Husch Blackwell Aims to Master Six Sectors

The past few years have been a transition for the 500-lawyer Kansas City-based Husch Blackwell: Since the 2008 recession, middle-market law firms have been competing in an environment where demand for key legal services, like litigation, has been soft.

Differentiation is seen as the key to survival, and Husch Blackwell has settled on a strategy of focusing on just six key industry sectors that its lawyers can own. “What clients tell me is that they aren’t interested in generalists anymore,” said Chairman Maurice Watson.

Watson, who has overseen the Husch Blackwell industry sector initiative since it was conceived three years ago, spoke to Big Law Business about his views on ...