AMERICAN Legal Search again named
One of America's Fastest Growing Private Companies

August 28, 2007

American Legal Search (ALS) has been named to the 2007 Inc. 5000 list of the fastest growing private companies in America.

ALS's growth for the four-year period from 2003 - 2006 was 169%. 

AMERICAN Search Companies
named among Best Places to Work

The Birmingham office of the American Search Companies (ASC) was named by the Birmingham Business Journal as one of the city's Best Places to Work.  ASC will be honored at a luncheon on October 4.

CEO Richard Brock said, "We are very excited about this honor, as we have been striving to make our organization one of the best places to work in America." 

May 23, 2007 - The Houston Chapter of The Association of Records Managers and Administrators (ARMA) has recognized Robin Thompson, Managing Director of AMERICAN Legal Search, Houston Operations, for her service with FIVE awards:

• Chapter Education Award,

• Legal ISG Award,

• Board Member of the Year Award,

• Ambassador of the Year, and

• Committee Manager of the Year!!!

Congratulations, Robin!

How can a company find the best person for recorded information management?
Robin Thompson
Managing Director, Houston Operations
AMERICAN Legal Search, LLC

ALS on the GROW!

AMERICAN Legal Search, LLC is pleased to announce the addition of eleven new employees to its ever-expanding offices!

Most recently added to the ALS team are:

Boris Garbuz - Atlanta, GA
Bernice Burleson - Birmingham, AL
Candice Walsh - Nashville, TN
Karen Lowenthal - New York, NY
Kimberly Mendez - Houston, TX
Michelle Spira - Tampa, FL
Darlene Scaife - Los Angeles, CA
DeAnn May - Birmingham, AL
Kate Mange - Birmingham, AL
Tre Thompson - Houston, TX
Tanya Thomas - New York, NY

Welcome, everyone!

AMERICAN Legal Search named by Inc. Magazine
as One of America's Fastest Growing Private Companies

320% Growth Over Three Year Period Propels National Legal Search Firm onto Inc. 500 List of Leading U.S. Companies

August 23, 2006 – National legal search firm AMERICAN Legal Search LLC, which specializes in the recruitment and placement of attorneys throughout the United States, was named to Inc. magazine's list of the 500 fastest growing private companies in the U.S. Founded in 2001 by Richard Brock and Joe Freedman, two veterans of the legal search industry, AMERICAN has grown from a single office just four years ago to eight regional operations serving the entire United States. The firm has also recorded a remarkable 320% growth in revenue over that period.

AMERICAN is a legal search firm in the U.S. named to the Inc. 500 list. A full service national legal search and consulting firm, AMERICAN also has operations in New York, Houston, Miami, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Nashville, and Louisville. Additional offices are scheduled to open in the near future.

"Being recognized among the most successful privately held companies in the U.S. by Inc. is a source of tremendous pride for AMERICAN," said Richard Brock, the firm's CEO & Managing Principal. "Our vision is to build a national firm to serve the legal industry better than any other firm in the country. This recognition indicates that we are succeeding. It's also a testament to the great team of professionals we have at our offices across the country, which includes some of the most experienced and best recruiters in the industry."

"We are committed to being the best and are passionate about doing the job right," says Brock. "AMERICAN's Managing Directors have maximum autonomy in their marketplaces, yet our structure offers a truly collaborative support system. We recognize that confidentiality and trust are critical to our business. We are entrusted with people's careers. We are entrusted with very sensitive information from our clients, such as financial information and strategic plans. Most importantly, once AMERICAN makes a placement, we stand by that person or project to insure that all expectations are met. This trust is core to our management philosophy." adds Brock.

AMERICAN Legal Search has recently launched a new division which will focus on placing contract attorneys throughout the United States. By further increasing its ability to provide nationwide client service, AMERICAN can now serve clients in large metropolitan areas outside of their eight regional offices. This will be of particular value to firms and businesses in need of skilled contract professionals in a multitude of jurisdictions or those that would appreciate the services of nuanced attorneys in a particular geographic area. "Using our industry experience and cutting edge technologies, we have the ability to quickly provide highly qualified attorneys and paralegals for practically any major discovery, production or document review project on a national scale." says Evan Austill, National Director Contract Attorney Placement.

The Inc. 500 ranks privately held companies according to year-over-year sales growth from 2001 to 2004. With approximately 75% of all new job creation in the U.S. coming from entrepreneurial businesses, the Inc. 500 opens a window onto the companies and industries that are driving the economy forward. Over the years, the Inc. 500 has identified the next generation of world-class companies, with Microsoft, Stonyfield Farms, Timberland, Oracle, The Princeton Review, Morningstar, Jamba Juice, Gateway, E*Trade, Intuit, and Domino's Pizza all appearing on the list before they became industry powerhouses.

American Legal Search moves into Pepper Place

Birmingham Business Journal - October 28, 2005
by Kelli M. DuganStaff

In a simultaneous move, American Legal Search LLC tripled its corporate headquarters space in Birmingham and launched a fourth business in as many years.

The legal recruiting firm - which also services the insurance and, now, the banking industries through separate companies - quietly assumed 3,300 square feet in the Martin Biscuit Co. building in the historic Pepper Place in April.

American Legal Search president Richard Brock says the desire to launch American Financial Search LLC - on the heels of American InsurStaff LLC and Apex Legal Support LLC- prompted the move, adding two staffers to the payroll and creating capacity to hire two more.

Brock says he and partner Joe Freedman decided the time was right to expand the company's reach into the financial realm and found 14-year banking and financial services veteran Kim Tew the perfect fit.

"(Tew) is so well connected, and now we're able to take those connections in that arena and combine them with our own backgrounds and strengths in executive search firms," Brock says.

Indeed, Brock and Freedman established one of the largest privately held legal recruiting firms in North America. It was acquired in 1997 by a publicly traded international search firm.

Since then, the two have operated dual headquarters in Birmingham and Nashville, Tenn., pooled their industry contacts and created a national legal placement firm with offices in Atlanta, Louisville, Ky., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, New York, Tampa, Fla., and Washington, D.C., as well.

In the process, Brock and Freedman have also established a successful insurance recruiting firm, and one that caters to legal support positions as well.

And Brock, who moved to Birmingham from Mobile, says the Magic City's "business friendly" climate as well as the support of the legal community have made each subsequent incarnation a little easier to launch.

In the black - quickly
And with American Financial Search barely six months out of the gate, Brock says it started turning a profit after only three months - and the revenue continues to rise.

"We are continuing to grow and expand our organization," says Brock, who anticipates opening at least two or three more national offices in accordance with the firm's strategic plan.

"After that, our primary concentration will be on strengthening the offices we have," he says.

Not surprisingly, Brock attributes the firm's success to date on strong hires and capable, ambitious employees, noting that even professionals in the recruiting business have to sometimes look outside to find the right person for the job.

"It's always struck me as, perhaps, a bit ironic and certainly interesting, but there are recruiters for the recruiting industry, and that's one method we have utilized successfully," he says.

"We use lots of different methods in our recruiting process, but the bottom line is that we never stop looking for talent, and I've learned over the years as a business owner that acquiring and retaining talent for our organization is my primary responsibility."

Kelli M. Dugan can be reached at (205) 443-5628 or e-mail her at kdugan@bizjournals.com.