AA&C will be led by seasoned legal industry veteran, Matthew Levine, who will serve as its Managing Partner (MP). Levine brings 15 years of experience as an MP to the role, most recently serving as Co-Managing and Co-Founding Member of a leading Scottsdale-based commercial law firm. In addition to his wealth of experience, Levine brings an entrepreneurial spirit, and a passion for reimagining how law firms can better serve clients and lawyers alike.
“Axiom has been disrupting the legal industry since its inception, by providing legal departments with enhanced approaches to finding the experienced talent they value,” said Catherine Kemnitz, Axiom Chief Strategy and Development Officer, and Designated Principal for Axiom Advice & Counsel. “Launching AA&C is the next important step in continuing industry transformation. Under Matt’s leadership, we approach the practice of law with unmatched modernity – prioritizing clients and the lawyer experience, and leveraging the right legal talent, data, and practice-specific technology for each legal matter. AA&C’s reimagined law firm model delivers uniquely effective and efficient outcomes for every dollar spent on outside counsel.”
AA&C supports a diverse set of clients ranging from growing businesses represented solely by the firm, to multinationals with large in-house teams. Mirroring its managing partner’s experience, AA&C will initially focus on corporate law including complex real estate, labor and employment, mergers and acquisitions, data privacy, intellectual property, and regulatory matters, with practice and sector-specific expansion expected on the horizon.
“After years of working within and leading law firms, I relish the opportunity to reinvent the archetype of the modern firm,” said Levine. “By creating a firm unencumbered by billable hours and the traditional partner pyramid, AA&C’s lawyers are freed from prioritizing firm economics over client-centric values. Instead, our attorneys can place their singular focus on providing clients with the practical, commercial-oriented legal advice that best serves their strategic goals. Equally important, the model responds to the growing client outcry for high-quality, flexible, cost-efficient counsel.”
David McVeigh, Chief Executive Officer of Axiom, added: “We’ve long described the ideal legal ecosystem as a combination of a core in-house team, flexible legal talent, and outside counsel. Historically, outside counsel has been the most expensive legal cost – and it’s only getting more so. Despite the looming recession, law firm rates are anticipated to jump between 7-8% this year, representing the largest increase in at least 15 years. With the launch of AA&C, Axiom is now positioned to help GCs bring down the cost of legal support across the board, while still maintaining the highest standards for quality, efficacy, and positive outcomes. In-house teams can continue to work with Axiom to access the world’s deepest bench of flexible legal talent, and they can partner with AA&C for unparalleled firm-style advice and counsel. Both options deliver enterprise legal departments with the industry’s best value for their budgeted dollars.”
Levine is joined at the firm by former colleague, and now AA&C partner, Jeffrey Harris. Harris is experienced supporting clients through litigation matters, representing both public and private companies in trials, arbitrations, mediations, settlement conferences, depositions, hearings, and appellate work.
In addition, Lynda Shely will serve as the firm’s Compliance Lawyer. Shely is the 2020-2023 Chair of the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility. She currently serves on the Arizona Supreme Court’s Alternative Business Structure (ABS) Committee, she is an Arizona delegate in the ABA House of Delegates, a member of the State Bar of Arizona Ethics Advisory Group, and the president of the National ABS Law Firm Association.