Jeffrey MacHarg, managing partner of Fox Rothschild’s Charlotte office, sat down with Invest: to discuss the factors contributing to Charlotte’s continued success and growth, the state of the legal sector in the city, plans looking ahead, and more. “Leaders are constantly trying to achieve a work-life balance, and being based in a city with a strong ‘life’ component really helps in attracting talent,” he said.
What highlights and achievements defined the past 12 months for Fox Rothschild – Charlotte?
Just like any business, we are trying to increase revenue. As a law firm, we do this by increasing headcount and productivity. This office roughly doubled in size in the past year and did close to the same in revenue. Those are my two goals. That speaks a lot to both the overall firm’s commitment to the growth of our Charlotte office, as well as the growth of Charlotte as a young city. We have added attorneys from other firms who were looking for a better firm culture and platform to service Charlotte businesses that have legal needs beyond the Carolinas. We have also worked to add support staff and attorneys internally with people across the Fox platform looking to relocate to Charlotte because they see a business center on a serious upward trajectory and a great place to live and raise a family. Leaders are constantly trying to achieve a work-life balance and being based in a city with a strong “life” component really helps in attracting and keeping talent.
What differentiates your firm from others in the area?
A number of law firms have moved into Charlotte in the past 15 to 20 years. Many are national law firms merging with more historical North Carolina- and Charlotte-based firms. Fox Rothschild is no different; it merged with my legacy firm that had a 200-year history in the Carolinas. In terms of headcount and revenues, our firm may look a lot like some of the other national law firms that have hung up a shingle in Charlotte, but Fox is unique. Our platform is special with 30 offices nationwide, and in terms of client mix we proudly serve the middle market. We have an enormous client base. This sometimes creates challenges in terms of conflicts, but we recognize that the middle market is where growth happens. We want to partner with clients early on and help them as they grow. I think other national firms that have moved to town may have a different approach in terms of where they want to focus and grow their businesses with a smaller number of marquee clients. That is not who we are as a firm. Our focus on all markets also allows our attorneys to be entrepreneurs, bringing in smaller clients and taking on smaller matters that many other firms our size would pass on.
What challenges are your clients facing in today’s economic landscape, and how are you advising them accordingly?
Money is tight and the cost to get it is very high. This means it’s more expensive for clients to access the funds that they need not only to expand but also to operate. It is a huge challenge for clients attempting to navigate the current interest rate climate. Our sense is that business clients are less willing to take additional capital-intensive risks right now. As an operating business, our customers are taking slightly longer to pay. We also think that tightened capital markets mean fewer big construction projects and all the commerce that goes with them.
How has your firm had to grow and adapt in services to meet the needs of local and national clients over the next few years?
Businesses will always need lawyers. I do not see that demand sharply declining anytime soon, and the right people have a knack for making sure that business finds them. We look for good people who are willing to fully engage in the profession and also commit to growing their own individual businesses. Fox Rothschild is a very entrepreneurial firm. We encourage all of our lawyers to engage with the community and grow their own individual businesses. Fox is unique in many ways, in addition to proudly serving the middle market, we support a number of practice areas that firms of our size seem to avoid. For example, our Charlotte office has one of the best international adoption lawyers and practices in the country. Nationwide, we have trust and estate lawyers, and entertainment lawyers and we do family law. Not many 1,000-lawyer firms support these types of practices. For Fox, it starts with the people.
What advice do you have for new attorneys entering the field?
Fully engage. Lawyers who don’t get the most out big law are ones who think being a lawyer is a job, not a profession. Give it your all, because if you don’t, you’ll never know if it’s right for you. And big law is not for everyone, and that’s OK. It doesn’t make you a bad person or a bad lawyer if you don’t want to do what big law requires. And I think it’s important for younger lawyers to understand and assess this fit as early in their career as they can.
What is your outlook for Charlotte’s legal industry, and how does this inform your priorities?
I hope the capital markets free up a bit and that businesses return to a shorter AR cycle. I expect that to happen in the next couple of years. I do not expect there to be industrywide changes in the demand for legal services overall. Certainly, some industries go up and down. Luckily here in Charlotte and the rest of the region, the legal profession will grow as business and people continue to flock here. Businesses that are forward-thinking about work-life balance are shortsighted if they are not considering Charlotte. We have amazing weather, a world-class airport and so much else to offer families. My hope is that businesses will continue to keep us on the shortlist as they consider where they want to relocate headquarters and other significant operations. It is a great place to live and a great place to do business.
It takes a lot of effort to get the Charlotte brand out there as something more than a great place to live. I really do believe in Charlotte and that is the reason I invest in it.
