Firm Managing Partner Melissa Jones was quoted on LAW.COM in an article titled “Under New Leadership, Stoel Rives Saw Revenue Boost, Profits Boom in 2020,” published February 25, 2021. Jones discussed how 2020 differed from what she expected when she assumed the managing partner role at the start of the year, how the firm did financially and otherwise during the pandemic, and what she sees for the future after vaccines are rolled out.
Jones said she had anticipated a lot of traveling during her first year as managing partner, but a trip she took to the firm’s office in Boise early in the year was her last one. A benefit of the forced grounding is that it led her to communicate with others in the firm more often than she did before. “Because of COVID I freed myself up to communicate in a more authentic style,” she said. “That was a good thing that came from it.”
Stoel Rives had a successful 2020 financially — a 9.6% increase in gross revenue and a 27.8% increase in profits per equity partner — though Jones believes the rate of growth will slow over the coming year. She noted the firm had more work than it had anticipated — despite the obstacles, clients continued to make deals, and the firm’s project finance, energy and infrastructure lawyers especially remained very busy. “Even more so than ever, clients were appreciative of having trusted advisers,” Jones said. “A lot of partners talked to their clients more frequently and got to know them in a different way because they’re on video calls and everyone is at home.”
Jones said she is optimistic about the rollout of the vaccine and what lays ahead. When attorneys and staff can return to their offices, the firm will take its experience from 2020 into consideration regarding a remote work policy, the development of which was put on hold once the pandemic started. “We want to make sure that whatever we do, we’re still maintaining our culture, still providing the mentoring and training that people still need. I think we’ve done well remote working because we have a strong foundation and a strong culture,” she said. “We’re trying to strike the right balance there.”