New York Legal Market 2025

A Strong Economy, Receding Recession Fears, and

Stable Interest Rates are Encouraging

But Volatility…Uncertainty…Nervousness on The Economy Are Concerning

Growing in New York is central to firm leaders’ plans to “boost practices and grow industry segments”. * In fact, two new M&A deals with New York firms involved are happening right now.

New York is so important to firms’ standing and growth trajectory. It’s home to the power alley practices. *

Against the backdrop of uncertainty, how are law firms actually responding to market conditions? Demand for legal services is down. Reality is fewer M&A deals; no capital markets activity, a lag in enforcement actions at federal agencies such as SEC, DOJ, FTC; but law firm M&A deals and what they mean in the New York market is a hot topic.

Pressure is increasing to implement financial discipline measures to monitor profitability, performance, productivity and efficiency gains. Collaboration with clients is a higher priority than ever. Opportunities for firms to help clients include collaboration on AI projects and client management of resources.

Questions We Will Discuss

What are key drivers of profitability?
What does it mean to compete?
How to create and manage change?
Will we see more mergers of firms? What are the key reasons for firms to merge? Why don’t mergers work out?
What are the “hot” practice areas now? Will restructuring, bridge loans; interim financing, and direct loans keep the partners busy?
How to plan for managing uncertainty

All-Star Faculty Includes Chairs, and Managing Partners,

Corporate Counsel, Legal Leaders, Advisors

Carmita Alonso

Partner, Member, Executive Committee,

Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, LLP,

New York

Francis J. Aquila

Partner, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP,

New York

Michael Bosworth

Partner, Deputy General Counsel,

Goldman Sachs, New York

Bob Bratt

Senior Advisor to the Global Managing Partner,

DLA Piper, Reston, VA

James C. Cofer

Managing Partner, Seward & Kissel LLP,

New York

Deborah L. de Vries

Partner, Co-Leader – Law Firm Group,

Anchin, Block & Anchin LLP,

New York

Justin Ergler

Former Director, Legal Operations, GlaxoSmithKline;

Principal, J Ergler Consulting,

Raleigh, NC

Rose Marie Glazer

Executive Vice President, General Counsel,

AIG, New York

Adam Hakki

Partner, Co-chair Executive Committee/ Board and U.S. Chair, A&O Shearman,

New York

Matthew D. Ingber

Managing Partner, New York Office,

Mayer Brown LLP, New York

Steven D. Lando

Partner, Co-Leader – Law Firm Group,

Anchin, Block & Anchin LLP,

New York

David B. Rich

Managing Director & Associate General Counsel,

BNY Mellon, New York

Nicole Levin Mesard

Deputy Presiding Partner,

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, New York

Mike Raposa

Chief Revenue Officer,

Williams Lea by RRD, Boston

Mat Rosswood

Chief Operating Officer,

Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP,

New York

Brian F. Schare

Chief Operating Officer,

Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP, New York

Y. David Scharf

Chair and Co-Managing Partner,

Morrison Cohen LLP,

New York

Michael J. Schmidtberger

Chair, Executive Committee,

Sidley Austin LLP, New York

Andrew Sussman

Vice Chairman, CBRE, Inc.,

New York

—Program Highlights—

9:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. EDT

State of the NY Legal Market

Growth plans. Coping with disruption and business downturn.
Reacting to business and economic downturn: hiring freeze, layoffs, scaling back hiring?
Financial discipline: profitability, pricing, fees and rates.
M&A, laterals, groups. Strategic and operational issues
Adjustments to budgets for the rest of 2025. Building recession proof strategies

Talent: M&A, Lateral Hiring, Groups and Working Differently

M&A; anatomy of the recent mergers (HSF and Kramer Levin, Schulte and McDermott)
Talent development: training partners, laterals and associates
Recruiting, hiring and integrating talent
Laterals and groups
Shifting attorneys to busy areas of practice
Hot practice areas including tariffs, international trade, distressed assets and restructuring
Working differently: what firms want now in their purpose-built space
Workplace design

What Clients Want—And Expect: How to Collaborate Effectively with Them

Client expectations vs. law firm reality
Interacting with firm legal and business teams
Record high billing rates
Who on the firm business side is “in the room” with representatives of clients?
AI strategy, policies for corporate law departments, and for financial institutions
Examples of collaboration with companies/clients

AI and Firm Strategy—What’s Next?

How AI is changing the delivery of legal services in law firms
Getting past the pilot stage
AI tools.
- Rolling out applications
- How are tools more efficient and productive?
Structuring data to use in large language models
Budgeting
- Predictive analysis and the budget process
- Firm attorney and matter budgets
New ways for firms to take advantage of AI for research and to improve forecasting and increase efficiency.
Training lawyers, staff
Business and enterprise risk
Use Cases

* Law.com, May 19, 2025

CLE credit has been applied for.

Questions? Email: ginarivera@sandpiperpartners.com OR Call 973-278-8800.

ABOUT THE ORGANIZER

Sandpiper Partners is an educational firm run by highly successful entrepreneur, Lynn Glasser, who has decades of experience producing educational solutions for law firms, law departments, legal vendors and information providers serving the legal industry. Sandpiper Partners presents seven Legal Market annual conferences in major U.S. legal centers from New York to Chicago to California and London. At Sandpiper Partners, the Glassers designed and implemented the first ever Executive MBA for Law Firm Managers. They founded the “Legal Times” in D.C.