SAN DIEGO – Marking 80 years as a San Diego institution and leveraging its role as one of the region’s biggest law firms, Procopio is executing on its growth strategy under Managing Partner Dennis Doucette. Doucette took the top role in the fall of 2024 following the untimely death of his predecessor, John Alessio.
Doucette and Procopio Partner Marie Burke Kenny recently checked in with the San Diego Business Journal to discuss their firm’s plans to grow, particularly in the California market.
They also talked about creating a supportive workplace culture and the role of artificial intelligence in a law practice, as well as the changes to their individual specialties over time. Doucette concentrates on capital markets, securities and M&A, while Burke Kenny specializes in labor and employment law.
Doucette and Kenny started work with Procopio after leaving Luce Forward Hamilton & Scripps when that firm was sold.
Their conversation has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Marie Burke Kenny: Yes, within a week or two of each other. We had both been law partners and leaders at Luce Forward. Luce Forward had been around San Diego for 120-something years, and was in the process of essentially being acquired by a larger national law firm. And we just didn’t see that that was going to be a great fit. And without each other knowing, we had both applied with two of our law partners to come to...
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