Dykema recently appointed Dallas appellate guru and office managing member Christopher Kratovil as its national recruiting partner.
The Detroit-based firm opened in Dallas in 2007 and has quadrupled its headcount in the office since Kratovil joined in 2011, a move he described as “one of the best professional decisions” he has made.
The passionate Notre Dame and University of Texas School of Law alumnus assumed leadership of the nearly 50-lawyer office five years ago. Kratovil shares why the national recruiting partner gig is the only additional management role he would have said “yes” to in this Q&A with The Lawbook.
The Texas Lawbook: What are your goals for leading the national recruiting at Dykema?
Kratovil: If a law firm isn’t growing it is necessarily shrinking; attrition is inevitable as attorneys retire, go in-house, go on the bench, and, of course, sometimes join rival firms. It’s impossible to remain static. So lateral recruiting is essential to law firms, much like swimming is to sharks; stop swimming and you die. In terms of specific goals, we intend to continue to grow Dykema in Texas, which now represents about 1/4 to 1/3 of our firm’s headcount. We’ve recently hired a pair of high quality bankruptcy lawyers in Houston, and we’d like to visit with more lawyers in Houston. Beyond Texas, we have a great office in LA that reminds me a lot of our Dallas office when I joined it a decade ago, and I’d like to find the sort of lateral growth in LA that we achieved in Dallas.
The Lawbook: Will someone else be charged with leading the Dallas office efforts?
Kratovil: In a fit of clinical insanity, I will also be staying on as the managing member of the Dallas office.
The Lawbook: Which practice areas are you focused on building for the firm’s Texas offices? What about any other recruiting emphases/strategies?
Kratovil: In the NFL Draft, the received wisdom is draft for talent, not for need; “take the best player on the board.” I think a similar principle applies to law firm recruiting. I’m a great believer in finding lawyers who are cultural and economic fits here at Dykema, rather than targeting specific practice areas. I am more interested in who the lawyer is as a person, the economics of their practice, and who here at Dykema knows and can vouch for them, than I am in what their particular legal specialty or sub-specialty. If a potential lateral can make a pragmatic business case for themselves, I’m eager to talk with them, regardless of their practice area.
The Lawbook: Outside of Texas, where do you anticipate focusing your efforts for the firm?
Kratovil: Dykema has existing and strong offices in Chicago and LA that could use some reinforcements. We are the leading law firm in Michigan, and we want to maintain that status — which requires strong lateral recruiting. Our Washington, D.C. office has experienced robust growth over the last two years, and I want to continue that.
The Lawbook: What do you attribute to your success in helping quadruple Dykema’s Dallas office?
Kratovil: I am very proud of what we’ve achieved in Dallas, and I think our growth in this market is attributable to several factors. First, our successful combination with San Antonio-based Cox Smith transformed Dallas from an outpost office that was Dykema’s only presence in Texas outside of a few attorneys in Austin to the nexus point between the firm’s Midwestern core and Texas. Second, we’ve had a great deal of success with relationship-based recruiting; hiring laterals who have a strong connection to an incumbent Dykema lawyer, such as college or law school classmates, colleagues from former firms, or former co-counsel on prior matters. Third, we’ve made some non-traditional hires by bringing on lawyers who are leaving government or judicial service, or transitioning back into private practice from an in-house position. Fourth, we’ve made some outstanding associate hires, and successfully retained associates as they have matured into accomplished senior lawyers.
The Lawbook: What is your favorite interview question?
Kratovil: With litigators I like to ask “tell me about a case in which you are still mad about the result.”
With transactional lawyers it becomes, “tell me about a big deal that fell apart at the 11th hour.”
The Lawbook: Is there anything else you would like to add?
Kratovil: At the start of 2021 I was thinking about scaling back, rather than ramping up, my role in firm management; I have a very active commercial litigation and appellate docket. But I truly love lateral recruiting and I believe in what I am selling our lateral recruits — the collegial culture of the Dykema firm. In other words, this national recruiting partner role is literally the only additional management role that I would have said “yes” to.