Chamberlain Hrdlicka Hires New COO, First-Ever Chief Business Development, Marketing Officer

0
Chamberlain Hrdlicka Hires New COO, First-Ever Chief Business Development, Marketing Officer

Focusing on its C-suite, Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Aughtry hired a new chief operating officer and added its first chief business development and marketing officer as the Houston-founded firm strives to expand its reputation beyond its tax practice.

“We want people to realize we are more than the nationally recognized tax firm. … The board has committed to building out a team of internal folks,” managing shareholder Larry Campagna said.

The goal is strategically expanding the firm, Campagna said, and also other areas, such as developing new practice management techniques, and growing collaboration among lawyers and different practice groups.

“There’s just a number of things where we thought both of these folks would help the firm move forward,” he said.

Erin Hulme, former business director at Greenberg Traurig’s Houston office, joined Chamberlain Hrdlicka on Sept. 30, and Lisa Wilmore, who was business development manager at Gray Reed, joined the firm in July. Chamberlain Hrdlicka announced both hires on Tuesday.

Campagna said the Houston-founded firm is focused on strategic growth, and aims to build out the firm’s corporate and litigation sections to “have them obtain the same kind of recognition in the marketplace that our tax practice has.”

According to the firm, Hulme will work on key initiatives linked to the firm’s strategic plan, and Wilmore will focus on expanding the firm’s brand and its approach to business development.

For the first time this year, the firm was included on the Am Law 200, capturing the final spot on the list of the nation’s highest-grossing firms with $126.4 million in revenue in 2023. Boosted by heightened IRS enforcement that led to strong demand for the firm’s tax practice, Chamberlain Hrdlicka increased revenue by 17%, revenue per lawyer by 8.6%, and profits per equity partner by 20.2% in 2023.

Hulme said she joined the firm because of its clear vision, and plans to work on efficiency, innovation and increasing the culture of collaboration. Chamberlain Hrdlicka has added lawyers and offices over the years, but she sees her role as guiding the firm into its “next transformation.”

She succeeds John Meredith as COO. Meredith is now director of mentoring and general counsel for the Houston non-profit SpringSpirit, according to his LinkedIn page.

Wilmore said she’s worked for a variety of firms through her career, but a midsize firm is a “really exciting place to be,” because they can be very nimble.

Also, as the firm’s first chief business development and marketing officer, Wilmore said, she has the opportunity to work closely with the firm’s lawyers and to “step in from the ground up and build something.”

As for 2024, Campagna said the firm’s revenue may drop a little, because the firm lost a number of lawyers during the year, but profitability will be about the same as in 2023.

“As long as the profitability is good, I don’t worry too much,” he said.

The firm has more than 150 lawyers in Houston, Atlanta, San Antonio and Philadelphia.

The departures in 2024 include a nine-lawyer team of tax lawyers, including five shareholders, that joined Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough in Houston; a five-lawyer team that moved to Bradley Arant Boult Cummings in Atlanta in April; and two international tax controversy lawyers who joined Akerman as partners in Atlanta in July.

Asked to comment on Wilmore’s departure, Gray Reed managing partner Kyle Sanders, provided this statement: “I am thrilled for Lisa Wilmore and her new and well-deserved promotion with our friends at Chamberlain Hrdlicka. Lisa excelled in every way during her service with Gray Reed, and I am confident she will continue to produce excellent results and build lasting relationships, just as she did here.”

A spokesperson for Greenberg Traurig provided this comment on Hulme’s departure: ‘”We wish her well.”

link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *