Editors’ Note

Richard A. Rosenbaum is the Executive Chairman of Greenberg Traurig, a unified international law firm of more than 2,100 attorneys spanning 41 offices around the globe. Rosenbaum joined the firm in 1985 as its 90th lawyer and has since helped lead the firm’s growth across the Americas, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, navigating the changing times, while remaining fiercely devoted to serving the firm’s clients, lawyers, and staff. Most recently, Rosenbaum has taken a lead in the firm’s unique approach to coupling substantive excellence with the innovative and efficient delivery of legal services. Rosenbaum is widely known for his experience in a diverse range of industries, including real estate, entertainment, media, technology, investment and finance, representing companies of all sizes and many wealthy individuals and successful entrepreneurs over the years.

Whether it is leading and managing the firm and its lawyers or serving the firm’s clients, Rosenbaum’s focus remains the same: delivering business results which exceed expectations with an extraordinary sense of urgency, efficiency and excellence, while at the same time living the “old school” values of ethics, loyalty, family and personal accountability, which create long-term relationships and lasting trust across the decades.

Rosenbaum has been considered a thought and change leader in the broader legal profession, whether it relates to his devotion to delivering excellence and value to the firm’s clients or ensuring an open and fair playing field to diverse talent from all backgrounds, regardless of race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation. Before becoming Executive Chairman, in his roles as the firm’s Chief Executive Officer and President, Rosenbaum made clear his primary focus on high quality, excellent service and the collaborative, respectful and empowering culture of the firm. He is, therefore, particularly proud of his work in founding and developing the firm’s renowned and wide-ranging “Commitment to Excellence” program, which ensures that these values would be and remain core aspects of the firm’s global brand for years to come.

Firm Brief

Greenberg Traurig, LLP (gtlaw.com) has approximately 2100 attorneys in 41 locations in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. The firm has been recognized for its philanthropic giving, diversity, and innovation, and is consistently among the largest firms in the U.S. on the Law360 400 and among the Top 20 on the Am Law Global 100.

Greenberg Traurig recently announced its founding of “Recurve.” What was the thinking in creating Recurve and what is its purpose?

Recurve will be a first-of-its-kind global shared services platform. The intention is to ease open collaboration among clients, trusted legal advisors and tech, staffing, space, and other experts in services which support innovation, efficiencies, and value in the delivery of legal services.

While Greenberg Traurig is its founder, Recurve itself will not engage in the practice of law and will ultimately include a number of strategic members engaged in various of its core focus areas, including our firm as its founding member. Recurve’s core focus areas are intended to include innovations in technology solutions, artificial intelligence, project management, alternative staffing, novel space innovations and other developing aides for lawyers and clients which do not involve the actual practice of law.

Recurve will work outside the traditional legal model to provide previously unavailable tools and efficiencies in the legal ecosystem, bringing together diverse talents and resources across the globe in a collaborative platform aimed at industry-wide innovation to help attorneys and clients adapt to the rapidly changing legal landscape.

Recurve “architects” will also be working on
developing value-based budgeting and pricing; optimized staffing;
process innovation; creative and nimble office space solutions; and suggestions as to in-house legal functions and staffing.

We are pleased to establish this unique and nimble business, initially as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Greenberg Traurig. Utilizing investments by strategic partners involved in its core disciplines and other equity investors experienced in the space to fund its capital requirements and operational needs, Recurve has been designed as the first law-firm founded, third-party financed global collaboration platform solely focused on creative innovation in the support of the delivery of legal services.

This is an idea whose time has come, but which has not been tried before in the legal space. It is a platform where law firms and their clients can come together with providers of legal tech services, nimble staffing and real estate experts, artificial intelligence purveyors, and more. Consultants with Recurve advise clients as well as law firms on what services they might need and connect them to vendors who can supply solutions.

We do not know of any other such platform that exists, just like when Uber was created, we did not know of any other place that did what they do.

How will Recurve be staffed?

Recurve will be staffed by an experienced team of innovation “architects,” well versed in client needs, the advantages of the traditional law firm model and the wide array of growing resources in the legal innovation marketplace. This team will serve as the point of contact for Recurve’s clients to identify their needs and design appropriate solutions, but it will not itself execute them or otherwise engage in legal practice.

When it is determined that support or innovation solutions might be most possible outside the traditional law firm environment, Recurve experts will seek out best-in-class solutions from its strategic members and others based solely on what is deemed best for its clients, and then coordinate and facilitate the delivery of those solutions.

What is the initial focus for Recurve?

The initial focus will be on creating and leveraging advanced technology solutions and products. Recurve “architects” will also be working on developing value-based budgeting and pricing; optimized staffing; process innovation; creative and nimble office space solutions; and suggestions as to in-house legal functions and staffing.

Recurve has been designed as the first law-firm founded,
third-party financed global collaboration platform solely focused on
creative innovation in the support of the delivery of legal services.

How will this new entity help lawyers?

Recurve will look to add unique value to lawyers and their firms, clients, and service providers alike. It will help lawyers meet client demands for innovation, without themselves making significant investments in people, process, and technology. Also, traditional law firms will find value in that Recurve will help them address the capital and operational challenges they face as a result of client demand for better, faster, and more value-based services in an ever-changing marketplace.

How does Recurve provide value to clients?

Recurve will help clients achieve greater value for their legal spend, taking advantage of cutting-edge technologies and other legal support service solutions, without sacrificing the personal involvement and other benefits provided by their trusted legal counselors and advisors.

If everything goes according to plan, clients will also gain the benefit of Recurve’s objective judgment as to the best available solutions, rather than being forced to use the solutions or products their law firms or other service providers happen to use or own, whether or not current or the best for that client.

Recurve will look to add unique value to lawyers and their firms,
clients, and service providers alike. It will help lawyers meet client
demands for innovation, without themselves making significant
investments in people, process, and technology.

How does this type of service affect others in similar spaces?

Tech, staffing, space, and so-called alternative legal service providers will benefit by focusing on their specific areas of expertise while benefitting from Recurve’s broad industry and geographic knowledge and reach, customer base and collaborative strategic members.

How will Recurve be managed?

I have worked with others in the multi-year planning and execution of this effort. They include Shareholder Thomas B. Romer of the firm’s Denver office, a leader in the firm’s innovation efforts, Jarosław Grzesiak, the managing shareholder of the law firm’s Warsaw, Poland office, and a support committee of shareholders and business staff managers appointed by the firm’s Executive Committee earlier this year.

Where will Recurve be headquartered?

Recurve will set up headquarters in Warsaw, Tel Aviv and Denver, with operations in strategically selected locations, including Austin, Texas; Berlin, Germany; and South Florida.