Interrogatory: How many last names are too many for a law firm?

"Obviously there comes a point where there are so many names that it just doesn’t sound right. By the time the [receptionist] has gotten all the names out, the person on the other end is laughing…. We have five names in our firm. That’s about as long as you possibly could go. We think that’s about the limit unless it’s 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 — one-syllable names. We thought about it, whether we should abbreviate, [but] all the names are well-recognized people in the legal community…. I think we’ve kind of stretched the limit, but there’s a method to our madness.”
— Paul D. Bekman, partner
Salsbury, Clements, Bekman, Marder & Adkins L.L.C., Baltimore

“We shortened it initially primarily to reduce the time wasted when people would answer the telephone. If we put our name on T-shirts, it would be too big. I would say, if you get beyond four… the name sort of gets lost. I’m the third name and it’s lost. When you have problems getting a title to an automobile in the firm name” because the name won’t fit on the form, it’s too long.
— Millard S. Bennett, managing principal
Stein, Sperling, Bennett, De Jong, Driscoll & Greenfeig P.C., which markets itself as Stein Sperling
Rockville

“Our legal name is Ober, Kaler, Grimes & Shriver P.C. We have branded the Ober-slash-Kaler as something that we put out to the public… [The] firm was generally known as Ober Kaler and we thought that was a good brand for the firm. I think it’s very difficult, from simply answering the phone to — today everyone wants a brand out in the marketplace— to have a very long string of names that you use in every context.”
— Frank C. Bonaventure Jr., principal, Ober, Kaler, Grimes & Shriver P.C., which markets itself as Ober|Kaler
Baltimore

“For us, more than two would be too many…. Shorter has been deemed [by marketing studies] to be better…. When Weinberg & Green and Saul Ewing merged a little over a decade ago, the name of the firm was Saul, Ewing, Weinberg & Green. Part of the agreement was that they would look at it a couple years down the road, and when they did that, it became just Saul Ewing…. [The firm recently] looked at further reducing the name of the firm to one name [but] studies have indicated that three syllables is the proper number of syllables. It’s effective.”
— Barry F. Levin, partner, Saul Ewing L.L.P., Baltimore

“Tongue-in-cheek, with a big smile on my face: two.”
— Charles J. Morton Jr., partner, Venable LLP
Baltimore