Sacks Legal Search

PERSONAL LIFE

Sabrina Sacks Mann owns and runs Sacks Legal Search, an attorney-run legal search firm based in Philadelphia, PA. For the past decade, SLS has been placing attorneys in all practice areas in full-time lateral positions with firms and companies nationwide, with an emphasis on the Northeast Corridor. Prior to becoming a recruiter, Sabrina spent several years in-house handling transactional matters for a bank holding company and as a legal editor for a weekly insurance publication. Sabrina then joined a well-respected Philadelphia legal search firm, where she worked for four years as a legal recruiter before establishing her own search firm.


Sabrina was born in Brooklyn, NY, and raised in Cooperstown, NY; Reno, Nevada; Northern California and San Antonio, Texas.

After spending her first year of college at Smith College (and singing with the Smith College Smithereens), Sabrina transferred to Barnard College of Columbia University, where she received her B.A. in English Literature. While studying at Barnard College of Columbia University, Sabrina worked as an intern on the David Letterman show.
Sabrina earned her J.D. from Temple University School of Law.

Sabrina is married to Daniel Mann, a trial lawyer with high end Philadelphia plaintiff’s litigation firm Feldman Shepherd Wohlgelernter Tanner Weinstock Dodig LLP. They are raising their two small children in Center City Philadelphia.

Sabrina’s number one priority outside of work is her family. On weekends, they root for the Phillies, Eagles and Sixers and attend various kids’ activities such as T ball and gymnastics. Sabrina is also a long distance runner, having completed several marathons, and is currently training for a ten mile race. She recently devoured the thriller Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, and is currently mesmerized by Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead.

SABRINA’S APPROACH AND TIPS FOR LEGAL RECRUITERS

When asked what elements are necessary to become a successful legal recruiter, Sabrina commented:

“Perseverance, tenacity, creativity, taking the long view of people’s careers and an unwavering emphasis on confidentiality are key to successful recruiting. Incredibly intelligent and motivated attorneys have invested precious time, money and often sacrificed much of their personal lives along the way to get where they are today. I consider myself their trusted confidante, priest, rabbi and psychologist rolled into one.”

What is Sabrina’s advice to new recruiters? She advises they do their homework on the industry as well as a brutal self-assessment regarding whether they are really ready to jump into such an entrepreneurial field, since law firms and the legal industry in general are an entirely different animal than when Sabrina started almost 15 years ago; people need to go in to the business with their eyes open. That said, Sabrina added she loves recruiting and feel truly blessed to have found her professional niche.

When asked what she is known for professionally, Sabrina noted candidates have told her they appreciate her candor in assessing their qualifications/credentials and that, while she presents them with the pros and cons, ultimately it is their career and they are steering the ship, so to speak. Sabrina noted that there is a certain amount of serendipity in helping to make the right fit. She added that, on the client (law firm, corporation) side, she painstakingly presents only on-point candidates who will be the right fit with the organization.

Considering her almost 15 years of experience in the legal recruiting industry, readers may be wondering where Sabrina sees the legal field in the next five years. She notes that, since 2008’s recession, firms are understandably extremely careful with lateral hiring, taking what they view as calculated, measured risks in terms of hiring (and not over-hiring). She added that “It is a bit of a ‘new normal,’ I believe for the better. Those attorneys who continue to build their books of business will have opportunities to expand their practice (hence the trend of mega firm lawyers joining more regional firms, partially to take advantage of more reasonable rate structures).”

When asked what she looks for to find the right fit, and what makes a great candidate, Sabrina admitted there is a bit of the ‘X’ factor involved when she meets with a truly stellar candidate. But setting aside the prerequisites of intelligence and competence (which she said are a given), Sabrina noted exceptional candidates “are so comfortable in their own skin that they exude an ineffable quality of grace and just come across as possessing such ‘people skills’ that I can envision them getting along with anyone and everyone. You know it when you see it (which is not that often), and that is one of the things I love about recruiting: unearthing gems such as these and matching them efficiently with the right employer.”

PROCESSING FEAR, CONFRONTING OBSTACLES AND MAINTAINING CONFIDENCE

In terms of processing fear, Sabrina responded: “There are often many things outside our control, both professionally and out there in the world. But as I have grown older, I have found that the key to processing fear is to try to break down issues into manageable bites and not catastrophize situations, but rather confront them head-on.”

How does the businesswoman tackle obstacles? “A great quote from my late father was ‘Look, make mistakes. Everyone does. Just try not to make the same ones over and over again.’ I love that! Learning from my mistakes, becoming better at reading people’s cues, really listening to candidates and clients and managing everyone’s expectations is truly the crux of everything.”

When asked where Sabrina gets her confidence, she responded that her working class, non college-educated parents (her father was a chef and her mother worked for the IRS) were extremely practical, down to earth people who instilled in Sabrina and her brother a love of learning and a strong entrepreneurial drive.She also moved around a lot as a child. From the age of ten Sabrina learned to reinvent herself, make friends easily and acclimate into various situations, attributes which have proven invaluable to her as a recruiter.

MOTIVATION, MENTORS AND PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

What motivates Sabrina? She revealed that, apart from the thrill of closing deals, “I genuinely get a kick out of meeting with candidates, learning what makes them tick -- really digging deep to ferret out their hopes and dreams as well as accurately assess their experience and hopefully helping them find a great new position which meshes well with their aspirations. On the client side, I love meeting with partners and General Counsel to gain an intimate flavor of what life is like in their work environment, the corporate culture, etc.”

When asked about mentors, Sabrina responded that her late father had the most inspiring influence upon her, describing him as an “optimistic, unflappable, resilient, entirely self-made man whose practical, common sense approach towards life is very much my moral compass.”

In terms of professional associations,for the past decade Sabrina has been a proud member of the National Association of Legal Search Consultants (NALSC), a voluntary organization of legal recruiters who adhere to the highest ethical standards in the profession and attend numerous best practice seminars. Sabrina is also a member of the Philadelphia Bar Association.

When asked about her involvement in nonprofit organizations, Sabrina responded that she is heavily involved with the Temple Law Alumni Association, currently serving on its Executive Committee and as Assistant Secretary. She is also very involved with the nonprofit WOMEN’S WAY, which supports vital agencies through strategic grantmaking while also advocating for policies that positively impact the lives of more than 200,000 women and their families. For two years Sabrina served as co-chair of WOMEN’S WAY’S annual dinner committee and remains very committed to supporting the organization.

Mentors and Mentoring Others and Future Goals

When asked about mentoring and being mentored, Sabrina responded that she has had various mentors in her career, adding that “My wonderful former colleagues at my previous search firm, as well as fellow recruiters I have met through NALSC, have been and continue to serve as fantastic professional resources. I also feel honored and privileged to serve as a mentor, both formally and informally, to Temple Law students and alumni, as well as junior attorneys beginning their careers.”

Sabrina considers it an honor and a privilege to help shepherd attorneys towards new opportunities during a period of personal and professional upheaval for them.She added, “I feel blessed to be always learning about different practice areas, helping people in the process and getting to be an entrepreneur.”

Sabrina stated her professional goals as follows: “I would like to continue placing more partners and groups, and to always stay ahead of the curve. Personally, I hope to continue to carve out precious time with my family for rejuvenating ‘down time.’”