This is an issue near and dear to the hearts of engaged managing partners.
One answer is given in an interview in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly with former Cognex GC Michael Steir. To him, it’s all about the lawyers:
Q. Does your company look for a law firm or a particular lawyer?
A. I don’t seek out law firms; I seek out lawyers within law firms. What I tend to do is interview several law firms for a project. If it’s [for] major patent litigation, I would go and talk with two, three or maybe four law firms and decide, based not on the managing partner but on the people who would actually be working on the project, trying to judge their willingness to work in other than a legal mode and, most importantly, their willingness to work with the client as a team.
So, when seeking to build a firm, is it better to merge with another or just pick some of these?
Update: Hmmm, certain minds think alike…