Lateral Attorneys

Frequently Asked Questions

• Is Rimon right for me?

  If many of the following statements apply to you, there is a good chance that Rimon is right for you:

  • I have a sophisticated practice that requires consulting with specialists in a variety of practice areas.
  • It is important to me to work with a team of highly regarded lawyers.
  • I would like more flexibility in billing my clients.
  • I value a more flexible lifestyle.
  • I try to avoid unnecessary bureaucracy.
  • I find hierarchy among my partners to be counterproductive.
  • I have my own loyal and portable client base.
  • I consider myself to be moderately to highly entrepreneurial.
  • I want to be on the cutting edge of the practice of law.
  • I want to be part of forming the law firm of the future.
  • I would like to be part of a highly collaborative, elite team of lawyers.
  • The highly-leveraged model of BigLaw does not seem to work to my benefit.
• Am I right for Rimon?

  If many of the following qualities apply to you, then there is a good chance that you are right for Rimon.

  • You have at least eight years of sophisticated experience from a top-tier law firm or in-house legal department.
  • You have a reputation for excellence in your area of expertise.
  • You have a loyal client base.
  • You value collaboration and working closely with other attorneys.
• What makes Rimon the “law firm evolved” or “the law firm of the future”?

  Rimon takes the best elements of the traditional law firm — collaboration and support — and joins them with the power and flexibility of new technology and a new outlook. Rimon’s “spherical structure” gives our attorneys full autonomy over how they want to work with their clients, while our highly secure cloud technology allows our attorneys to work where they want, when they want. Through thoughtful management, Rimon encourages collaboration rather than competition within the firm. Our compensation structure is purely objective, thus eliminating most hierarchy, politics, or unnecessary bureaucracy within the firm. The result is happier attorneys and better served clients.

• What is the firm’s compensation structure?

  Rimon’s compensation model is based on a clear and purely objective formula, leaving no room for politics, confusion, or bureaucracy. This formula ensures that everyone’s interests are aligned, including the originating attorney, the servicing attorney, the client, and the firm. Click here to see the formula.

• What is the difference between a “pyramid structure,” a “flat structure,” and Rimon’s “spherical structure”?

  The conventional law firm model has a pyramid structure — the higher you go the narrower it gets — that is based on the notorious “up-or-out” career path and encourages bureaucracy, politics, and pushing work down to less experienced attorneys. A flat model, like AxiomLaw or virtual law firms, allows attorneys to work individually with clients, but without much support from the firm. Rimon’s spherical structure allows attorneys to work directly with clients, with no pressure from above or below, but it also provides support from a close-knit team of other partners, associates, and staff. It is more efficient than a pyramid model, allows for more sophisticated work than a flat model, and is more flexible than both. Learn more about the spherical structure.

• Is Rimon a “virtual law firm”?

  Rimon is not a virtual law firm. A virtual law firm is an umbrella organization in which attorneys work under a single brand, but not as a true team. That model is ideal for attorneys with a solo practice who want to practice under a single firm umbrella. Rimon’s model is a hybrid, where each attorney has the independence of a virtual firm combined with the collaboration and support of a traditional high-end bricks-and-mortar firm. We have a strict vetting system to make sure all attorneys who join us are not only of the highest caliber but also highly collaborative in their practice. This ensures both quality and collegiality.

  We do not believe in a one-size-fits-all approach. We talk with each of our attorneys to learn what their needs are, and if what the attorney needs is financially feasible, we provide it. For example, if an attorney wants to go into a physical office every day in order to better serve their clients, then we provide office facilities. If, however, the attorney would rather work from home and use an office only for meetings, we provide that instead.

• What kind of support does Rimon provide?

  We provide everything that our attorneys need to serve their clients well, including administrative support, IT support, paralegal support, a collaborative platform, PR/marketing support, research tools, office equipment, billing, client intake, accounting, office space, etc. We do not believe in a one-size-fits-all approach; we meet each individual attorney’s needs, within the bounds of financial sense. For an attorney whose clients are best served from a physical office, and whose work level requires a full-time assistant — we provide that. For an attorney who prefers to work from home, using an office only for meetings — we provide the physical space and the virtual support to make that happen.

• How is the firm managed?

  Rimon is primarily managed by its founders, Michael Moradzadeh and Yaacov Silberman. Unlike in the conventional law firm model, Rimon’s management does not micromanage how our attorneys choose, serve, or bill their clients. Instead, they focus on increasing collaboration within the firm, facilitating discussion among the attorneys, growing the firm, and making sure all of the attorneys are getting the support they need to serve our clients well.

  Rimon’s attorneys are highly experienced professionals who do not need management looking over their shoulders. Once attorneys are in the firm, they have full flexibility in billing and practice. Their ideas about growth and innovation in the firm are welcome. In fact, most of the greatest innovations in Rimon's model have come from our attorneys rather than management.

• Who are some of the firm’s clients?

  Rimon’s clients range from Fortune 10 multinational corporations to early-stage start-ups and high-net-worth individuals. Our clients span many sectors including technology, finance, entertainment, and higher education. While most of our clients are highly confidential, you can see a small sample of them here.

• Where do Rimon’s attorneys work?

  Rimon’s model allows attorneys to work wherever they want without sacrificing quality or connectivity with their colleagues. This allows for maximum flexibility. Some of our attorneys choose to go into an office every day. Others choose to work from home and go to one of our offices from time to time for meetings or simply to get away. Some of our attorneys live far from their designated office and come in only when they have to. In addition to all of our official offices, Rimon also has an agreement with Regus, which allows our attorneys to access offices all over the world when needed.

• Do Rimon’s attorneys really work as a team?

  Yes. Rimon’s platform was specifically designed to increase collaboration through many mechanisms including:

  • Recruiting only attorneys likely to work with at least two other attorneys in the firm and vetting for a collaborative mindset
  • An objective compensation structure that encourages cross-selling and collegiality
  • Two firm-wide video conferences every month that are mostly attorney-led discussions facilitated by management
  • Three attorney retreats a year that are focused on team-building and cross-servicing
  • Two monthly “speed networking” video calls in which attorneys least likely to have worked together are matched by our proprietary software for a five minute one-on-one video call
  • A secure internal social network used as a “virtual water cooler” where attorneys instantly see all new client matters, share legal updates, and even share family photos – creating a community across several time zones
• How do Rimon attorneys meet with their clients?

  Our attorneys have absolute discretion as to how much face time they want to spend with clients. Some of our clients are very traditional and like to meet face-to-face in our offices. Others prefer a video call or even just e-mail. Rimon makes it easy for attorneys to meet with clients in any way the client prefers.

• How does Rimon integrate new attorneys?

  Before an attorney joins, we make sure all the other attorneys in the firm know about the attorney’s background, interests, and practice. Once the attorney joins, our intake team works with them to train them on our systems and to transition their files and clients smoothly. We connect the new attorneys with the colleagues they are most likely to work with so they can discuss avenues for immediate collaboration. We also introduce them to the entire firm by video in the first semi-monthly meeting after they join, giving them the opportunity to tell everyone in the firm about their practice and how others might work with them. After that point, their integration progresses through our continued intake trainings, triannual retreats, internal “virtual water cooler,” local get-togethers, semi-monthly one-on-one calls, semi-monthly firm-wide video conferences, and other regular teambuilding opportunities.

• Where is the firm’s home office, and how do attorneys from Rimon’s various offices interact with one another?

  Rimon is a distributed law firm that uses cloud technology to bring all our attorneys and offices together. As a result, none of our attorneys are “remote” since access to the firm’s platform and team is equal regardless of location. Rimon’s administrative staff is also distributed and equally accessible. Rimon’s first office was in San Francisco where its two founders live, but this office is no different than any of the other offices.

• How much flexibility do attorneys possess in setting billing rates and in executing outside-the-box billing structures?

  A Rimon attorney working for their own originated clients has absolute discretion in billing. When an attorney works for another’s originated client, the two have full autonomy to agree on whatever billing arrangement best suits them and the client.

• Where can I read more about Rimon’s philosophy?

  Read a collection of published materials on the challenges facing high-end law firms and Rimon’s response to those challenges →