2 min read November 2023 — Invest: spoke with Keith Burns, managing partner at Maynard Nexsen, about the recent merger that expanded his organization’s geographical area, maintaining a sense of culture in a hybrid environment and how his firm serves the local community.
How does the recent merger help to better serve clients?
The merger has been a fantastic success. It took two years to plan and contemplate the merger so we could guarantee a consistency of culture across the two firms, which is vitally important to us and our clients. The merger greatly expands the geography in which we can serve our clients. We went from eight offices in the Carolinas to 24 offices coast-to-coast. We can also provide greater levels of expertise because we have more than doubled our number of attorneys to more than 550. Not only does this broaden our bench strength in existing practice areas, but it also adds niche expertise to our firm, which adds more value for our clients.
What services are currently in high demand amongst your clients?
It is pretty much business as usual with a steady demand across all sectors. There may be a slight uptick in creditors’ rights work, and some downturn in commercial real estate and lending, which is driven by the current economic conditions.
What are some key challenges in the legal sector right now and how is your firm mitigating those challenges?
The main thing is inflation and interest rates, which are real challenges. In commercial real estate, there are issues with the state of the office market, and the question of hybrid work or whether employees will come back to the office. There is a lot of uncertainty there. I am hopeful that things will shake out over the next six to twelve months, as inflation becomes clearer and reduces, and as interest rates stabilize. Our clients can operate at higher rates, but they need to have some stability over time. Rates don’t have to be low for the economy to work. The Firm is waiting on economic clarity and making sure that we have people who are prepared to address workouts and insolvencies that may come if the economy doesn’t turn the corner.
How is technology being leveraged in the legal realm?
This interview was on Zoom last year, and it’s on Zoom again this year. Video conferencing is here to stay. I prefer interacting over video, and there is something to being able to see people that you don’t get on the telephone. I can put a construction drawing on the screen and talk it through with a client. This creates some efficiencies and cost savings which are here to stay. That said, in-person interaction is important. A remote work environment makes it more difficult to build a sense of culture and provide consistent training opportunities. People need to be in the office for that, so senior folks can train junior people and maintain a sense of culture. We were back early to the office, and we remained there. We are here to collaborate and help clients.
How are you involved in serving the community?
Across our offices, we are committed to making time for lawyers to be engaged. The Firm offers time for employees to provide non-legal services, and many Maynard Nexsen employees are active in community organizations. The firm makes cash contributions to community organizations when we have a lawyer or staff involved in an organization and advocating for a contribution. We are very active with pro-bono work, where we serve public causes, and have a committee that monitors and encourages that work.
How does the firm continue to contribute to the legal landscape?
We are so fortunate to have a presence in Raleigh and in the Triangle community where we have the opportunity to work with companies that range from early-stage startups that create new products and services to established public and private companies. We are also active in economic development, including the effort to attract companies to our region. We are also active in the development of real estate that provides opportunities for business expansion, shopping, housing and other spaces. We are excited to advise and foster the growth of our clients in the local business ecosystem. It creates great opportunities for people in the triangle and people coming to the triangle.
What is your outlook for the legal sector over the next few years?
We continue to do the basic things that good lawyers do to provide great client services. The impact of AI on the legal community is something we must embrace and understand. It will help us to deliver services to our clients, while hopefully not creating problems or issues. We can’t ignore AI, so it is something for us to watch as the technology continues to evolve.
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