Rhea Law tells Michelle Rivera how this law firm has grown more than 50% by erasing geographic boundaries in its offices throughout the state.

Over the last five years, Fowler White Boggs Banker law firm has gone from four offices to 10, and 150 lawyers to 230. Tampa, Fla.-based Fowler White Boggs Banker has grown with its client base in a number of ways. Florida doesn’t have many Fortune 100, 200, or 500 firms, and according to Rhea Law, CEO and president, Fowler White may soon become one. “We focus on providing the best, most efficient, and effective responsive service for our clients while adding value to every engagement as we continue our growing process.”

To support its dramatic growth, the firm reorganized its administrative and legal structure several years ago. Originally, Fowler White had a large board of directors and 35 departments. Today, the board of directors consists of five people and the firm has three departments and 14 practice groups. “We erased all the geographic and operational boundaries so we operate across all of our geographic locations seamlessly,” Law said.

Rhea Law

Engaged in the multidisciplinary practice of law, Fowler White can no longer address one finite issue for a client, explained the chief executive. “Our clients’ issues span all the practice areas in our firm, and sometimes beyond that. It’s important we get a multidisciplinary approach to the practice of law, and that means streamlining the different practice groups so we leverage synergy from other practices.”

Growth by consolidation
Fowler White’s areas of focus are in commercial, corporate, security and financial litigation, transactional practices, and complex class actions and jury trials. The firm also has the largest land and real estate regulatory practice in the state. Law said Fowler White is always testing to see if it’s meeting its goals in particular locations. For instance, the firm is planning to consolidate its West Palm Beach and Boca Raton offices to its office in Ft. Lauderdale in mid-February, which will take the firm from 10 to nine offices. This will be done because Fowler White has a much stronger client base in the Ft. Lauderdale region.

In addition, a strong presence in Jacksonville prompted Fowler White to open an office in that region. The firm opened that office with just four lawyers and has since grown significantly, with now 14 lawyers.

“Extraordinary client service is what we focus on and is what sets us apart. We establish strong relationships with our clients and become partners with them. We take our clients goals and help them implement a process so they can achieve them,” Law said.

Fowler White has heavily invested in technology to make sure it is as efficient as possible across all of its locations. Video conferencing is now available in all of its offices, enabling lawyers to directly talk to each other and their clients. Direct dial telephones with four digit numbers were put in place, making it easy for clients to call and get in contact with a lawyer no matter their location. Podcasts and electronic newsletters are used to update clients frequently on emerging issues of business and the law.

“This has been extremely beneficial,” said Law. “I had a client call in last week and had a question about a state legislative action that was passed. I was able to call up one of our lawyers in Tallahassee, and he said he helped write that law and was able to explain it to me. That’s as direct as you can get.”

Internal benefits
According to Law, one of the most important things at Fowler White is the focus on not only its clients, but also the focus on its people. “We are very blessed to have great support staff; we want to make sure they are challenged and happy with their work, and when everyone is working together for the benefit of the client, that makes for a good law firm,” she said.

To help keep employees feeling simultaneously satisfied and challenged, the firm developed Fowler White University, a combination of inhouse training programs with internal and external speakers. “We have seen in today’s research that people are looking for more training that makes them better at their job. People feel better knowing their capabilities are enhanced, which is why we provide these programs for a range of people within our firm.”

For a law firm that has been growing so quickly, one of the issues is to make sure the new people coming in can integrate well with the rest of the firm. To help facilitate that, the firm developed a program called Leadership Fowler White, a class brought together every six months that pairs new lawyers with veteran lawyers.

“We try to make sure all new lawyers get around to every office, get trained on all equipment, and get exposed to the right clients,” Law said. “Everyone benefits if we use each other’s resources. It helps for an integrated workforce that can focus on the strategic plan and the goals we have established for ourselves.”