"Among the large firms, there's a clear movement toward getting bigger and consolidating, and I think that's going to continue," he said. "It's sort of being driven by the market, where clients want firms to have broader capabilities in more locations and they want to have bigger, deeper relationships, which benefit them more."
Jordan started his career with Reed Smith at its Pittsburgh headquarters in 1984 and built a vast and varied litigation practice, mainly representing banks, financial service companies, and entertainment companies. In 2003, American Lawyer listed him as one of the country's top-45 lawyers under 45.
Jordan declined to provide details of any future growth plans, but when asked if more expansion was likely, he said yes.
"It is a possibility. We're in discussions right now with firms in various cities in markets that we're not in and in some markets that we are in," he said. "So I think the consolidation program is going to continue in the industry, and I think we're going to continue to be in the middle of it."
"But that's a tough way to do it; and today, as firms have gotten much bigger and more complicated—half a billion or pushing a billion dollars in revenue—we've decided that we need to do a more formal process or training leaders," he said.
To that end, the firm has created what they call Reed Smith University, which sends promising attorneys to the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania for business courses.
"We send 35 people at a time to Wharton for a week of intensive study with the business school professors on leadership, strategy, people management, profit and loss management—all aspects of how you become a leader and develop your skills," he said.
Jordan is modest about his accomplishments and said he rose through the ranks gradually, helping senior management in various projects. He said there are more opportunities now for young attorneys with good ideas and that seniority is less important.
"Strong communication skills, rainmaking skills, the ability to come up with a great new idea—these are all ideas that young lawyers can use today to jump ahead of the pack," he said. "They don't have to wait a long time to become impact players in law firms. So in many ways, law is an old profession, but it's sort of a new business. The big law firms are only now realizing that they're big companies. So there are lots of opportunities for people who have good ideas."
As Managing Partner, Jordan is on the road about half of the time visiting clients, partners, and employees at offices around the country and in Europe. He also keeps a foot in the courtroom by trying cases.
"I still do some of that, although managing the firm is pretty much a full-time job now," he said. "I still have some cases, but the firm is so big that that takes priority and I like running the firm. I like running the business, and I think there is some overlap of the basic skills. So while I miss not being in court as much as I used to be, I kind of use the same skill set in managing the firm."
Communication skills, interpersonal skills, and organizational abilities are the key skills that translate to management, he said. To be a good attorney and a good manager, people need to be able to understand a lot of complex information and boil it down into a concise, persuasive argument. Jordan enjoyed reading and writing as a student at Bethany College in West Virginia, and his persuasive arguing paid off at the University of Pittsburgh Law School.
"Whether you're running the business or running a case, it's about understanding the information, sorting it, and figuring out how to organize it so you can persuade someone," he said. "For me, I think being a trial lawyer is sort of a close cousin to being an athlete, because it's a close competition and there are winners and losers and there are the benefits of a great work ethic and practice and training and preparation."
But Jordan is quick to point out that he is no champion athlete. He runs and played intramural sports in college, but he is competitive.
For attorneys starting their careers, Jordan said his best advice is to build a reputation of quality and reliability. And while many don't think of trial attorneys as nice, Jordan said it's an important trait.
"Be nice to everybody because you never know where your next client or relationship is going to come from," he said. "It might be the person next to you on an airplane. It might be somebody you're in law school with. It might be somebody who is an associate down the hall from you. You just never know; so be nice to everyone, not just people who seem to be in big positions."
