Lorena Rivas truly is unflappable.
Three years ago, with Coronavirus staring the world in its face, including her newly opened law firm of less than 15 people, Rivas had all the reason in the world to flinch.
Yet, Rivas did the exact opposite – she adapted, hustled, and ultimately turned her firm into more than a law firm. She turned Rivas & Associates into an innovative and thriving business that has over 100 employees and a national and international presence throughout the world.
Others have taken notice, including Inc. The well-known business marketing publication headquartered at the World Trade Center in New York City unveiled its 2023 Inc. 5000 List of the fastest-growing private companies in the United States, and Rivas & Associates made the list, coming in at No. 599.
“It’s just an amazing honor,” Lorena Rivas said. “I’ve been following Inc. for a couple of years, and I never really thought about us making it. But at the same time, we have been growing and I knew we were doing some amazing things.”
The Methodology Behind the 2023 Inc. 5000 List
According to Inc., “Companies on the 2023 Inc. 5000 are ranked according to percentage revenue growth from 2019 to 2022. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2019. They must be U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit, and independent—not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies—as of December 31, 2022. (Since then, some on the list may have gone public or been acquired.)
“The minimum revenue required for 2019 is $100,000; the minimum for 2022 is $2 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons. Growth rates used to determine company rankings were calculated to four decimal places.”
The bottom line is that those included on the list are in the “top half-percent of all privately owned companies – better than 99.5 percent of all companies,” according to Inc. editor-in-chief Scott Omelianuk.
Rivas & Associates Among Best American Law Firms
By making the list alone, Rivas & Associates can lay claim to being one of the Best American Law Firms. The firm ranked 599 on the 2023 Inc. 5000 List. A further analytical dive reveals that Rivas & Associates was one of only 51 law firms to make the list, ranking sixth.
Even more impressive is the fact that Rivas & Associates was one of only 26 Oklahoma businesses to make the 2023 Inc. 5000 List.
The firm was named to the Inc.com Southwest Region List for fastest-growing companies earlier in the year and Rivas was also spotlighted by the business publication for her leadership.
Rivas & Associates Among Best American Businesses
Inclusion into the 2023 Inc. 5000 List not only reinforces that Rivas & Associates is one of Best American Businesses, it now resides in the same neighborhood as entrepreneurial giants Marc Cuban, Jessica Alba, Jenny Craig, and Bill Gates.
“I learned during COVID and with A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) becoming more prevalent that we were going to have to evolve,” Lorena Rivas said. “We needed to find creative ways to serve our clients. I want us to have a more of a holistic approach as a law firm.”
Rivas’s outside-of-the-box thinking has led to the creation of the Rivas & Associates Client Advocacy Department and the Rivas & Associates Education Program.
The Client Advocacy Department focuses on helping clients better maneuver through some of the day-to-day challenges they face such as setting up an email account, downloading an app, or enrolling their child into school.
The Education Program will enable clients the resources to take ESL classes or study for the Naturalization and Citizenship Test.
If that weren’t enough, Rivas & Associates now offers Business Legal services spearheaded by experienced attorney Natalie Leone.
It all points to more opportunities to acquire the piece of the “American Dream” they are currently in pursuit of.
“That’s the idea,” Lorena Rivas said. “I’d really like to be as close to a one-stop-shop as possible.”