Chris Jagel

Rochester Business Journal Staff//July 19, 2024//

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CEO/Partner,
Harris Beach PLLC

Years in current role: 6+

What is your biggest professional goal for the rest of this year?

We announced recently that Harris Beach will combine with Murtha Cullina LLP, a firm with a strong presence in Connecticut and Massachusetts. We are working together to align our systems and processes to fully integrate and operate as one firm – Harris Beach Murtha – beginning January 1, 2025.

The combination is a catalyst for growth and creates opportunity for additional legal talent and skill sets in our offices throughout the firm, including here in Western and Central New York. We’ll be recruiting laterals and associates to complement the capabilities and expanded breadth of services the combined firm will provide our clients throughout a broader geographical footprint.

What do you expect to be the biggest challenges for the legal industry locally in the near future?

Some of the current challenges impacting the local legal industry include keeping pace with the rapidly changing and increasingly complex legal and regulatory environment, rising operating and compliance costs (e.g., technology and cybersecurity compliance costs), and the growing need to serve clients from a single source across various disciplines and geographies. Technology and the way clients do business today has changed, which requires attorneys to be adaptable and innovative to deliver forward-thinking solutions, while at the same time their firms need to provide the right kinds of support and resources to make that happen.

What is your favorite time of year in the Rochester region and why?

One of the things I like best about the Rochester and Finger Lakes region is that there are four distinct seasons that offer unique characteristics, activities and experiences. But the warm yet moderate temperatures, extended daylight hours, numerous outdoor activities and terrific natural beauty all combine to make summer a fantastic time of year in our area, so that’s my favorite.

This profile is part of our Labor & Employment Law Power List for 2024. Information used in this profile was sourced from the honoree. View the full list at rbj.net.