If the hiring of five pricing-related Chief Officers in 2018 could be characterized as momentum, then last year the legal industry was in full acceleration mode.
In 2019, five law firms hired a Chief Pricing Officer — more than double any prior year. In addition, two law firms hired pricing-related Chiefs, bringing the total to seven: the first time seven C-suite leaders have been hired in the same year.
Also in 2019, Akin Gump filled its Chief Practice Officer position, and Steptoe filled its Chief Strategic Pricing & LPM Officer position, giving the legal industry a total of 20 Chief “Pricing” Officers. (Berger Singerman, Simpson Thacher and Stinson Leonard Street no longer have a Chief.)
Based on the last two years of record-setting growth, and using recent history as a guide, the legal industry is set for another record-setting year. In fact, we could witness the first double-digit hiring (10+)!
YEAR | FIRM | TITLE | NAME |
2019 | Baker McKenzie | Chief Services Officer | David Cambria, Esq. |
2019 | Barnes & Thornburg | Chief Legal Operations Officer | Jared Applegate |
2019 | Eversheds Sutherland | Chief Pricing & Value Officer | Dwight Floyd |
2019 | Ice Miller | Chief Pricing Officer | Ellen De Rosa |
2019 | McCarter & English | Chief Pricing & Practice Management Officer | Alex Macdonald, Esq. |
2019 | Orrick | Chief Pricing Officer | Andrew Baw |
2019 | Womble Bond | Chief Pricing & Business Analysis Officer | Keith Dunn |
2018 | Ballard Spahr | Chief Client Value Officer | Melissa Prince, Esq. |
2018 | Bergman Singerman | Chief Pricing & LPM Officer | Eddie Raychaudhuri, Esq.* |
2018 | Blank Rome | Chief Innovation & Value Officer | Linda Novosel, Esq.* |
2018 | Goulston & Storrs | Chief Value Officer | Christopher Ende, Esq. |
2018 | Pepper Hamilton | Chief Pricing Officer | Peter Secor |
2018 | Shearman & Sterling | Chief Knowledge & Client Value Officer | Meredith Williams-Range, Esq. |
2017 | Robins Kaplan | Chief Strategy, Pricing & LPM Officer | Bree Johnson, Esq. |
2016 | Perkins Coie | Chief Practice Management Officer | Toby Brown* |
2016 | Simpson Thacher | Chief Pricing Officer | Eddie Raychaudhuri, Esq. |
2016 | Stinson Leonard Street | Chief Strategy & Pricing Officer | Doug Doerfler |
2015 | Covington & Burling | Chief Strategic Pricing Officer | Hushman Cott, Esq. |
2015 | Steptoe & Johnson | Chief Strategic Pricing & LPM Officer, Chief Client Value Officer | Linda Novosel, Esq. |
2015 | Bryan Cave | Chief Practice Economics Officer | Chris Emerson |
2014 | Greenberg Traurig | Chief Pricing Officer | Matthew Beekhuizer |
2014 | Akin Gump | Chief Practice Officer | Toby Brown |
2010 | Drinker Biddle | Chief Value Officer | Kristin Sudholz |