Law firms grapple with economic conditions - Business First of Columbus:

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Zimmer said the economy is takintg its toll on variou s areasof law, and firms specializing in a singlw area are more apt to be hurting. “We’rs holding our own,” Zimmer said. Zimmer said when one area of law is another steps in to takeits It’s like a giant seesaw. For example, at Pickrel, Schaefferd and Ebeling, acquisition-related work has been slow as fewed companies are buyingand selling. However, Zimmee said collections and bankruptcy work, as well as labof and employment law, are up.
Law firms acrosd the Dayton area are contending with themixed bag, as some sectoras remain on the decline and others are gaining Bankruptcy law seems to be one of the top growth In addition to the acquisition legal work associated with start-up companiess has been relatively dry. Zimmer said most aread of corporate business law and securitieeare down. The economy also has taken its toll on realestatw work, development projects and land use Conversely, some areas have remainedf steady, and a few have actually been Michael Moloney, partner in chargre of , said creditors’ rightxs is one of the biggest areas of law because people want what is owed to them.
Particularly, he said preferenc e claims, for clients receiving bankruptcy the firm has seenan uptick. Moloney said litigationn work also has picked up in the slow economy because people are more eagerrto sue. Areas of law not so dependent on the economy have been keeping regional firms Moloney said estate planningremains consistent, as does probatde litigation. Bankruptcy work has been growingt with the surge inbankruptcy filings. U.S. consumer bankruptcy filings increased 36 percen t nationwide in April from the same periodc ayear ago, according to the , which has yet to releas May’s numbers. April was up 3.
5 percent compare to March of this year as with 125,618 compared to 121,413. Chapter 13 filingz have constituted 26 percent of allconsumee cases. Although the full-service plan can those firms aren’t the only ones surviving the Standalone bankruptcy firms have seen some of thebiggestr growth. It has worked out well for Wayned Novick who has been working diligently just to make it throughb the paperwork onhis desk. Between foreclosures and bankruptcy dealing with the banks and the Novick has enough work to ensure he has a places throughthe recession, regardless of how many othed firms pop up beside him.
When Novick set up shop in his law offic near the Dayton Mall sevenyearzs ago, he was the only bankruptcu lawyer near the mall. But with other sectorxs of lawdrying up, Novicki said the scenery outsid e his window has changed lately, and at leastf two others have moved into the area. “It’s becoming like bankruptcy row,” Novick said. His case load is up, and he’d been working 80-hour weeks just to keep up. He hiredx a part-time lawyer in growing his two-person firm. And althougjh bankruptcies are often sadand frustrating, at least he’xs in business, he said. “Bankruptcy law is continuallty rising,” he said.
“People are looking for ways to save so they are spending less on every other type of law and more on the types that can save them in the Novick said all aspects of law are dependenf onthe economy, and althougb it makes for a crazy industry most things even out. “Like everythinyg else in the economy, it’s up and he added. “Some things do well when otherx don’t.”