Like most law firms, K&L Gates LLP faces headwinds. The recession
has cut demand for many corporate legal services, including work on
mergers, real estate and corporate finance. In turn, profits at firms
across the country have plummeted, forcing many of them to fire
attorneys, freeze salaries and shut offices.
Peter Kalis, chairman
of the 1,800-lawyer K&L firm, has felt the pain first hand. He cut
costs sharply this year, including firing about 40 attorneys and 200
other staff members.
But the 59-year-old West Virginia native -- a
Rhodes Scholar, Yale Law School graduate and clerk for Supreme Court
Justice Byron White -- hasn't curtailed his expansion ambitions.
In
the last two years, he has overseen mergers with firms in Chicago,
North Carolina and Texas, and he has opened offices abroad, including in
Singapore, Frankfurt and Dubai. His Pittsburgh law firm now ranks among
the nation's largest, with 33 offices around the globe.
And Mr. Kalis shows no signs of slowing down. "Downturns can present
extraordinary growth opportunities," he says. "But if you are lost in
navel gazing and you don't have your head beams on high looking down the
road, you'll miss the opportunities."
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