Why I Love The Chambers and Partners Website

I am consistently surprised by the number of attorneys that have not heard of the Chambers and Partners website (www.chambersandpartners.com), since it is a website that I frequent multiple times each day. Since 1990, Chambers and Partners (“C&P”) has been providing independent rankings and commentary for the worlds’ top law firms. While I am in no way affiliated with C&P, nor am I am expert on navigating the website, I find the law firm information and rankings to be extremely useful, especially when trying to determine whether a particular law firm or practice within a firm would be a good fit for a specific candidate.
As anyone in the legal field knows, there are countless law firms in this country (and in the world), and trying to distinguish them from one another can be difficult, to say the least. Moreover, while many firms have terrific websites filled with detailed practice descriptions and biographies of the practicing attorneys, other websites leave a lot to be desired. This is where C&P comes in handy. In addition to providing contact information for the firm, the number of attorneys who practice in the firm, a summary of the major areas practiced by the law firm and the location of the various firm offices, for each major practice area in a particular state, C&P ranks the top law firms into various Bands (Band 1 being the top firms, Band 2 being the next best and so on). Moreover, it provides detailed summaries of the specific practice, the clients serviced by the department and the star attorneys in the group. All of the information provided by C&P is gathered by independent third parties, none of whom are affiliated with a particular law firm. As a result, unlike a law firm website, which is put together by the firm itself, C&P provides unbiased, objective information about the firm practice. It is for this reason that I recommend that all candidates review the law firm summaries as well as the practice area rankings for the firms the candidate is evaluating.
By no means does C&P provide all of the information an attorney needs to assess whether a firm may be a good fit. That is because C&P does not provide information on the personalities of the individual attorneys in the group, the way projects are distributed to attorneys, the culture of the firm, how attorneys are evaluated, or other anecdotal information, all of which is extremely important when determining whether a particular firm would be a good place to work. Even so, it provides a good starting point from which attorneys looking to make a lateral move can assess the major firms in a particular geographic area.
Take a look.

‘Tis the Season (For Recruiting)

It’s recruiting season at law firms again. You can take the recruiter out of a law firm, but you can’t take the law firm out of this recruiter. After many years spent coordinating or managing law firm hiring programs, I cannot help but think about the fact that it’s that time of year again.

On Campus hiring starts much earlier, now that most law schools have pushed their schedules back from fall and into summer. Many have already visited a campus this August. If you pay attention in a few weeks, you’ll notice all the gray and black suits accompanied by associates in restaurants all over town, having the famous interview lunch.

This year the landscape of recruiting programs has undergone a renovation and for many legal employers, it will be a work in progress for most of the fall. It is more difficult for firms to determine how many offers to extend to get the “right” number of hires to fill up their summer associate programs or round out their incoming associate classes, but to not wind up with more associates than they can provide work. It is difficult to anticipate what the needs of various practices areas will be due to economic uncertainties.

For the first time in many years NALP has revised the guidelines for students and employers and rolled the deadlines for decisions. There has been a change in how many offers law students can hold and for how long. Whether and to what extent law students are aware of the soft legal market and the number of firms who have had reductions in force remains to be seen.

Whatever the circumstances at your firm, a best practice any year and especially this season, is careful preparation. If you are an attorney or hiring manager in the trenches of a firm and expect to conduct on campus interviews or meet with call back candidates, now is the time to determine the answers to the questions that law students ask every year and to set the stage for how to handle new and possibly more sensitive lines of questioning, without really having certainty of what the future holds for the industry or your particular firm.

This is a year when every one participating in the recruiting process will need guidance. An interviewer training is usually standard, this year it is definitely a good idea. Providing a well crafted message on how the firm wants interviewers to convey answers to questions about lay offs, any changes in policies for extending offers, and what size program the firm is aiming for, or any other concerns you can anticipate, should be decided on as soon as possible.

One bit of insight you might consider is that it is not necessary to raise topics or offer more information than necessary, unless there is a question from a candidate. Especially if there is ambiguity about hiring needs and practice groups, or the size of the program. It can be harmful in the way a firm is perceived and call attention to areas that would never have crossed a law students mind.

There are always cases where a firm may have had a recent partner departure, and wouldn’t you know, one of the candidates that is visiting the firm will turn out to have been a fan of the partner who left. Maybe they took a course the person taught at their law school, or heard them speak. Having an answer if a candidate asks about such matters is important, but it does not need to brought up with the candidates who do not ask.

I have noticed from meeting with numerous firms and listening to their perceptions of the way they are viewed externally (both positively or negatively), that events within the firm may feel way more obvious from the inside than they actually appear from the outside. These are law students and they are primarily worried about getting a summer job and what their prospects for receiving an offer will be if they accept a summer offer. Likewise for third years looking to have a back up option or a position following graduation. This is a distinctly different audience than lateral partner and associate candidates.

Many firms have held or are planning interviewer trainings. A measure of additional support for having a consistent message for recruiting regulars and pinch hitters would be preparing a brief fact sheet with commonly asked questions and the appropriate answers, that can be updated as needed should things change, and distributed electronically when schedules and resumes are circulated. It can be done to suit each individual firm, and go beyond the basics out lined here and include ways to address distinctions between your firm and competitors, whether the firm allows splits, or anything else your recruiting team feels will be useful to include.

It never ceased to amaze me how under informed many partners were about such things, but they are usually just too busy to think about it until they are asked. Having the answers will make your interviewers look good and enhance the esteem with which a candidate sees the firm.
By proactively determining and managing the tone to be set this year, rather than leaving it to chance or to the individual of discretion of each interviewer, the process will go much more smoothly for everyone. People appreciate being informed and offering law students the answers to what seems so mysterious to them at times, shows good faith and transparency on the part of the firm.

As an added bonus, sharing plans for the summer program or incoming associate hiring plan might provide a measure of comfort about the health of the firm. Affirming that there is a future and thinking ahead to another summer program could boost morale and calm down the anxiety level. Even in the most stable and profitable firm, the rumor mill is swirling because anyone in the industry cannot help but notice what is going on all around them and wonder if their firm is alright.

A successful recruiting season is far more likely if these measures are taken in advance and applied in the communications between interviewers and prospective hires, so that the firm is presented well and accurately. If you participate in your firm’s recruiting program and there has not been a training session scheduled or any background information distributed, definitely inquire with your hiring manager or partner. They are probably already working on it, but if they are not, they are likely to appreciate the suggestion.

What this hiring season will look like in retrospect remains to be seen. It’s a mystery, just like the way Santa gets in and out of those tiny chimneys when he is so big and beautiful. We may never know about Santa, but for this recruiting season, we’ll have the answer in a few months.
Season’s Greetings and good luck with your hiring!

Surviving Summer Culture Shock

Every year around this time, I flash back to my experience in May of 2001. As a “mature” law student I had experienced the finer things in my other professional incarnations before law school. However, the law school years were fairly meager in this regard, while we balanced tuition bills with the dramatic absence of a regular paycheck. By the end of law school, I was living part-time in my brother’s decrepit, long-retired RV temporarily parked on a rough farm next to the Davis dump. A flock of geese lived under my RV and a herd of cows often surrounded it. There were issues of ants, bees, heat, cold, wind, clean water, leakage and odors.

A Resume Must Tell the Whole Story

I think it’s instinct–we all know how important it is for a resume to tell all there is to know about our qualifications. When it comes to attorney resumes, it goes one step further. Not only must we adequately summarize our qualifications; we must also include certain pieces of information that law firms will undoubtedly want to know. The following are just a few examples of special information that is appropriate to include on attorney resumes:

• Practice Description: In addition to a description of your day-to-day responsibilities and maybe some highlights from specific cases/deals; it is crucial for the person reviewing your resume to immediately spot the substantive areas in which you have experience. Thus, the first line under each position you have held should include this information. Example: “Primary areas of focus include real estate, land use, and environmental.” Keeping in mind the number of resumes law firms receive for a single opening and the fact that the person doing the initial screen is not always an attorney, including such basic information in an easy-to-spot manner can make a dramatic difference.
• Firm Description: When moving from one geographic region to another, it is often helpful to include a short description of your current firm. This especially applies when you work at a firm that is well-regarded or highly ranked in your particular region but may not be as well known in the region of your job search. Examples: “XYZ’s litigation practice is routinely ranked as a top practice by ______.” or “ABC Firm is one of the largest firms in Small City and is known for its corporate and finance practices.”
• Reason for a Move: When a candidate leaves Firm A to join Firm B with a partner or group, it is common practice to list the two firms as separate and distinct entries on the resume. Now consider the fact that one of the most common reasons firms have for passing on a candidate is “too many moves.” Having said this, moving because a partner recruited you or because your entire practice group moved is quite distinct from making a move for any number of other reasons. Thus, in such situations, it is proper (and helpful) to note that the move occurred under special circumstances. Examples: “Moved to Firm B with partner from Firm A” or “Practice group left Firm A to start the Big City office of Firm B.”
• Bar Admissions: Most attorneys know to include their bar admissions on their resume. However, if you are moving to a different region and have definite plans to sit for that state’s bar exam or, you are eligible to waive into the bar, you must let the firm know. Example: “Admitted in Massachusetts and New York; Sitting for February 2008 California Bar Exam.”
• Summer Associate Offers: If you summered at a firm and received an offer but did not elect to accept the offer, it must be clear that you did receive the offer. Many times, attorneys will include the summer position in their work history but will not indicate whether or not an offer was extended. This likely leads the firm to believe that an offer was NOT extended. If that is the case, fine. You can’t go back and change that. However, it is absolutely crucial to indicate if that was NOT the case. Example: ABC Firm, Summer Associate (offer extended).

Applying for a lateral position at a law firm is a unique experience because law firms place a huge emphasis on very specific aspects of your career history and qualifications. These are just a few examples of information that can make a difference in the consideration you receive from a law firm. A good legal recruiter should always go over your resume with you and be ready to advise on whether these and other modifications are appropriate given your particular circumstances.

Learning to Wait With Grace: The Art of Patience

I hate to wait. Really, really hate it. It depresses me, puts me in a funk, and sometimes makes me act irrationally. But, as a legal recruiter, I’ve started to accept the fact that waiting is a critical part of the process for myself as well as my candidates.

Hence, I learned that even the most fabulous candidates will take time to place and this is becoming especially true in our current market. To that end, I’ve provided a list of quotations below regarding patience. Give them a read, take a deep breath, and remember that good things come to those who wait!

“Patience is passion tamed.”
–Lyman Abbott

“Patience is the companion of wisdom.”
–St. Augustine

“Endurance is patience concentrated.”
–Thomas Carlyle

“The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not smashing it.”
–Arnold H. Glasgow

Is Your Bio Accurate?

If you are open to a lateral move, it’s very important that your bio on your firm’s website accurately reflects your experience (assuming that you are able to provide input on your bio).

With regard to headhunters, an accurate biography can do two things: (1) eliminate calls regarding positions that don’t match your background, and (2) encourage calls for positions that do.

This sounds like very basic advice, but it’s quite shocking how many attorneys will say to me, “Oh, my biography is so outdated – I have much more X or Y experience than is reflected there.”

Just something to think (and hopefully write) about.

Why every lawyer needs a dog.

Practicing law is a stressful occupation, especially for those attorneys working in law firms. In this day and age where lawyers are constantly seeking stress relievers in their lives, I offer up a simple suggestion- adopt a dog from a rescue or the local pound.

For those more logical minded folks- there have been many health benefits associated with owning a dog. Owning a dog has been linked to lowered blood pressure and cholesterol levels, increased happiness, decreased levels of depression, and better overall stress management.

Most of the lawyers I talk to everyday would greatly benefit from having a loving pet in their lives. Sharing your life with a dog means welcoming unconditional love into your life. It’s that simple. Your dog won’t care how many hours you billed that day or if you screwed up a major assignment. Dogs show friendship in its purest form, without judgment or ulterior motives. Dogs are happy to see you every minute of every day. Now what lawyer (or human being for that matter), doesn’t need more good energy like that in their lives?

If you really think about it, the term “rescuing a dog” is kind of a misnomor, because dogs so often rescue us and give us a better quality of life. If you have room in your heart, please strongly consider adopting a dog from your local rescue or shelter. As I look at my dog napping peacefully by my desk right now, I can honestly say that adopting him was one of the best decisions that my husband and I ever made. After all, as Charles Schulz put it- “Happiness is a warm puppy.”