DETROIT & CHICAGO, February 24, 2009 – Dykema, a leading national law firm, today announced that 2008 saw continued growth in an increasingly challenging environment.
“We continue to manage the firm on a conservative basis and maintain a very strong balance sheet which gives us added flexibility in the current market environment,” said Rex E. Schlaybaugh, Jr., chairman and CEO of Dykema. “As clients face heightened pressure to reduce legal expenditures and continually seek more efficient solutions to their legal needs, we are responding with alternative billing arrangements, more cost-effective rate structures and other value measures that enhance our relationships. Coupled with the quality and sophistication of our national practices and consistently high marks for service, our value proposition has emerged as a point of differentiation in the current market.”
According to Schlaybaugh, firm revenue for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2008 rose 4.7 percent to $169.8 million when compared with fiscal year 2007. Many of the firm’s core practices were up for the year, including Bankruptcy and Restructuring, Intellectual Property Litigation, Pharmaceutical Litigation and Energy. Dykema’s industry-focused practices serving the automotive, pharmaceutical and medical device, and real estate industries also performed well in 2008.
Focusing on growth in strategic markets such as Chicago, Dykema added 53 attorneys to its Chicago office in 2008 from the venerable Schwartz Cooper firm. In December, Dykema increased its Chicago office space by 40,000 square feet giving the firm a total of 107,000 square feet on four floors at 10 South Wacker Drive, with options to expand further in the future.
“Despite its challenges, 2008 was a good year for the firm,” added Schlaybaugh. “While no one can predict what 2009 will bring, we feel that we are well-positioned for the challenges ahead.”
A leading national law firm built upon its Midwestern heritage and values, Dykema has offices located in California, Illinois, Michigan, Texas and Washington, D.C., and a national practice focused on serving Fortune 1000 and middle-market companies. Dykema advises domestic and foreign-based companies and institutions on a wide variety of sophisticated business issues including corporate governance, litigation, growth strategies and risk reduction, financial services, mergers and acquisitions, international trade, e-commerce and many others. A strategic partner to its clients, Dykema maintains leading national vertical industry practices with substantial depth and experience, in areas including automotive, pharmaceutical/medical devices, financial services/insurance, and energy and electric distribution. Dykema continues to expand its work for companies that increasingly are attracted to the firm’s sophisticated practices, skilled lawyers and commitment to providing value and quality service.
© 2009 Dykema Gossett PLLC
