Caroline Berdzik, a partner with Goldberg Segalla. Courtesy photo
After Goldberg Segalla's founder went on a leave of absence earlier this year, the Am Law 200 firm has elected New Jersey-based partner Caroline Berdzik to serve on its management board, its first female partner in the role.
Berdzik, a Princeton partner who leads Goldberg's labor and employment and health care groups, stepped into the position early in the week. Her promotion reflects the Buffalo-based firm's "growing emphasis" on its employment and labor practice, which is seeing high demand during the pandemic, she said. Her practice has seen about a 20% increase in hours this year from last year, she added, and she's anticipating more demand as pandemic-related litigation arises.
Richard Cohen, the firm founder, announced on June 9 that he was stepping down as managing partner. At the time, the firm said he would remain on the firm's facilitation committee—its management committee—for the foreseeable future. Ultimately, Cohen, who has nine children, took a leave of absence in June to focus on his family, according to Berdzik.
That left an opening on the five-person facilitation committee. Equity partners late last week voted in Berdzik, who has been at the partner at the firm for more than eight years.
The firm's labor and employment practice, she said, has been on a "fantastic growth trajectory" at Goldberg, a firm that has its roots in insurance defense and workers' compensation. The employment practice has about 50 lawyers today, compared with about seven lawyers in 2012 when she joined the firm, she said.
In 2020, the pandemic has spurred more business demand, mostly driven by an uptick in counseling work, Berdzik said. The type of advice has morphed over the year, from how to handle a COVID-19-positive employee to how to handle layoffs, keep employees safe amid reopenings and how to comply with various government regulations, she said.
"The need and demand will continue to exist at a significant level," she said, adding the revenue from the firm's labor and employment group has grown, along with the work and capability.
"We have more interaction with C-suite and HR staff" than most lawyers who simply work on a company's litigation, she said. "It opens the door to increased visibility of the firm and expands representation to other areas."
In the spring, Goldberg Segalla made layoffs and instituted pay cuts. Last month, the firm said it was seeking to rehire "certain staff" and it would restore partner draws and salaries of senior administrative leaders to pre-pandemic levels.
Berdzik, who couldn't comment on the number of layoffs or rehirings, said while it's been an unpredictable year for firms in general, she anticipates Goldberg having a "very strong" financial year and she hasn't seen collection problems.
"We've been very competitive with our rate structure, and we've been able to capture market share, particularly in the COVID-19 environment, where clients have looked for alternatives," she said. She noted that partner rates in her practice are in the $400-an-hour range in the New York City metropolitan area.
And while litigation slowed due to courthouse closures, she said she is starting to see COVID-related filings.
"People who may have lost their jobs throughout the pandemic are now bringing claims that may be COVID-related," she said. "So I anticipate firms that have a labor and employment group are going to see an increase in litigation in the upcoming months."
Christine Simmons
Christine Simmons writes about the New York legal community and the business of law. Email her at [email protected] and find her on Twitter @chlsimmons