D.C. law firm Arent Fox names Mark M. Katz new chairman

Mar 9, 2010 — Washington Post

V. Dion Haynes

The Washington law firm Arent Fox said Monday that it has named longtime partner Mark M. Katz as its new chairman, a leadership change that comes as the legal sector copes with an economic downturn that has curtailed business and prompted layoffs.

Katz, 52, succeeds Marc L. Fleischaker, who served as chairman of the firm's executive committee for 14 years. Fleischaker will remain at the firm, concentrating on antitrust and civil rights cases.

Like many of its counterparts, Arent Fox has faced declining revenue as corporate clients cut back on legal work, particularly in commercial real estate and finance, Katz said Monday in an interview. Although the firm cut 13 associates and 15 staff members and is in the early stages of restructuring how it bills clients, Katz said Arent Fox wasn't hurt as deeply by the recession because it decided to grow more cautiously during the boom.

"Some of the firms that grew very rapidly and worked on a mega-international platform seem to be running into difficulties," he said. "We've grown on a patient pace, and that's helped us."

As of 2008, the latest year for which statistics from the economic development group Greater Washington Initiative are available, more than 40,000 lawyers worked in the Washington region, second only to the New York area. Nearly 64,000 people work in the legal profession in the Washington region, which employs more people in that sector on a per-capita basis than any U.S. metropolitan area.

But since those figures were collected, several major law firms have cut staff members, restructured or closed.

Last year, Latham & Watkins, one of the nation's largest law firms, laid off 190 lawyers and 205 paralegal and support staff. Other D.C. firms that cut personnel include Holland & Knight, Bryan Cave and Dechert. In December 2008, Heller Ehrman and Thelen, both with offices in the District, closed.

Hogan & Hartson is in the process of merging with London-based Lovells to create one of the world's largest law firms, with $1.8 billion in revenue and 2,500 lawyers in 40 offices.

Katz said the firm's regulatory, intellectual property, health-care, contracting and bankruptcy practices are thriving, and he expects the firm to expand significantly in the next several years. The firm has 350 lawyers in Washington, New York and Los Angeles and continues "to look for opportunities to open an office in Northern California that knits with our intellectual property practice and litigation practice," Katz said. "If we can grow to 550 to 600 [lawyers] -- that feels like a good size."

Arent Fox was established in Washington in 1942 and has 31 practice areas, including automotive, bankruptcy, intellectual property, real estate and telecommunications. Its clients include Marriott, Fannie Mae and AOL.

Katz, who led the firm's business department and specializes in commercial real estate, said he expects a recovery soon in the Washington area office market. The firm plans to lease space in 2013 in a building being constructed next to its offices at 1050 Connecticut Ave. NW.

"Private equity and development activity obviously are much lower than they've been," he said. "That will not persist -- we're expecting an uptick in activity to happen soon."

Fleischaker has served at the firm since 1971, becoming a partner seven years later. Under his leadership, the firm opened its Los Angeles office and expanded its New York operations. In 1982, he represented black workers who sued the Library of Congress for racial discrimination, arguing the agency was thwarting their advancement. The agency settled the case before trial, awarding millions of dollars to the plaintiffs.

Katz, who joined the firm in 1987, is married to Cynthia Hogan, counsel to Vice President Biden.