In an article published on September 20, 2019 in the Birmingham Business Journal, Ed Christian provides insight on the accelerating evolution of Birmingham’s legal industry and what this means for the city moving forward.

Birmingham’s legal sector is an industry that plays an increasingly important role in the city’s corporate community, its commercial real estate scene and its overall economy. This evolution has sparked considerable change in the legal market, resulting from both the rise and fall of longtime Birmingham firms and the shockwaves caused by higher-level national legal and corporate trends.

“I think Birmingham is a unique legal market for a city it’s size. It’s also heavily saturated, so competition for clients and lawyers is heavy… attracting strong talent is challenging,” Christian explains.

A variety of different industries – from steel to banking and health care – in Birmingham has shaped the legal community over the years. Law firms are now getting creative in how they offer services as they face more outside competition with companies like LegalZoom and non-traditional service providers.

“I think you’ll see the larger Birmingham firms continue to try to grow around the region and the country, for that matter,” he details. “It may be that a midsize or smaller firm does get acquired by another law firm that’s interested in getting into Alabama. I expect that to continue.”

For the full article, subscribers to the Birmingham Business Journal may click here.