Michael Scott, Co-Managing Partner, Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP
In an interview with Invest:, Michael Scott, co-managing partner of Nutter, discussed the firm’s recent successes in transactional practice despite macroeconomic challenges, their strategic focus in Boston’s legal landscape, and the impact of geographic expansion on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.
Could you provide an overview of the firm’s presence and its focus on Boston’s legal landscape?
The broader macroeconomic environment, particularly high interest rates and persistent inflation, have resulted in a slight slowdown in some transactional practice areas. However, we’re now seeing incremental signs of positive progress, with increased M&A and real estate transactions in the first half of the year.
More broadly speaking, Nutter continues to grow in both core areas and geographically. Our litigation practice has been growing strong over the past two years. Additionally, we’ve expanded geographically with new offices in New York and California. We are excited by the type and quality of talent that is attracted to Nutter’s entrepreneurial model and we expect to continue to open new offices across the country as our team grows and evolves.
What have been some of Nutter’s recent successes in transactional practice?
Our transactional team continues to see a significant volume of opportunities and successes in the corporate and real estate sectors: last year we managed more than 330 commercial property acquisitions, oversaw 220 permitting projects, and negotiated over 3,000 leases. A number of these transactions were significant in their categories; to illustrate, last year we were involved in the second-largest banking deal of 2023 with Eastern Bank and we recently completed the largest downtown office building acquisition in Boston in the past five years.
What trends are you observing in the legal sector, and how are these shaping your firm’s strategy?
Longstanding trends are becoming more pronounced. Large law firms continue to grow both geographically and in size. This creates talent acquisition opportunities for Nutter; many lawyers, especially those in the top 50 national firms, highly value Nutter’s model. We offer an entrepreneurial platform that allows our partners to meet client needs effectively at reasonable rates. The lawyers attracted to our team, including those recently joined from our California office, want to engage more directly and dynamically with clients. This aligns with growing opportunities for our firm to provide high-quality legal services more flexibly and cost-effectively.
How are you leveraging technology in your practice, and what are some of the challenges and opportunities this brings?
In Boston, with its significant life sciences presence, technology, machine learning and AI are rapidly transforming the landscape. These advancements are relevant across all practice areas, from intellectual property to life sciences. We’re actively discussing how machine learning is changing the nature of our work.
Internally, we are highly attentive to the role of AI and machine learning and their potential impact on our business. Our IT leadership is looking ahead to how technological developments in the market could disrupt traditional practices and identifying the opportunities that provide new value for our clients. For example, we are incorporating new technologies in areas such as litigation, where the processing of data has evolved significantly.
How has geographic expansion influenced your DEI efforts?
Our geographic expansion has significantly bolstered our DEI initiatives. Many of the individuals we’ve recruited through this expansion have been women and people of color, reflecting the diverse communities in our new locations like California and New York. These regions offer unique demographic profiles that enrich our firm’s diversity.
We are committed to not only keeping DEI at the forefront of our operations but also to holding ourselves accountable with data tracking and internal reporting. While recruiting diverse talent is crucial, the greater challenge—and reward—lies in retention and creating an inclusive culture. Ensuring equal opportunities for everyone within our firm is our most significant effort. It requires a lot of work but is vital for building a truly diverse community. This focus on accountability is central to our DEI strategy.
What are the top priorities for the firm over the next couple of years?
Our focus is improving performance to meet the pace of a the competitive environment. We have measurable goals, which include recruiting top talent from across the country. We’re actively exploring demographic changes and opportunities in various regions, such as the Carolinas, Florida, and Texas, especially in sectors like technology, real estate, and wealth management.
We aim to grow our firm’s revenue by 7 to 10% annually and have been successful in achieving this goal year over year. Our growth reflects the quality and expertise of the people who join our team. A key to attracting that type of talent is our relatively flat management structure and an intentional approach that fosters entrepreneurship and flexibility. This model encourages our team to propose new ideas and we have shown that we are prepared to invest in opportunities that reflect a viable business case. A testament to this strategy is our successful food and beverage practice, which has become a significant component of our corporate practice. We’re expanding this sector by bringing on a new team next month, further enhancing our capabilities in this niche area.
