For GRSM, Growth Has Come Through a Unique Coast-to-Coast Strategy
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In growing a law business, there are milestones, and then there are milestones.
For one firm, it’s evident in their tagline: “Your 50-State Law Firm.” Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, or GRSM, is the only firm in the U.S. with offices in every state, and reaching that 50-state milestone in 2019 has led not only to a unique distinction, but to faster growth.
It continues to grow and add new offices, especially in Southern California - where there is a need to service clients in its large cities - but also in the Central Valley and Inland Empire. It opened offices in Ontario in 2021 and Ventura County in 2024.
Revenue has more than doubled at the San Francisco-based firm since it opened in Hawaii in 2019, the last state needed to achieve its goal. This year, it’s on pace to surpass $900 million in revenue this year and could surpass $1 billion in the near future. That’s compared to $351 million in revenue in 2019, when the Hawaii office opened.
“We keep getting more - and bigger - work from the largest companies in America,” said Miles Scully, a name partner with the firm who is credited as the architect of its growth strategy. “We hit a need that most people didn’t know existed for one firm to cover all 50 states. It means that a general counsel could call one attorney for all of their legal problems.”
Scully and firm managing partner Dion Cominos started working with the firm when it had a single office in San Francisco with 40 attorneys and have been integral leaders of the firm’s expansion.
GRSM’s total attorney headcount has grown to 1,682 attorneys as of March 1, which makes it one of the 15 largest firms in the country. There are an additional 1,443 staff employed across its 82 offices firmwide.
Moreover, growth has come organically through hiring rather than by merger or acquisition. Firm leadership traveled to many different states to recruit attorneys to join the firm. In some instances, it has added groups of attorneys, but it has refrained from making wholesale acquisitions, which could be problematic and come with unknown liabilities.
“We have very motivated, educated, ambitious people and we haven’t had a problem with allowing people to work remotely or part-time to fit their lifestyle,” said Cominos.
With offices in every state, the firm can offer consistent pricing while handling litigation and transactions anywhere rather than needing to partner with a local or regional firm for cases or transactions where it doesn’t have a location. Clients know that they can call the firm and it can handle work in all locales. For employees, a collateral advantage has been the ability to stay with the firm without sacrificing a job should a spouse need to relocate. Plus, during the pandemic, employees were able to relocate and still remain with the firm as it has offices nationwide.
These regional offices can accommodate employees by shortening commute times and aid remote employees who don’t need to be in an office every day. By meeting the needs of its employees with flexible work arrangements when needed, offering regional offices and by utilizing technology to keep employees connected, it has built a diverse workforce with low attrition rate, including 25% female ownership, among the upper tier of large firms.
“We and our clients believe that having a diverse law firm is a symbol of strength. At the same time, that can be accomplished in a lawful way without quotas and discrimination. We promote the best people. There doesn’t have to be this feeling that firms can’t be diverse, they just need to use legal means to get there,” said Cominos.
Running a firm as large as GRSM, let alone one with locations in every state, can present challenges. Cominos explained that each state has a separate bar association that regulates lawyers. Employment laws vary state-by-state, but those challenges are similar for all large companies. There are also complexities with filing tax returns in every state, but he said that the benefits of aggregation have far outweighed any of the challenges.
“We would have regressed,” Cominos said, if it were not for the growth. Instead, “we’re taking business from regional firms. It’s been well worth it.”
