Paul E Danielson is the Rising BCG Rock Star

Paul E. Danielson is a legal recruiter with BCG Attorney Search working in the Malibu office. Before Paul started working as a legal recruiter, he worked in the litigation department at SNR Denton US LLP (Formerly Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal). Paul is known for being creative, intelligent, empathetic, adventurous, and curious. A core tenet of Paul's personal philosophy is to always remember that there is a lot more to the world than any difficulty he is facing in the moment, and putting things in a broader perspective helps make any setback easier to handle. As a child, Paul dreamed of being a rock star, but today he is the star of the office because he always brings an enthusiasm to his projects, attention, and effort to the task at hand.

Paul is known for his combination of creative and analytical skills. As a college student, Paul expressed his creative talent by making movies for student film festivals, writing satires, writing and performing music. . Paul's creative skills and performing abilities were apparent from a young age. For example, as a fifth grader, Paul co-founded an environmental non-profit organization, in which he toured up and down the west coast doing presentations and workshops on environmental issues for schools and community groups. Instantly, Paul found himself comfortable presenting in front of large groups, and reached tens of thousands of people over the course of six years.

Another personality characteristic that Paul embodies is empathy. Family, friends, and colleagues have consistently approached Paul to discuss and seek advice regarding their problems. Paul is an active listener, always finding ways to help people identify the true source of the problem and the dynamics at play, and he excels at finding effective and innovative ways to maneuver conflict and put things in a manageable perspective. Paul's skills at solving interpersonal conflicts are an asset to his candidates as he guides them through the job search process, helps prepare them for interviews and position themselves for success in the workplace.

Paul's Story

Paul grew up in Tucson, Arizona until he was seven, when he moved to Portland, Oregon. He grew up with his mother, father, and one younger sister. Paul's greatest mentors are his parents. Both of Paul's parents graduated from college - Paul's mother taught kindergarten for a number of years, and his father worked as a dentist. To this day, Paul's mother is supportive, encouraging, and a healthy and balanced role model, who has always encouraged Paul to go after his dreams. She is the kind of entrepreneurial woman that has successfully worked in a number of different jobs, and she is always passionate and hardworking during every venture.

From a very young age, Paul exhibited similar entrepreneurial skills. When most kids were playing with toy trucks, Paul created a sandwich delivery company. Paul created a menu, took orders, made the sandwiches, and delivered the sandwiches to nearby offices. In high school, Paul created a successful yard care business with his girlfriend; he admits doing yard work in the summer heat was very strenuous. Throughout his college years, Paul worked as a Resident Assistant in his dorm, earning room and board to supplement his merit-based scholarships. These early work experiences provided Paul with a strong work ethic.

After making his mark on the sandwich delivery world, the yard work business, and the environmental non-profit sector, Paul graduated from the University of Puget Sound with a BA in Communication and a BA in Philosophy. Paul then went on to attain his JD from Northwestern University School of Law in 2007. As a law student, Paul kept himself busy. During his first summer, he worked as a research assistant, a start-up property company, and took a summer class while simultaneously renovating a loft he had purchased in Chicago's West Town neighborhood. During the following summer, Paul worked in Washington, D.C., where he clerked for the Environmental Enforcement Section of the Department of Justice. Following graduation, while studying for the Illinois bar exam, Paul performed a Public Interest Law Initiative Fellowship, through which he sought asylum for a young female fleeing culture abuse in conjunction with the nationally-recognized Bluhm Legal Clinic at Northwestern. After taking the bar exam (and a much-needed vacation) Paul began working as a litigation associate with SNR Denton US LLP in the fall of 2007. During Paul's time with the firm, he worked on a number of large cases including a federal jury trial (for which he received an Award for Excellence in Pro Bono Service from the Northern District of Illinois), nationwide class actions, and general civil litigation matters. One of Paul's most challenging assignments was managing a team of over 50 attorneys, legal staff members, and vendors on a massive year-long discovery project.

Are you a law student just starting out? Paul suggests you work hard and do your best, and make a conscientious effort to build a strong network of people you connect with on a personal level. In the legal industry, everyone needs people who will go to bat for a person when times are tough, especially when you are at the associate level. Nowadays, it is not enough to simply rely on doing good work and billing a lot of hours - career elevation more often than not specifically depends on having established relationships with influential partners and clients. Taking the time to seek out and maintain strong relationships, and conducting yourself professionally at all times, will pay many dividends in a long-term legal career.

Collected Insights Over the Years

As Paul moves through life, certain life lessons help guide his path. First, Paul remembers the world is a lot bigger than people think it is at any given point of time, and even when you must focus on a particular task at hand, putting it into the context of a broader picture is almost always beneficial, both mentally and emotionally. Second, people rarely regret trying new experiences that sound interesting, and aside from the joy of discovery there is often the added benefit of prior knowledge or experience becoming unexpectedly relevant when trying to solve a new problem or building your relationships with new friends and colleagues. Third, Paul always remembers to treat people with dignity and respect regardless of whether a person can help him directly; all people deserve respect. Finally, a person's physical health is the most important thing a person has, if you don't take care of yourself, you can't take care of anyone else.

In Paul's eyes a good leader will embody certain characteristics. For example, a good leader is someone who inspires other to do the best possible work for the organization. Further, a good leader needs to be good at what they do, demand a lot, yet always be grateful for the people putting in work on their behalf. An appreciated employee produces quality work because the employee believes in the organization and feels like a part of the organization.

Moving on to Better Options

Paul acknowledges that he had thought about quitting the law game on various occasions in the past. In fact, Paul believes that in certain circumstances quitting is appropriate choice. Although quitting has a negative connotation, there is a lot of wisdom in accepting that you only live once, that you only have so much time and effort to give towards your career, and thus there is no shame in moving on to a position you would enjoy more than your current position. However, he advises that attorneys take care of their obligations and responsibilities before moving on.

Paul transitioned into legal recruitment because he enjoys counseling people. Although Paul learned a lot from his time as an attorney, Paul made the transition so that he could more fully utilize his empathetic skills. As a recruiter, Paul is a great listener and his ability to empathize with clients looking for jobs and understand their particular needs surely increases his candidate pool. Paul also knows full well the difficulties of finding a job in the current market. When Paul considered leaving his firm, he was faced with the reality that a lot of people were struggling, and it took Paul a while to find his next job. Paul acknowledges the tough legal market, but as a recruiter he has learned a number of strategies and tactics to circumvent the recession and land candidates jobs.

In the office, Paul often fills the role that needs to be filled. When the workplace is frantic, Paul calms things down, places the facts in perspective, and he provides a calming presence to get the work place back on track. Paul is not all work, however - he makes an effort to laugh as much as possible, cracking jokes at every opportunity.

According to Paul, justice is not necessarily the goal of the law. Ultimate justice would require full omniscience and an infinite amount of resources, both of which have historically been in short supply. The law is by nature a human institution, ideally designed to facilitate and enforce the goals of a society, among which justice may be one, but the goal of any particular law may vary. Ideally, justice equates to fairness, in other words ensuring that every person winds up with what they deserve or are owed, which does not always mean money. For instance, society may owe its members freedom from the fear of being attacked or having things taken away, and justice may be served by enforcing these goals. At the end of the day, however, justice is probably best summed up as an attempt to codify and enforce the traditional golden rule common to almost all societies, secular or otherwise: doing onto others as you would have done onto yourself.

Outside the Office

Personally, Paul's adventurous nature leads him to travel throughout the globe, including but not limited to, exotic destinations such as England, Italy, Spain, and the Virgin Islands. With each trip, Paul gains exposure to different personality types, cultures, and people. Additionally, Paul enjoys backpacking trips, and he has explored the Glacier National Park in Montana, Joshua Tree in California, as well as the Cascades of Oregon.

A passion for life drives Paul to constantly learn new things and try new experiences. Paul's hungry mind is not selfish, however; a large part of Paul's enjoyment of life is sharing his knowledge and experiences with other people, and helping expose them to new and exciting things. On the weekends, Paul loves to explore new areas and play tour guide for some of his out of town guests.

After hours, Paul enjoys writing and recording music. Paul is a talented musician; he sings, plays the guitar, plays the drums, and can play a few other instruments by ear. Paul's hobbies are not restricted to the indoors, he is an avid surfer, skier, hiker, and a socializer. The first time Paul caught a wave is burned into his mind as one of his top memorable moments in his life to date. Paul enjoys spending time with his friends and cooking because he enjoys having conversations with the smart, creative, and fun people he surrounds himself with. As he puts it, his favorite types of people are those who could be stuck in a room with blank walls and still manage to have fun.