Chicago’s Riley Safer Grows and Tries ‘A Different Way’

At what point does a boutique become a mid-sized law firm?

For Patricia Brown Holmes, who helps manage the 66-lawyer Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila LLP, it’s a point worth clarifying.

“We are no longer a boutique, I want to emphasize that point,” said Holmes, who co-founded the Chicago spin-off of large firm Schiff Hardin in January 2016 with nearly two dozen colleagues .

In the subsequent 18 months, Riley Safer expanded into a firm with more than 30 partners and projected revenue for 2017 of between $36 and $40 million, Holmes said.

Last week, the firm announced the hire ...