About Rock Fusco & Connelly, LLC
Rock Fusco & Connelly, LLC was founded on the partnership of Philip J. Rock and Daniel R. Fusco, who met on the first day of law school at Loyola University Chicago School of Law in 1961. After graduating in 1964, Mr. Fusco began his legal career with the Chicago Transit Authority, while Mr. Rock served as an Assistant Attorney General under William G. Clark from 1965 to 1969. Mr. Rock then continued his public service at the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office until 1971, when he and Mr. Fusco, who were best friends, established Rock & Fusco, Ltd.
The firm began with just the two attorneys and a small support team consisting of Senator Rock’s mother and Dan Fusco’s mother-in-law. Over the next 30 years, the firm grew to over 25 lawyers through the quality of its work and reputation. In 2001, Jay Rock joined the firm after working for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. In 2004, Senator Rock and Mr. Fusco decided to semi-retire which resulted in the dissolution of the firm (which was then called Rock Fusco & Garvey, Ltd.). Jay Rock, Chris Novy and Kevin Horan started Rock Fusco, LLC and asked Senator Rock and Mr. Fusco to join them as “of counsel” to lend them their 40 years of credibility and experience. They began with six attorneys and four support staff.
Matt Connelly began his legal career in 1995 after graduating from the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law. He joined the law firm of Connelly & Schroeder, which had been founded by his father, Mike Connelly. At that time, Connelly & Schroeder was a 25-attorney firm primarily focused on civil litigation.
Mike Connelly had long-standing relationships with both Phil Rock and Dan Fusco, having met them while all three were students at Loyola Law School. Their connection continued after graduation, and over the years, their firms frequently referred cases to one another when conflicts arose. They also collaborated as co-counsel on several major litigation matters.
Following the retirement of attorney Schroeder and Mike Connelly’s decision to transition to part-time practice, Matt Connelly began exploring options for the firm’s continued growth. He concluded that the best path forward would be a merger with a firm of similar size and complementary practice areas. Having met Jay Rock and being well acquainted with Rock Fusco through the firms’ many professional associations, Matt identified Rock Fusco as a natural partner.
The merger of Rock Fusco and Connelly Law Group into Rock Fusco & Connelly, LLC facilitated significant growth, and the firm now employs more than 35 attorneys and 30 support staff. This expansion has enabled the firm to provide a broad range of legal services to its clients while maintaining the high standards of excellence set by its founders.
How Smaller Firms Are Attracting Bigger Clients
Smaller law firms are putting their hands up for work that was once automatically bestowed on only the largest of firms. The reason for the new shift in firm size is simple: corporate clients want lower rates and more personalized attention. For those reasons, Rock Fusco & Connelly, LLC has found itself in a unique situation where it can provide top-level expertise while charging a fraction of what the big firms demand.
RFC has established itself as a leading firm in corporate, private equity, estate planning, civil litigation, municipal, and civil affairs.
The Increased Costs Of Legal Representation
The attorneys at RFC have been able to garner such business by capitalizing on established networks of colleagues as well as a favorable marketplace. Chicago lawyers point to the growing trend of general counsels being no longer willing to pay high hourly rates for routine legal work. Rather, companies are looking at ways in which they can receive more value for their legal expenses and RFC is a perfect example of one way in which they can do that.
Much like the banking sector, large firms had grown too large and expensive to work effectively. Hourly rates of $800-1000 for 1st year attorneys were no longer cost effective for the largest of corporate clients. As middle-sized clients left the big firms, the expenses of carrying hundreds of attorneys demanded higher rates and more hours billed. As a result, the Fortune 500 and municipal clients began to see even greater legal expenses as the large firms refused to shrink. Now, even the most profitable companies are seeking to find the biggest bang for their buck, and the answer is Rock Fusco & Connelly, LLC.
Divide And Conquer
More corporate law departments are cutting their spending on outside legal counsel rather than raising it, according to surveys from Altman Weil, a law firm consultancy in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania.
That’s the strategy the attorneys at RFC are pursuing as well, with its division of lawyers focusing on a variety of practice areas, such as business litigation disputes, labor and employment issues, as well as commercial and intellectual property transactional work. Good quality legal representation is an art honed from decades of experience at an effective and economical rate, which is one of the cornerstones at Rock Fusco & Connelly, LLC.