Oklahoma City law firms don't seem to be sharing in the downturn experienced by those in some states, particularly large national firms that have recently announced layoffs.

A check with local firms Tuesday reveals legal business is on the rise, with some firms reporting several hires over the past year.

National labor statistics indicate a loss of more than 9,500 legal-sector jobs over the past year, more than 4,000 over the last six months or so.

Data for Oklahoma show a drop of a few hundred legal-related jobs over the past year, from 12,900 last June to about 12,500 in April of this year.

Richard Nix, managing director at McAfee and Taft, said the firm, which recently opened a Tulsa office, is growing, along with its clients' successes and plans.

He said the firm's size and the depth of its practice groups are pluses.

"It also helps that, with 140 lawyers, we have attorneys that specialize in all areas of legal practice," Nix said.

"So, if the economy for certain clients is booming and other clients are stagnant and even other clients are on the downturn, that just causes certain of our practice groups to ramp up, depending on the nature of the economy. "

Nix said McAfee and Taft has been hiring lawyers, legal assistants and secretaries, and has the largest group of law students in the firm's history clerking this summer.

"We're very conscious of the additional cost-of-living and cost increases that are attributable to gas and some other things," Nix said. "But, at the same time, since we are in the service business, we have to do what we need to do in order to take care of our clients. "

It's interesting to watch what's happening with the national economy, watching other states struggle as Oklahoma did in the 1980s and early 1990s, he said.

"It's our time right now," Nix said. "We're really posing ourselves for additional growth, because we think the clients in this community continue to be very optimistic. As such, we want to make sure that we position ourselves so we can service those clients."

Nix said the firm has made some modifications within its practice groups to ensure it has the capacity to address the areas clients anticipate they may need over the next three to five years, which he said is a fluid situation.

"So far, the economy or some of the inflation aspects of things have not caused our clients to reconfigure their business plans, and as such it's not necessary for us to reconfigure ours," he said.

John Robertson, managing partner at Hartzog Conger, said his firm has not experienced the downward turn outlined for the legal sector nationally.

"We actually have been looking to hire some lawyers," he said.

Robertson said a new law school graduate came on board in May, and the firm has several law students working as clerks.

"We're hoping that, if everything works out, we'll be able to convince at least a couple of them to come to work for us when they graduate a year from now," he said.

In the meantime, Robertson said, the firm is actively seeking one or two litigators.

He said the firm is experiencing about the same with non-attorney positions, with no layoffs or plans for staff cuts.

"If we hire another lawyer or two, then we will hire more staff to help support those lawyers," Robertson said.

As for other costs, he said the firm's courier service costs are affected by the soaring price of gasoline, but overall the firm is not greatly affected by that.

Robertson said the costs of rent and, in particular, health insurance, are greater concerns, as they are for many businesses.

"Every year, those costs go up," he said. "It's just a given. "

Roger Stong, president of Crowe and Dunlevy, said Oklahoma is a different type of market for legal services.

"We don't have the same history of hiring and firing people the way some of those major national firms do," he said.

Crowe and Dunlevy's focus on good, cost-effective service requires talented lawyers, he said.

"We view hiring those lawyers as a long-term investment," Stong said. "The economy moving up and the economy moving down, we don't change our hiring patterns that much, because obviously as we hire more lawyers, we need more staff. Things tend to naturally rise and fall. "

Crowe and Dunlevy tries to hold down costs, he said, but not to the detriment of the kinds of service clients expect.

"I'm just not aware of any of the law firms really focused on those kinds of things, at least on the top end of the law firms," Stong said.

As in any service-oriented business, he said, a law firm is driven by its employees and costs for things such as health insurance.

"But you also have to offer competitive salaries and benefit packages," Stong said.

The firm will make its major attorney-hiring decisions in August and September, he said.

"I would imagine that our hirings are going to be level to a little higher for new, younger lawyers," Stong said. "We're still looking for experienced lawyers who fill needs in our practice, and the economy just won't affect that. That's a long-term investment decision for us. "

Tom Wolfe, president and managing partner at Phillips McFall, said his firm has added 10 attorneys, a new IT director and 10 paralegals over the past year.

"We're on more of a growth pattern than anything else," he said.

Wolfe said the firm has also not changed pay scales or related costs for economic reasons.

"In connection with our IT department and our marketing department, we've actually added capital to that, because that's kind of what the market does and that's what we needed to do," he said.

Wolfe said Phillips McFall has concrete plans to grow over the next five years.

"We've been very fortunate," he said. "But we've got good clients and have had good work and good attorneys. "

Wolfe said Oklahoma is somewhat insulated from the current downturn due to its healthy oil and gas industry.

"I think the influx of capital investment opportunities in Oklahoma make Oklahoma somewhat immune to some of the problems other states are facing," he said. "I think law firms are benefiting from that, particularly on the business side."