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Learn from legal expert, Harrison Barnes
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Marketing is now part and parcel of what it means to be successful with lateral recruitment, especially in a marketplace where the most coveted prospects want to know why they should join your law firm and not the one down the street. Consequently, it's up to you to devise ways to communicate your firm's uniqueness. In order to effectively market your firm, you must first develop a plan to:
Most law firms have taken on a lateral who didn't produce as expected because something fell through the cracks during due diligence:
Take steps now to be a victor in the ongoing war for legal talent.
These days most law firms are constantly on the lookout for groups of laterals in key practice areas. While there's no denying that a lateral strategy can work for the bottom line, law firm leaders will attest that it has its pitfalls.
Today, most lateral associates enter their new firms with the understanding that the position is actually an opportunity to audition for the role of partner. In the best-case scenario, at the end of the experience, firms are able to identify those with the skills needed to enhance firm profits and advance in a reasonable amount of time. In BCG Attorney Search's estimation, it's always prudent for law firm leaders re-evaluate the traits their individual organizations find desirable—particularly since such characteristics are apt to change along with the firm's needs. Developing an informal list and then checking potential lateral hires against it can help firms avoid serious financial implications caused when a once-promising prospect later turns out to be a "bad fit."
The stakes-time, money, or firm wide resources-are always high when you embark on a search for a lateral hire. And these costs often have nothing to do with due diligence or questions of fit and synergy. Instead, it's a matter of sheer economics. Because some headhunters' fees now run in the six-figure range, managing such relationships on the front-end can be crucial.
Numerous books, articles, and training materials have been written on the subject of how to successfully interview for a job. Most of this information is geared toward the job candidate, instructing him or her to dress professionally, arrive on time, anticipate difficult questions and prepare responses, maintain eye contact, avoid slouching, and generally make the best impression on potential employers.
While law firms' lateral hiring pace is likely to slow somewhat this year as many begin refocusing on first-year recruiting, most data suggest that attracting and retaining top laterals in hot practice areas will remain a priority for law firm leaders for some time to come.
While the desire of your firm to land a promising lateral may be nigh overwhelming, caution is the watchword. Consider this cautionary tale before your firm rushes to retain even its most prized prospect: "Hiring is up, yet my firm seems to be riding into these unions with blinders on," one law firm leader confides, explaining her firm's lateral hiring strategy. "I'll wager that one out of two will end up being a drag on the firm's profits and morale."
Lateral hires are on the rise, which means law firm leaders must review their due diligence practices, especially when considering prospects who seem too good to be true. There are a number of now crucial areas in which to concentrate your due diligence:
There is a select group of candidates that everybody wants, and you know the type we are talking about. Excellent credentials, highly desired practice group, and a great personality to boot. The age-old question for law firms: How do we most effectively recruit these top candidates?
As professional search consultants, part of our job is to counsel attorneys on a daily basis as to how they should choose between competing law firms. There is a considerable degree of insight that is needed to understand the psychology that attorneys attach to choosing between competing offers, and contrary to popular perception, attorneys do not always choose to work in the highest-paying or most prestigious law firms. Understanding why attorneys choose one firm over another can help you both attract and retain attorneys after they are hired.
Seventy-five percent of all placement requests are for associates with two-to-four years of experience, largely because firms want lawyers with few rough edges and no immediate expectation of partnership. But the simple rules of supply and demand dictate that having focus is essential, if you want to improve your firm's chances of success. Another necessity: Spell out all expectations to save yourself the aggravation that comes with having to go back and explain to your hiring partner or committee what went "wrong" with a search. Start by asking partners to thoughtfully consider what they want before they ask you to begin the search for a lateral. To help you get them more attuned to actual needs, below are guidelines detailing minimum level requirements you need from partners before you make the first call to a headhunter:
Far too many legal-hiring organizations fail to hire stars because their hiring process actually prevents superstar candidates from ever getting in the door. By reviewing the following list of suggestions for organizing and streamlining your approach to hiring, you should be able to maximize your chances of hiring the star candidates who may have eluded your recruiting efforts in the past.
Law firm recruiting managers are called upon daily to handle a myriad of responsibilities for their firms, including coordinating fall recruiting programs at law schools, planning and managing summer-associate programs, managing lateral hiring, professional development, and conducting partner and associate evaluations. Some of these professionals also handle human resources and marketing functions. These professionals are highly skilled and most often overworked.
When can hiring a lateral be detrimental to your law firm? All firms consider the impact the potential lateral hire will have on the firm's professional liability insurance and take the following precautions:
When it comes to recruiting, law firms get as much out of their efforts as they put into them. As a result, is it a surprise to hear partners complain that their firms are not attracting as much top talent as they once did.
Has your firm been hiring new associates who seem to meet your criteria in the hope that they'll learn and improve and still be with the firm when its time to make partnership decisions? Rather than hoping, now may be the time to identify the competencies your law firm needs. Then you can teach lawyer/interviewers to uncover the desired behaviors that will create a legal workforce that can develop those competencies and is reliable, productive, and stable.
In many firms, lateral hiring resembles a revolving door: Lawyers come in, spend three or more years with the firm, and then depart. Indeed, when it comes to integrating laterals, most law firms do a good job of detailing the programs, policies, and paperwork needed to cover the administrative aspects associated with joining a new firm, but they fail to describe the business objectives they have for the lateral.
Few areas have more potential for internal criticism and strife than determining the appropriate compensation level for lateral partners. And even large firms that recruit tremendous numbers of lateral partners can have a hard time figuring out how to attract and compensate these new owners. The difficulties in compensating lateral partners vary depending on the compensation system employed at each firm, so the tried-and-true tactics outlined below should be helpful to law firm leaders who need ideas for recruiting and compensating lateral partners: