EMI Group Ltd., Sony Music Entertainment Inc. and New Line Cinema Corp., also helped it achieve its most profitable year ever.

In addition to bringing on laterals such as a family law partner from now-bankrupt Dreier, Shechtman said, Pryor Cashman is taking advantage of its debt-free status by moving into the Times Square offices previously occupied by now-defunct Heller Ehrman. The firm also keeps an office in Los Angeles.