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Advocate Legal Search

published March 11, 2013

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( 11 votes, average: 3.8 out of 5)
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Personal Life

Anne Nicolas, Founding partner of Advocate Legal Search
Anne Nicolas is a founding partner of Advocate Legal Search, a legal recruiting firm based in Los Angeles, CA. Advocate Legal Search places associates, partners and practice groups throughout Los Angeles, Ventura County and Orange County. Anne has also brought about several law firm mergers. Prior to founding her company, Anne practiced law in Los Angeles, CA for two years before establishing her search firm twenty-five years ago.


Anne was born and raised in Belgium. She attended University of Liege (Belgium) School of Law, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude. Anne moved to Los Angeles when she was twenty-two years old. After she enrolled at Loyola Law School for a year and passed the California Bar Exam, she practiced law at the Los Angeles office of O'Melveny and Myers.

When the legal recruiter isn't working, she enjoys playing tennis, hiking, biking, skiing, rollerblading and traveling. Anne hikes at night in the Santa Monica Mountains every week. She is an accomplished long distance cyclist, who completed a bike ride from Marina del Rey, CA through Mexico to Guatemala. Anne called the journey a “three month adventure.” The enthusiastic recruiter has also enjoyed helicopter skiing in the Canadian Rockies and off trail skiing in France. In 2012, Anne traveled to Croatia; San Miguel, Mexico; Florence, Italy; and Liege, Belgium. She plans on traveling to Israel, British Columbia and the Bahamas in 2013. Anne believes in working hard, but also in moving fast and going places.

The recruiter is an avid reader of short stories. She also enjoys good food, from steak au poivre at a nice French restaurant like Café Pierre to a burger from In-N-Out and an apple fritter from the donut shop around the corner.

Anne's Successful Career Path and Tips for Legal Recruiters

Does Anne have a top memory from school? She said her top memory was teaching constitutional law and economics at University of Liege School of Law.

Anne was asked what it takes to become a successful legal recruiter. She noted that being an attorney is very helpful in placing candidates at firms because she can guide candidates in understanding their work and law firms' environment. Anne acknowledged five qualities most successful recruiters possess: intelligence, integrity, empathy and the abilities to connect and to advocate. She explained that compassion and empathy are important to help candidates who are leaving a firm, a process she compared to a divorce. She also pointed out that she wears many hats: depending on the circumstances and the candidates, she needs to function as a business advisor, a counselor, a coach, an advocate or all of the above. Says the happy recruiter: “I have been doing this for twenty-five years and I can't imagine doing something else. It's a great job for me. I like what I do and I like my life.”

What motivated Anne to work as a recruiter? The businesswoman said it was serendipitous. After practicing law for two years, Anne wasn't sure she still wanted to be a lawyer, so she met with a legal recruiter who offered her a position on the same day. “I thought I would try it for six months. I fell in love with it and I started my own business in 1988.”

When asked about her strengths as a recruiter, Anne asserted “I am tenacious and have high energy. It's easy to be energetic if you like what you are doing.” She also emphasized that she is a straight shooter who shares information, maintains relationships and makes long-term connections based on true and established facts.

So what is Anne's advice to new recruiters? “Go talk to a variety of legal recruiters and see and understand what this career is about. You have to be both intellectually and emotionally suited for this work.”

Considering her twenty-five years of experience in the legal recruiting industry, many readers may want to know where Anne sees the legal field in the next five years. The candid recruiter believes that the legal market will be about mergers. “There will be a lot of mergers, not just of mega firms but also if not mostly of boutiques with mid size firms and mid size firms with other mid size firms. It's about consolidation and growth.”

What makes a great candidate? “Every candidate is great and no candidate is perfect.”

How does Anne process fear? “Accept fear and move beyond it. It is OK to be afraid, but it is not OK to base any action or decision on fear. I never think I am going to fail. If I work hard enough, I can succeed. Everybody has courage, you just have to tap into it.”

Where does Anne derive her confidence? “I always have been driven at work and in my hobbies. It's a lot of fun to do things hard and well, whether its biking, skiing or recruiting. And it builds confidence.”

Professional Associations, Non Profit Organizations, Facing Obstacles and Motivation

Anne is a member of the bars of both Belgium and California. She is also a member of the National Association of Legal Search Consultants (NALSC), a voluntary organization of legal recruiters that adhere to the highest ethical standards in the profession.

Although Anne is not currently volunteering her time with a non-profit organization, she has spent several years in the past helping homeless individuals find a job by teaching them through an organization called Chrysalis. This nonprofit organization is dedicated to creating a pathway to self- sufficiency for homeless and low-income individuals.

Has the legal recruiter faced any obstacles? How did she get through them? According to her, “Everybody has. You don't focus on your failures. You just try to do things as well as you can.”

What motivates Anne to be a recruiter everyday? “I still like it. I am still excited to do it. I look forward to going to the office every day,” claims Anne. “Every deal is different from the last one. I love the variety of what I do.”

A Rewarding Position and Goals

Why does Anne find her position rewarding? She says that “In the end, I have helped both candidates and clients and they are better off.”

Does Anne have goals? She said, “My goal is to continue to be a recruiter, hopefully always a better one. I feel very lucky. I am happy with my career and my life.”
 
 

published March 11, 2013

By Follow Me on
( 11 votes, average: 3.8 out of 5)
What do you think about this article? Rate it using the stars above and let us know what you think in the comments below.