Effective, sophisticated representation centered on Philadelphia’s diverse legal needs

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Francine Griesing is the founder and Managing Member of Griesing Law, a law firm based in Philadelphia. Founded in 2010, Griesing Law provides comprehensive legal services to the region’s leading government, nonprofit, and for-profit organizations—including Fortune 500 companies. The firm’s services encompass practice areas ranging from employment and business transactions to government and regulatory affairs to intellectual property, higher education, telecommunications, real estate, and much more. In 2013, Griesing Law received the annual Law Firm MVP Award from the National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms. The following year, the firm was selected as SmartCEO Magazine’s Philadelphia Law Firm of the Year.

Francine Griesing spoke with Jeff Mack, of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, for this interview.

JEFF MACK: Where do you see the firm heading in the next five years?

FRANCINE GRIESING: Thinking about where the firm might be in the future and where we might go over the next five years to a decade is a daunting challenge for me. I originally hoped to have five lawyers—that was the goal—we’re pretty much at three-times that now, and I thought five lawyers was going to be the cap. I’m not sure why that was the number, but I thought that was how many I could manage realistically because of the kind of work we’re asked to do and the kind of clients we represent.

As the work continues to come in, we need to expand our team. We need more people to serve our clients and sometimes we need different kinds of expertise. I think it’s likely we will continue to grow over the next several years, and I am working very closely with my team to plan for succession, because I have been practicing 35 years. I have a stunning group of women, many of whom are in their 30s, and we also now have male lawyers as well who are also in what I would call the “emerging leader” category. We’re trying to figure out how best to have those emerging leaders take on more and more management responsibility, and help figure out what they want the future to look like, because the reality is it’s unclear whether I’ll still be doing this in 10 years because I’ll be nearly 70. It will be time for other people to run the show by then.

Q. What kinds of clients do you serve?

A. Our clients are local, regional, statewide, and across the country—and on occasion actually we have some clients overseas, which is really great. We are used by a lot of local companies, but a lot of companies across the country who happen to be sued here or have business here will call us to handle their matters that arise in our region.

Q. Have you considered expanding regionally?

A. When I think about part of our expansion and our future, I think about whether that includes geographic expansion. At the moment, we are principally located here in Philadelphia but we have two lawyers in California right now, as well as two lawyers in New York. We’re thinking about whether we want to bolster both of those teams. There isn’t another particular location within the United States that I think is really valuable to us right now, but it could be in the future that it is.

Q. What are your thoughts on the Philadelphia business climate overall?

A. The business climate in Philadelphia over the past five to ten years seems to me to be getting more and more robust and favorable for business. I see that both from being a business owner myself, but I also see it from the perspective of having served in the Rendell administration in the late 1990s, and also through my work on the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce Board, which I love and think is a phenomenal experience.

I have been a big supporter of something called the Roadmap for Growth, which is a initiative of the Chamber of Commerce, and I’m also on the Civic Affairs Committee, which has recently configured. And I have just been added to the Legislative Policy Committee as well. All of those initiatives—Roadmap for Growth, Civic Affairs, and Legislative Policy—are geared toward making Philadelphia even more hospitable and favorable for business.

I think one of the best things about Philadelphia and business is the millennials—that the millennials want to be here. It’s become such a cool city to live in, to work in, to play in. There is so much to do, but you don’t have maybe the challenges and expense of New York or Washington. It’s becoming an even more diverse city. People from all over the country come here to be educated, and they are staying in greater and greater numbers. I think the city is continuing to be on the rise, and the Chamber initiatives I mentioned are really geared towards enhancing business opportunities in the neighborhoods, and I think that will be critical to helping overcome some of the things in the city that people worry about.

Connect with Francine on LinkedIn

Sponsored By:

ABOUT NEWMARK GRUBB KNIGHT FRANK

Newmark Grubb Knight Frank (NGKF) is one of the world's leading commercial real estate advisory firms. Together with London-based partner Knight Frank and independently-owned offices, NGKF’s 12,800 professionals operate from more than 370 offices in established and emerging property markets on six continents.

With roots dating back to 1929, NGKF’s strong foundation makes it one of the most trusted names in commercial real estate. NGKF’s full-service platform comprises BGC’s real estate services segment, offering commercial real estate tenants, landlords, investors and developers a wide range of services including leasing; capital markets services, including investment sales, debt placement, appraisal, and valuation services; commercial mortgage brokerage services; as well as corporate advisory services, consulting, project and development management, and property and corporate facilities management services. For further information, visit www.ngkf.com.

NGKF is a part of BGC Partners, Inc., a leading global brokerage company servicing the financial and real estate markets. BGC’s common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol (NASDAQ: BGCP). BGC also has an outstanding bond issuance of Senior Notes due June 15, 2042, which trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol (NYSE: BGCA). BGC Partners is led by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Howard W. Lutnick. For more information, please visit www.bgcpartners.com.

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