On June 23, The Daily Journal published its annual list of the 20 largest Southern California law firms. Gordon & Rees moved up from #20 to #15, resulting in the strongest advancement among all firms on the list. Despite the year's challenging economic environment, Gordon & Rees grew its regional presence to more than 150 lawyers.
As the article explains, "Last year's severe recession took its toll on Southern California's biggest law firms, as clients pulled back on legal spending and firms downsized hundreds of lawyers. This proved to be a boon to mid-size firms, which grew in their wake." The article noted that "six of the largest firms took a tumble in the rankings (accounting for a loss of 172 attorney positions)," but Gordon & Rees continued expanding its offices in Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Diego.
The 2010 rankings prove Gordon & Rees's strategic ability to gain business and lateral hires in the competitive legal marketplace. As firmwide Managing Partner Dion Cominos explained, "We're looking pretty aggressively at growth and adding on laterals who are either coming from smaller platforms and would like to be at a national firm or who are at national or international firms, but are being forced to charge rates that are pricing themselves out of the market?[Gordon & Rees] has a cost structure that will allow them to price more competitively."