The Big Book: Interview
on Dec. 18. Following is an edited tran- script of that conversation.
Virginia Business: Tell me about your vision for McGuireWoods’ future. Harmon: I think Richard and Tom did an incredible job transforming our firm over the 11-plus years they were here from what I’ll call a super-regional firm to a truly national firm … I believe our next step is to take our incredibly successful firm and become a national powerhouse. That encompasses a lot of different things, and it’s certainly not something that is going to happen quickly or easily. But I really believe with the quality of people and the level of excellence that has been instilled in our firm … we will ultimately be successful.
VB: The legal profession has changed considerably since the recession. How do you see it changing going forward? Harmon: I think some of the things we’ve seen are going to be some things we’ll continue to see. As you know, technology has played a huge role in how we deliver legal services to our clients and the expecta- tions of our clients and how they judge our results … A large part of our strategic plan is innovation … [The Financial Times recently named the firm] the third-most innovative firm in North America. We’re really proud of that. Regardless of what changes come, we’ll be ready to adapt.
VB: So, you are now at 1,100 lawyers. Do you have a goal as to how big you want to be? Harmon: I don’t have a goal in terms of the number of lawyers we have. Our growth has never been in regards to numbers. Our growth has always been in response to our clients. The right size is the size that allows us to be successful with serving our clients. We are always looking for opportunities to grow in the right places in the right spaces.
VB: You talked about becoming a national powerhouse. What would tell you that you have arrived? Harmon: I think it is a component of three things. We would be recognized, sought after and as a result of those two things … the profitability of the firm would increase as well. There are obviously a lot of different measures for being sought after, but what we shoot for … is solving our
46 MARCH 2018
“I don’t have a goal in terms of the number of lawyers we have. Our growth has never been in regards to numbers. Our growth has always been in response to our clients.”
— Jonathan Harmon
clients’ most complex problems.
VB: You are the first African-American to head the firm. What is the significance of that? Harmon: Becoming the first African- American to lead our firm has been incredibly exciting and exhilarating, but also somewhat saddening, because the legal industry is very underrepresented when it comes to lawyers of color … There were many great women and men who could have been the chairperson at this firm very easily. I’m really humbled and honored to be selected. That selection didn’t come just by my own doing. As with anything when you are the first in your organization, there are a lot of people who went before me … I grew up on Long Island, and I went to see my grandmother in Brooklyn. She was a big Jackie Robinson fan, and she would go to the [Brooklyn Dodgers] games. She would tell me stories about Jackie Robin- son. … He became the first in his field [to break the color barrier, but] he didn’t do that by himself. And I feel the same way. There are some lawyers who are still here that are trailblazers who helped to bring me here. One of them was George Martin [the managing partner of the firm’s Richmond office who was the first African-American rector of the University of Virginia board of visitors] … I recognize I didn’t do this on my own. Many people have paved the way for me. I am excited about it, and hope it
will inspire people in other places.
VB: You have a number of programs to recruit and retain minorities. Tell us about that. Harmon: We’re proud of where we are. Thirty percent of our leadership are either lawyers of color or are women, but we can still do better … We elevated diversity and inclusion a few years ago to be a core value. We also put together a Diversity Action Council [which] allows us to take a closer look, department by department, on how we are doing from a diversity standpoint, and we will continue to do that. We have a ways to go. We are not there yet, but we’ve made significant strides.
VB: Are you reaching out to high schools or middle schools [for potential recruits]? Harmon: We do. There is a program [Partnership For The Future] that identi- fies high school students here in the Richmond and Petersburg areas who have an interest in law. We partner with them to help bring some of them on to work with McGuireWoods. We have one-on-one mentoring with some of them … who may not have the opportunity otherwise to experience something like this because of where they live. And that’s what really struck me about this program. There’s a subset of people in any major metropolitan area who are very talented who may never get exposed to something like this, like
Photo by Rick DeBerry
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