Hartford Business Journal

8 Hartford Business Journal • December 14, 2020 • www.HartfordBusiness.com By Sean Teehan steehan@hartfordbusiness.com A ndy Corea says one of the most significant ef- fects the COVID-19 pandemic may have on the legal industry is that it's forced law firms to embrace change. Corea, who will step up as Murtha Cullina's managing partner on Jan. 1 — his predecessor, Jennifer Morgan DelMonico is term-limited — said 2020 has revealed Murtha can use technology to speed up some process- es and opened up recruitment oppor- tunities in a new stream of New York attorneys looking for jobs elsewhere. As he begins his new leadership post, Corea said Murtha's major focus areas over the next year will be rethinking physical work spaces, re- cruiting attorneys to replace lawyers nearing retirement and beefing up core practice areas while building new ones. "We always have an eye toward areas of growth," Corea said. As with most other industries, uncertainty was most prevalent when the pandemic shutdowns began in mid-March, said Corea, an intellec- tual property lawyer who became a Murtha partner three years ago, and chairs its business and finance practice. When the pandemic first hit the U.S., markets dropped significantly, putting business clients' legal bud- gets in doubt, Corea said. Additionally, social distancing requirements made regular court proceedings impossible. "Clients were on their heels, clients were uncertain," Corea said. "Every- body restricted legal spending, and courthouses closed." However, as it became necessary for law firms to lean on remote plat- forms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams to get anything done, Murtha attorneys realized they could use such technology to speed up their work, Corea said. In fact, Murtha closed its largest-ever deal back in May, when its client Savant Systems — a smart home company — acquired General Electric's lighting division. In-person meetings will always be important to law firms, Corea said. But the legal industry is notoriously slow to embrace change, and without the pandemic forcing the issue, the ability to use remote technologies in situations where travel would slow things may not have been realized. "If you had told me that we would close the largest deal in Murtha's his- tory completely remotely, … I would have said that you're crazy," Corea said. "We're turning toward some of these tools … and leveraging the technology to make us a little more efficient." Digital tools have also allowed Murtha attorneys to work from home pretty seamlessly, and many prefer the added flexibility, Corea said. That's why over the next year and beyond, the firm will likely reduce its physical footprint, moving into smaller spaces as current leases expire. Murtha recently moved its Hart- ford office from CityPlace I to smaller space in the 28-story Prudential Building on Trumbull Street. The new office includes a lot of co-working space and places for people to gather, Corea said. While that might not be good during an active pandemic, once COVID-19 is in the rear view the new office could be the beginning of a new kind of law office, where employees choose to work most days, even as they have flexibility to work from home. "I think that's going to be the case for law firms generally moving for- ward; more people are going to want to work remotely, and we're going to need less space," Corea said. "I think that's going to be part of the redesign of the modern law office, … making that space inviting and exciting to be in." Empire State draw More appealing workspace could also help draw more New York at- torneys to Hartford and Connecticut, a trend that seems to have gained steam since the onset of the pandem- ic, Corea said. Since March, Murtha has been receiving nearly triple the number of resumes from qualified New York attorneys than it previously did, Corea said. He wants to leverage that by in- creasing recruitment efforts, especial- ly at Murtha's Stamford and perhaps New Haven offices. "These are people who often live in Connecticut and commute into New York," Corea said. "We have a Stam- ford office, and we're antici- pating to recruit out of that pipeline." As Murtha recruits, Corea will be looking for attorneys that can beef up some of the firm's core practice areas like business, finance and real estate. But he's also keep- ing his eye out for attorneys who could help establish new practice areas. Just a few years ago Murtha didn't have an intellectual property group, and now it's one of the firm's largest practices. Corea said the first quarter of 2021 will likely be a challenging one, and things will improve slowly as COVID-19 vaccines become widely distributed. But pound-for-pound, he thinks Murtha is in a decent position to fortify and grow. "We think we're well positioned for 2021, despite all the uncertainty," Corea said. Murtha Cullina's new managing partner Corea rethinks firm office space, eyes NY recruitment Attorney Andy Corea will take over as Murtha Cullina's new managing partner on Jan. 1. FOCUS: PROFESSIONAL SERVICES PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED Murtha Cullina's new lobby at 280 Trumbull St. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED

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