Murtha Cullina’s new managing partner Corea rethinks firm office space, eyes NY recruitment

Photo | Contributed Attorney Andy Corea is Murtha Cullina’s managing partner.

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By Sean Teehan

Andy Corea says one of the most significant effects 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 processes and opened up recruitment opportunities 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, recruiting 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 intellectual 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 budgets in doubt, Corea said. Additionally, social distancing requirements made regular court proceedings impossible.

"Clients were on their heels, clients were uncertain," Corea said. "Everybody restricted legal spending, and courthouses closed."

However, as it became necessary for law firms to lean on remote platforms 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 history 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 Hartford 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 forward; 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 attorneys to Hartford and Connecticut, a trend that seems to have gained steam since the onset of the pandemic, 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 increasing recruitment efforts, especially 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 Stamford office, and we're anticipating 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 keeping 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.

Photo | Contributed

Murtha Cullina’s new lobby at 280 Trumbull St.

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