The top 500 law firms in the United States, on average, grew in head count by 2.5 percent in 2019. But Dinsmore grew by an impressive 16.5 percent. Josh Lorentz, who chairs Dinsmore's intellectual property department and serves on the executive committee, spoke with Law.com and The National Law Journal about the growth and how it positions the firm in the midst of a pandemic.

"We don't think [our head count] is a liability. We think it makes us stronger," Lorentz said. This year alone, Dinsmore has added 35 lawyers to its ranks, but it has had to furlough staffers who were unable to work remotely. "We're looking for opportunities. We're going to try to step forward."

For Lorentz, the question of whether the firm has too many -- or too few -- lawyers during the pandemic can be answered in part by the number of hours they're billing. But hours only tell part of the story, he said.

"It's more than just a metric," Lorentz said. "You have to trust your practice group leaders about what's happening on the ground, not just the metrics."

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