As law firms continue to adjust to practicing under the America Invents Act (AIA), some intellectual property firms saw a slight decline in headcount in 2017. However, Finnegan continued to remain steady, with a slight increase in the number of partners in 2017. The firm continues to successfully secure new work and is one of the most active firms in representing plaintiff in district court patent litigation, a dominant force in representing litigants in AIA reviews, and made the most appearances at the Federal Circuit in 2017. Finnegan's managing partner Mark Sweet said, "I think in the last couple of years what you’ve seen is the firms are settling into what’s a good, healthy, steady state for them.” Sweet also discussed how the firm plans to maintain its current size. He said, "When we do our summer associate program, we’re crystal-balling two years out the number of attorneys we are going to be hiring for the firm. But as with all firms too, if there’s an influx of work that put us in a position where we need to bump up hiring, we certainly would do that."
