Information law and e-discovery focused firm Redgrave has hired a Big Law C-suite veteran as its first COO as part of its plan to move the boutique to the “next level” six years after conflicts led it to end its bid to merge with an Am Law 100 firm. Britney Colton joined the midsize firm in February from Am Law Second Hundred firm Stoel Rives, where she rose from human resources director to chief administrative officer over seven years. Redgrave joins other firms in recent years that added professionals to their C-suites to operate their business sides as they worked to find and retain clients and talent in an increasingly competitive legal industry. Jonathan Redgrave, firm co-founder and chair of its executive committee, said the firm primarily operates virtually and its leadership believed hiring a COO was a “critical component for where we’re going” as it navigates two major changes in the legal marketplace. “You’ve got a lot of disruption to come with both [generative] AI and various client demands for value and how that’s viewed in creating a move toward AFAs,” he said in an interview. “That really puts a higher premium on running (law firms) as businesses—being able to match client expectations.” He said the Northern Virginia-headquartered firm also needs to build “a great platform for our own internal success” in such areas as practice and personal development. “We said, ‘How are we going to position this firm for the next 10 years?’ We were really spending a lot of time thinking about how to structurally recalibrate about what takes us through in the next decade,” Redgrave said. Redgrave, a former partner with Nixon Peabody and Jones Day, said the firm has moved beyond its humble beginnings with him and wife, Victoria, in 2010 "at the kitchen table," to a 115-person firm that has become a “go-to” for its expertise in information law. “We really felt with firm growth, which is really continuing, we were ready to take that next step,” Redgrave said. The firm’s core practices focus on “addressing the legal challenges that arise at the intersection of the law and technology,” including information and AI governance, data privacy and security, and E-discovery, according to the Redgrave website. Colton said in an interview that she saw the position as an opportunity to help the Redgrave firm become an “elite boutique.” The firm already is an industry leader in information law but needs the “infrastructure” to bring the firm to the next level, she said. “A lot of the lawyers are ex-Big Law partners so they know what sophisticated legal work looks like and that’s the expectation they have,” Colton said. “But they don’t yet have the infrastructure. “It’s important that they operationally do that, and that’s why they were looking for a COO,” she said. Colton is charged with helping develop and execute strategic plans, improving the firm’s operational infrastructure, supporting attorney and adviser productivity and professional development, and making sure client service is a priority—all in concert with the firm’s executive committee, a news release stated. She said one of her first responsibilities will be to memorialize a formal, three-year strategic plan—which the firm does not now have—as part of its partners’ plans to create an “elite boutique.” Redgrave said the firm had written less-formal operating plans over the years that were “not at the depth and level that we’re going to go through this time with the rigor and discipline needed. Staying Independent After Nelson Mullins Deal Fell Through Jonathan and Victoria Redgrave—a former counsel with two Fortune 500 companies—opened the firm as a cybersecurity boutique in 2010. It has remained about the same size in recent years—about 55 lawyers—through such events as a failed merger with Am Law 100 firm Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough in late 2020. Redgrave said Nelson Mullins was offering an opportunity that included hiring the entire firm—including attorneys and its team of data management and analytics consultants. It would have combined Redgrave with Nelson Mullins' Encompass subsidiary to create one of the country's largest information governance and E-discovery law practices. However, the deal was abandoned after “conflict-related issues involving key clients of each firm” could not be resolved. Afterward, Redgrave said the firm’s clients convinced the firm to remain independent. The firm subsequently has focused on key lateral hires to enhance its standing as a specialty boutique that could compete with the largest firms, Redgrave said. “We made a conscious decision to say, ‘No, this boutique being a separate, independent entity has great value,’” he said. “A lot of those clients also used Nelson Mullins but they really viewed our role in what we do as being very special.” Recruiting Nationwide A licensed attorney, Colton began her career as an associate with Am Law 100 firm Davis Wright Tremaine. She later spent 12 years with TriMet—Portland, Oregon’s municipal transit system—where she worked as director of labor and employee relations before joining Stoel Rives. Colton, a Portland resident, said she is among the few female law firm leaders holding law and MBA degrees—which she said led to her exploring offers from larger firms. Redgrave’s offer to let her remain in her hometown to manage the mostly virtual firm rather than relocating was a key factor in her decision, Colton said. She said her plan to add "infrastructure" requires “maturing all of the functional areas,” such as financial performance, HR, talent recruitment and retention, marketing and AI innovation that help support the firm’s lawyers “right now and where we want to go,” Colton said. Helping the firm develop “thoughtful approaches to technology and AI that support our people and advance the interests of our clients as well as the firm’s long-term goals” also is among her responsibilities, she said. Concerning talent recruitment and retention, she said the firm only hires attorneys with experience. However, she is aided by the firm's mostly remote operation that allows it to recruit nationwide without needing to fill a physical office in a specific location. “We seek out talent across the country,” Colton said. “We want to find the best talent and we recognize sometimes it’s in Portland, Oregon, and sometimes it’s in New York or Chicago. So geography is not so much what I see as a driver for the strategic plan.” Stoel Rives managing partner Melissa Jones said in a statement, “We appreciate Britney’s many contributions to Stoel Rives and we look forward to watching her succeed in a COO role at Redgrave.”