The Marketability of Insurance Lawyers

We are frequently contacted by attorneys whose practices focus on insurance law. The relative marketability of these attorneys depends on the specific nature of their practice. Insurance coverage attorneys are highly marketable, and can take up challenging new positions with top law firms with relative ease. On the other hand, those who practice insurance defense find it more difficult to make an upwardly-mobile move, notwithstanding their often excellent litigation skills.

As a general rule, insurance coverage cases involve more sophisticated legal issues and are more likely to result in binding case law that will directly affect future claims.

The phrase “insurance defense” refers to situations where an insurer hires counsel to defend its insured against an action brought by a third party — typically, an action alleging that the insured has caused the third party to suffer bodily injury or property damage. The parties to the action typically are the insured and the third-party claimant. The legal issues revolve around whether the insured defendant is liable to the third party, and if so, for how much.

In contrast, the parties to insurance coverage actions generally are the insurer and the insured. The insured is seeking to recover under a policy of insurance, and the central legal question is whether the insured’s policy covers the loss or liability. Insurance coverage actions also may involve complex issues, including disputes between insurers-relating to matters such as primary/excess coverage, time-on-the-risk, or reinsurance. Such actions also may involve first-party claims for coverage (e.g., for a loss suffered by the insured, rather than by a third party, such as fire or earthquake damage to the insured’s home, or theft of the insured’s personal property) that are never at issue in insurance defense.

Automobile insurance provides a fairly straightforward example of the difference between insurance defense and insurance coverage. Imagine that an insured driver is involved in an automobile accident with another driver. As a result, both cars are damaged, and the other driver is injured. The other driver sues the insured for the injuries and damages allegedly suffered. The insured therefore seeks coverage for the other driver’s injuries and property damage, and asks the insurer to defend him in the lawsuit brought by the other driver.

If there are no coverage issues, the defendant’s insurer will appoint counsel to defend the insured in the action, and will attempt to resolve the claim for bodily injury and property damage, by settlement or otherwise. The legal issues will be fairly straightforward — how did the accident occur, what was the proximate cause of any resulting injuries and damage, and what is the monetary value of the injuries and damage suffered. If the insured is found liable, or agrees to a settlement within policy limits, the insurer will pay the tab.

But if there are coverage issues, the insurer may refuse to cover the damages suffered by the insured and the third party, and may refuse to defend the insured in the lawsuit brought by the other driver. In that event, coverage litigation may ensue — instigated by either the insured or the insurer — in which the operative question will be whether the insured’s policy covers-or potentially covers-the loss or liability resulting from the automobile accident, thereby entitling the insured to a defense and/or indemnity. The legal issues involved in such a suit will not focus on whether the insured is liable to the other driver. Rather, they will focus on matters such as whether the policy was in effect at the time of the accident, whether the driver of the vehicle was in fact insured under the policy, or whether the insured’s liability arises from an excluded risk (such as situations where the insured intentionally caused the accident).

Thus, insurance defense cases tend to focus on the facts of a particular incident or occurrence. Insurance coverage cases tend to focus on the language of the policy and the case law construing the policy language. Such cases can have a much more dramatic impact on the insurer’s bottom line, because they can establish precedent that will apply to future claims.

Insurance defense law firms are less likely to use legal recruiters than firms that handle insurance coverage work.

While insurance defense cases sometimes involve high-dollar claims, the practice generally tends to be high volume/low value. Because insurance defense work tends to be high volume, insurance carriers often assign a lot of cases to a particular firm, but pay a fairly low hourly rate. Insurance coverage cases, on the other hand, can be quite large scale, with multimillion dollar claims that take years to litigate (for example, claims for coverage of liability for environmental contamination that allegedly took place over decades, thereby implicating numerous policies). Carriers generally are willing to pay a much higher hourly rate for these types of cases, because as a general rule, the work is more sophisticated, and, as mentioned above, more likely to result in binding case law that will apply to future claims.

Firms that handle insurance defense work tend to pay their attorneys salaries that are below market. They are often unwilling to recruit lateral attorneys through recruiting firms, which can entail a substantial fee, preferring to hire candidates directly. On the other hand, many of the top law firms in the country handle insurance coverage work. Some handle such matters on behalf of insurers and some handle them on behalf of well-heeled corporate policyholders. In either event, such firms are able to command very respectable hourly rates for their work, and generate a healthy revenue stream in the practice area. Many such firms are our clients.

Insurance defense attorneys can maximize their marketability to top law firms by focusing on insurance coverage work to the greatest extent possible, and honing their litigation skills.

Many law firms that focus primarily on insurance defense work also do a fair amount of insurance coverage work. Attorneys who work at such firms can maximize their marketability to top law firms by handling as much insurance coverage work as they can get their hands on. Attorneys who have done so (including this author) have been able to leverage themselves into better-paying positions at more prestigious law firms, where they have handled more sophisticated and satisfying work. We have had success marketing such attorneys to top law firms by focusing on the strong, hands-on litigation experience that they have gained through their insurance defense work, and the exposure to sophisticated legal issues that they have gained through their insurance coverage work.

Such attorneys should approach a potential lateral move with considerable thought. Some individuals in hiring positions have a bias against insurance defense attorneys, perceiving them to be less careful in their work and to have less sophisticated experience than other candidates. To address any such bias, a candidate should ensure that his or her application is as well-presented and informative as possible. The application should highlight any insurance coverage experience-including a description of the specific nature of that experience (e.g., first-party or third-party, types of coverage/claims, etc.) as well as the extent of the candidate’s hands-on litigation experience. Many insurance defense attorneys have substantially more experience than their counterparts at more prestigious firms in handling depositions, oral arguments, arbitrations, and trial. This experience can be very attractive to firms when presented as part of a strong package.

A final thought to keep in mind is that conflicts can be a major concern in insurance coverage work. While some firms represent both insurers and policyholders, most focus on representing one side or the other. A firm that represents only policyholders may be unwilling to consider hiring an attorney who has represented insurers, simply as a matter of firm policy, or due to actual or perceived conflicts of interest. Your job search should be tailored accordingly.

Any of our BCG recruiters would be happy to discuss your insurance practice with you to determine how you can take your practice to the highest level.

Moving Your Practice (and Portable Business) to Another Law Firm

Moving your practice to another firm is a daunting task that requires your undivided attention to detail, your ability to identify and navigate around potential minefields, your capability to resolve issues expeditiously, your interpersonal skills to temper hurt feelings and egos, your access to the resources of your new firm, and the assistance you receive from key individuals within your current firm as well as others outside of your firm, such as your recruiter. You should start preparing your exit from the instant you decide to look for greener pastures. It is essential for you to anticipate potential pitfalls so that you can devise contingency plans well in advance to avoid embarrassments and confusion.

It helps to always focus on your clients, who are the most important element in making a move successful. Everything you do should directly or indirectly relate to your clients. Obviously, you have both an ethical and legal duty to continue to provide the necessary service to your clients during your move. The second most important element is to act expeditiously. Remember that time is your enemy; the longer it takes you to resolve issues to complete your move, the more likely additional problems arise. Below is a checklist to consider in contemplating your move:

1. Before you talk to any firm, the first thing you must do is determine whether or not your clients would move with you. Because of your long-term relationship you may believe a certain client would move with you and that you may feel it is unnecessary to confidentially inform your client of your intentions. This is fine, but be prepared in case the client does not feel the same way you do. If you have any doubt, you should have confidential discussions with each of your clients and you should get a firm verbal commitment that they would follow you to your future firm.
2. Another reason you would want to inform your clients beforehand is to avoid a situation where a client may have personal or legal conflict that cannot be waived or resolved with a potential firm’s lawyers or clients. You should prepare a list of firms you must avoid based on your discussions with your clients.
3. One way to head off potential problems with continuing to provide services to your clients while preparing your transition to your new firm is to determine ahead of time whether a service partner or other key personnel, such as associates, paralegals or secretaries, are interested in moving with you. Be careful not to disclose your intentions indiscriminately throughout your current firm. You should first target those individuals without whom you cannot adequately service your clients. Then obtain from each individual a verbal commitment that they would keep your intentions confidential and whether they will move with you to the new firm.
4. After you have met with your potential new firm, and there is a mutual attraction toward one another, the next step should be to have a conflicts check done. Because you already know which firms to avoid, you should not encounter too many problems. Any red flags should be resolved at this stage.
5. Once you receive a written offer from the new firm and you are ready to sign it, you should give a written resignation to your current firm. You should inform all the key people in your firm, including the managing partner, the executive committee members, and the head of your particular practice group, of your decision. In your conversations with these key individuals, try to avoid any negative criticism of the firm. It is now too late to be critical of the firm since you have made up your mind to leave and any negative criticism will be viewed as a final departing insult. Remember that this firm still has to cooperate for you to have a smooth transition to your new firm.
6. You should request that your new firm have business cards prepared as soon as possible.
7. At this stage, you should already know exactly which clients would move with you. You should have your new firm prepare notices informing courts, adversaries and opposing counsel that the new firm is replacing your old one. For litigation matters, Substitution of Attorneys should be prepared, executed and filed with the court. For transactional matters, letters to all parties involved in the transactions should be adequate. Because it is important for you to prevent major disruptions in servicing your clients, these notices should be done swiftly to avoid missing important court imposed deadlines in a litigation case, or neglecting contractual obligations in transactional matters. Given that you have already held discussions with your clients informing them of your intentions and that they have agreed to move with you to your new firm, there should not be any surprises during this step.
8. For all pending matters, inform all of your clients by letter of the name, address, telephone number and other pertinent contact information of your new firm. Include your new business card.
9. Make the necessary arrangements, and document it through a confirming letter, with your old firm so that you will receive all incoming correspondences and letters the same day or hour they arrive.
10. Inform the postal service and other mail carriers regarding your new address.
11. Your new firm should assist you in making the necessary arrangements for the physical transfer of your clients’ files.
12. Likewise, your new firm should assist you in transporting your personal items, files and furniture.
13. Your new firm should prepare and send out a press release announcing your joining the firm.
14. Your new firm should consider publishing a notice in various legal journals announcing your joining the firm.
15. Your new firm should also send out announcements to your and the firm’s clients, potential clients, professional acquaintances, associations with whom you have a membership, and anyone else in your Rolodex.
16. In the event the press interviews you, you should never say bad things about the firm you are leaving. Stay positive! Also, get assurances from your new firm that no disparaging comments about your old firm will be made to the press as it relates to your departure.

Obviously, this is not an exhaustive list and you may need to add to it depending on your particular circumstances. In our experience assisting partners and practice groups in making a successful and smooth transition to a new firm, preparing ahead of time is vital. In making your preparation, your focus should be on your clients and proceeding expeditiously. Assume that you will encounter surprises and difficulties, but preparing in advance will make the process less daunting.

Analysis of Law Firm Failures – Early Warning Signs

There has been a great amount of discussion lately about the implosions of Heller and Thelen, and the effect that the economy had on these firm failures. As many firms are courting lateral partners (it’s a brisk lateral partner market!), these partners are analyzing the stability of potential firms.

A new study from Hildebrandt International should provide an interesting base for such an analysis. In a recently-released white paper entitled The Anatomy of Law Firm Failures, Hildebrandt discusses a study of firm failures between 1998 and 2004. Hildebrandt concludes that “failed firms typically exhibit one or more major fundamental flaws, and the flaws usually fall into three primary categories:

Below average financial performance – often including excessive financial leverage, significant deferred obligations, low productivity, and poor realization;
Internal dynamics – primarily involving leadership issues, partners with incompatible goals, differences over compensation philosophy, and lack of succession planning; and
External dynamics – primarily involving competitive pressures related to the firm’s historical client base, access to new clients and desirable work, and inability to recruit key talent.”

Hildebrandt states that certain triggering events brought these flaws to light.

“Four types of triggering events were the most common: (i) overexpansion that weakened the firm over an extended period of time, (ii) the unexpected rapid or gradual defection of significant partners to one or more other firms, (iii) a breakdown in merger efforts for a firm that was already in serious financial distress and barely surviving, or (iv) the impending expiration/renewal of the firm’s primary office lease.”

Lateral partners, especially those contemplating their first lateral move, should consider these fundamental flaws and triggering events when formulating their diligence questions for a potential suitor!

What Qualities/Characteristics Should I Look for in a Legal Recruiter?

Being a good legal recruiter is very difficult work. If you take the average graduating class at a law school of say 500 people, I would estimate that 70% of the graduates could be outstanding lawyers if they apply themselves. Conversely, I would estimate that 99% of the people who graduate from law school could not be good legal recruiters (i.e., 1% or 5 of the 500 people could potentially be good legal recruiters).

A good legal recruiter needs

to have persuasive skills,

to be likeable,

to have a good pedigree in most cases to understand the nuances of top level firms, needs to to have an outstanding work ethic,

to be entrepreneurial,

to be a risk taker,

to be diligent about learning information about the market,

to be good at understanding people,

to have a high level of concentration,

to like people,

to have a natural inclination to be in the legal profession,

to be tough skinned, and

to be intuitive.

These qualities (and these are only a few) are the qualities which distinguish good recruiters in my opinion from poor ones. But it goes far, far from this. A good legal recruiter needs to be genuinely excited—deep down—about their job and have a 100% commitment to what they are doing. Nothing less. This is fundamentally important and no recruiter can be without this.

The best legal recruiter out there will get out of bed each morning so excited about the job they are doing they cannot wait get to work. The best legal recruiter out there will spend their weekends excited for the coming week so they can get back to work. The best legal recruiter will probably also not be able to control themselves from not working and will find themselves logging on during the weekend. A final point is that the best legal recruiter is excited about the people their candidates and interested in their lives. They are interested in the employers they are working for and the people in the employers. The best legal recruiters may be so excited about what they do that they cannot help but get overly excited about the legal industry just by reading about it—they see opportunities everywhere they turn for their candidates.

Genuine, deep down and natural commitment is incredibly important. Because attorneys are so naturally conditioned to believe that practicing law is the only thing an attorney should be doing, there is a perception of sorts that anytime an attorney steps out of the practice of law there must be something wrong with them. I would submit to you that this is often true—yes, there is often something wrong with the people who leave the practice of law.

People who leave the practice of law often do so because

they have a poor work ethic and do not want to work as hard,

they cannot get along with others,

they cannot concentrate for long periods of time,

they have drug or alcohol problems,

they have no interest in the legal profession,

they do not know what they want to do,

they want to spend more time with their family,

they want to be “independent” from a working environment.

You name it—there are a lot of negative reasons people leave the practice of law. Some people have horrible legal pedigrees and simply cannot get hired once they leave. Others have a myriad of personal reasons for leaving and cannot find a job after losing their job for one reason or another. Personally, I do not care why people leave the practice of law—this is their business—but I want to be clear about one thing: I sure as hell would never want to hire a legal recruiter who is leaving the practice of law for any other reason than that they know they are suited for legal recruiting. This is the only reason they should be leaving.

When I hire the right legal recruiter at BCG Attorney Search who knows they should be recruiting and wants to recruit because they get excited about it something miraculous happens. The recruiter changes peoples lives and enriches the law firms they are working for. More people get better jobs, people find jobs that make them happier, lawyers end up working where they should be working. Tons of great things happen. I am proud of this. As the CEO of a legal recruiting firm I run a recruiting firm that is not motivated by profit from hiring tons of legal recruiters but by having the absolute best legal recruiters possible. It is no easy task making sure only the right people are part of our team. In fact, we even run psychological tests on all prospective recruiters to make sure they are cut out for the work.

When a legal recruiter enters the profession or recruits for the wrong reasons then you will not be benefited. What is true for many professions is no less true for legal recruiting: There are a lot of people in the profession that should not be there.

Many people believe that the best legal recruiter is the one who went to the best law school or worked at the best firm. In my experience, the opposite is more often than not true. It does not matter where your recruiter went to school or where they worked when it comes down to their ability to get excited about you, understand you and be in love with their job and what they are doing. This is what everyone needs when they are being represented by a legal recruiter. Certainly the intelligence of your recruiter is important but what is most important is a recruiter whose heart and soul are in the work and they know they are doing exactly what they should be doing with their career and life. Most likely this recruiter will tell you from the heart how their life was changed by becoming a legal recruiter, they knew it was the profession for them and they cannot get enough of it. Find a recruiter like this and they will change your life to.

Take Your Career to Dubai, Hong Kong and Abroad

At BCG Attorney Search we have been doing placements in Hong Kong, China, Dubai and other markets since the year 2000. We were one of the first placement companies in the United States to start doing aggressive placement in Asia and Europe. It is extremely important that you give yourself the most options when you are looking for a job. A search for a job in all corners of the world will help you tremendously. Look everywhere you possibly can for a job.

This is the kind of stuff that can happen when you give yourself options.

The growth in the Asia and Middle Eastern markets has been staggering. For example, a recent statistic I read from the National Law Journal stated that there was a 48 percent increase in the number of lawyers practicing in these regions from the 250 largest American law firms between 2007 and 2008. This is a massive increase. The market of Abu Dhabi grew the most–an astonishing 144 percent.

Getting a job overseas is never all that easy. The issue, however, is that you need to make an effort to do so. If things are slowing down in your current job, or you are facing a potential layoff, giving yourself an extra option is always a good idea. Plus, it is always a lot of fun living in another country.

High Demand Should Motivate Partners To Move Now!

Even in these tough economic times, there is increased demand by law firms for partners with business. Why would any partner decide to move to another law firm in such a tumultuous economic market?

First, firms not equipped to withstand this extreme economic downturn will not be able to stabilize and survive. Therefore, it is imperative that partners assess whether or not their current firm is financially sound and will provide the best environment for their clients during the next few years of recovery and beyond. If a partner’s current firm is rapidly declining and is experiencing a high level of attrition and movement at the associate and partner levels, it could be exactly the right time to make a move.

Second, firms are expanding and diversifying their practices to better service their regional, national and international clients, so it is an excellent time for partners to seek out new opportunities at firms that are well positioned for continued growth and expansion and which would provide additional cross selling capabilities, and services to their clients.

Finally, although some firms are downsizing and closing their doors, other firms are expanding, merging and have recently launched new offices. Additionally, many firms are launching new and innovative niche practice areas. Thus, if you are a partner with niche expertise in areas that are or will likely be in high demand during this tough economic cycle, you could take advantage of these new opportunities and actually lateral to a more prestigious firm with a better platform.

Now is the time for partners to evaluate their current position. There are opportunities in every market, whether the economy is good or bad. Partners who can seize upon new opportunities in this down market will have better control of their careers and be in a better position to respond to their clients’ needs.

Practicing Law in California

Thinking about moving to California, eh? I don’t blame you. I love it here! I grew up in Southern California, went to college in Southern California and law school in Northern California, practiced in Northern California, and am now the Managing Director of BCG Attorney Search’s L.A. office.

BCG works with a number of candidates seeking to relocate from another region (typically the East Coast) to California. Part of my job is to explain what to expect during the job search and the realities of living and practicing in California. This article surveys the process of finding a position in California and life as a California attorney.

What California Firms Look for in a Candidate

1. Compelling reasons for the move

Many firms tell us they have had great success with relocation candidates who moved to be with their significant other or are originally from the area or lived there before. I often hear this about candidates who are coming from the East Coast (New York in particular). A firm wants to be assured that a candidate who moves to California to join that firm will stay.

While having some ties to California is great, not everyone does; and that’s okay. Other reasons people move here are purely for professional development (perhaps a particular practice area is hotter in a particular city and will offer more opportunities for a candidate to shape his/her practice) or the candidate had visited the area and fell in love with it. Larger markets like Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Silicon Valley certainly like to see ties to the area; but as long as you have the right experience, you will likely get an interview. Relocation candidates who come from the East Coast thrive in these cities. California firms know East Coasters (particularly New Yorkers) generally have strong work ethics and have had exposure to high-level work. In fact, some firms have practices that are more “East Coast” and specifically want a candidate from New York (I hear this often from corporate practices).

San Diego and Orange County are smaller markets and less receptive to relocation candidates unless there is a very good reason for the move. That being said, I have seen candidates with no ties to the area get hired quickly because they had the exact experience a law firm was seeking.

Sacramento, Fresno, Bakersfield, and Santa Barbara are even smaller markets; but they are fairly receptive to relocation candidates as long as the candidate is already admitted to the California Bar.

If you are moving to California because of the laid-back lifestyle, think again. There is a misconception that attorneys in California do not work as hard, and that is just not true. While it’s a fair generalization to say California lawyers do not work as hard as New York lawyers, we do work as hard (and in some cases harder) than associates in D.C. or Boston. Few firms expect attorneys to bill 1,800 or lower, and the majority expect their associates to bill at least 2,000. I have heard some attorneys billing as many as 4,000 hours!!!

Further, you cannot make any generalizations about practicing in a specific city. For instance, many outsiders think San Diego or Orange County would offer a better “lifestyle” (i.e., “a less demanding practice”). That simply is not true and should not be your motivation for moving. Many large firms have branch offices in these areas, and these offices need to compete with offices in larger cities; sometimes these branch offices expect more of their attorneys. It is not unheard of to be billing 2,400 hours in San Diego, Sacramento, Orange County, or Santa Barbara.

Firms in Fresno; Bakersfield; and other small, less “sexy” markets generally do have lower billable hour expectations and do offer attorneys a very good lifestyle. If you are seeking to relocate to California for its laid-back culture, I would suggest moving to one of these areas.

2. Membership to the California Bar

California firms are more likely to hire someone who is already a member of the Bar, has recently passed it, or is awaiting results. That being said, some of the larger firms place more emphasis on the quality of a candidate’s experience rather than membership to the Bar. In other words, there are some large firms where the lack of California Bar membership is not an issue. And there are some firms (including large ones) that have a strict policy of never hiring attorneys who aren’t already members of the California Bar. Generally, smaller and mid-sized firms require membership to the California Bar.

Large firms in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Silicon Valley are more receptive to relocation candidates who are not already admitted to the California Bar. Orange County and San Diego are less receptive; and Sacramento, Santa Barbara, Fresno, and Bakersfield are even less receptive. In fact, several large firms in Sacramento will flat out not consider a candidate–no matter how strong the resume–until that person is admitted to the Bar.

The reason firms place such an emphasis on the California Bar is because should the candidate join the firm, that person needs to be “up and running” as soon as possible. It is essential for a litigator to be able to go to court and sign off on motions and various documents. Further, it is difficult for a firm to hire someone and then have him/her leave for a few weeks to prepare for and take the exam. Lastly, the firm has to wait six months before getting the results. If a relocation candidate does not pass the exam the first time, many firms may ask that candidate to leave the firm. Firms would rather not deal with this; that is why they tend to hire those who are already members. It’s another way to weed out candidates.

If you have lack compelling reasons for moving to California, sign up to take the next Bar exam (offered in late February and July). Firms will assume you are committed to moving if you take the time to prepare for and take the exam.

3. Stability in a resume

California firms look for candidates who are not “firm hoppers” or who move from city to city. If there are moves on a resume, firms will want to know a valid explanation for each one; otherwise, it will be very difficult to move there.

Unlike those in New York, firms in California are more receptive to candidates who are not “cookie cutter” (i.e., have graduated law school in the last five years and have been practicing at the same firm). If a candidate has experience in a specialized practice–trusts and estates, corporate, structured or corporate finance, labor and employment, real estate, tax, investment management (’40 Act), or intellectual property, to name a few–but has taken a few years off from practicing law or transitioned into another practice area, firms will consider these candidates assuming the candidate is flexible regarding class year. However, these candidates must be ready to take a potentially significant hit in class year. For instance, lets say you graduated law school six years ago and worked for four years as an associate in a strong real estate practice before deciding to become a mortgage broker. After two years of working as a broker, you realize how much you miss the intellectual challenge and stability that comes with practicing law. You miss working with lawyers and are eager to return to a law firm environment. You cannot expect to come into a firm right where you left off. While you may believe your brokerage experience has made you more well rounded and even a better attorney, I guarantee you the firm won’t. In fact, you may not realize it, but there will be a significant learning curve; and it will likely take you close to a year to get to the level you were when you left the firm. You will most likely come in as a second- or third-year associate. And if you are truly dedicated to returning to the practice, you would jump at this opportunity.

In general, East Coast firms are more skeptical of lawyers who have done anything but the “standard law firm line.” So, people who have taken substantial time off, moved around a bit, or started their own businesses are not welcomed by East Coast firms.

Interviewing in California

If you are relocating, chances are you don’t know the California market well. I would highly recommend speaking with a BCG recruiter, who is not only an expert in his/her market, but also has established relationships with many law firms.

Having a strong resume and deal or case sheet where necessary is essential. Your recruiter can help you with this, as well. From the time the recruiter sends out your resume, you should not expect to hear anything for at least two weeks. First, firms usually request a “screening” interview with a candidate. Depending on the firm, this may be done over the phone, but there is a strong preference for meeting candidates in person. A screening interview typically lasts about an hour, and it involves a candidate speaking with one or two attorneys (typically partners). The purpose of the screening interview is to get a feel for the candidate’s background, reasons for moving, level of experience, and personality–to make sure the candidate is a potential “fit.” Firms in California for the most part do not pay to fly a candidate out for a screening interview–no matter how large or prestigious the firm. If you are serious about moving to California, you are better off scheduling a short trip (perhaps a long weekend) to California and designating these days for screening interviews.

If the screening interview goes well, you will be asked to come back for a full round of interviews, which typically last two to four hours and may include lunch. Do not be too anxious to hear back from a firm about a callback. Typically, it takes at least one to three weeks for law firms to fully evaluate your candidacy and determine whether they would like to have you return. Normally, law firms have weekly or bi-monthly hiring committee meetings, where they discuss which candidates to make offers to.

Many law firms will pay for your travel expenses (such as airfare and hotel). Some firms have travel agents who will take care of these expenses; other firms will reimburse the candidate. And some firms believe if you are serious about moving here, then you should be willing to pay for your travel expenses, as well. This certainly weeds out candidates who are just looking.

In attempting to relocate to California, the entire process can generally take anywhere from two to six months and sometimes even longer depending on the nature of a candidate’s practice and seniority. You will hear stories about candidates who obtained a position with a top firm in San Francisco or Los Angeles in less than two weeks, but I warn you that is rare. Candidates who have between one and five years of experience with a top East Coast firm and top academic credentials will quickly get interviews and offers, sometimes in less than a week.

Offers and Salaries

There is no general procedure for California firms to make offers. Generally, the law firm makes a verbal offer (either through a partner or recruiter) and follows up with an offer letter sent via mail and sometimes email. Some firms only make verbal offers, and some firms just send out a letter in the mail. Again, even if the callback went well, it can take several weeks before knowing whether you will be made an offer.

Salaries in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Silicon Valley are all roughly the same. They are on par with D.C. salaries and a little bit lower than New York salaries (first-year associates at large firms make $135,000). Salaries in Orange County and San Diego tend to be a bit lower depending on the firm, although many large firms have branch offices here and pay the same salary across all offices. Salaries in Sacramento, Santa Barbara, Fresno, and Bakersfield tend to be much lower (for instance, a starting salary for a first-year can be between $70,000 and 85,000).

Generally, firms do not offer signing bonuses, particularly where the candidate is relocating. In fact, some firms will be put off if you ask for one, and I have seen cases where an offer was even revoked.

If the firm sends a written offer letter, it will include some or all of the following: (1) class year, (2) base compensation, (3) relocation expenses, (4) benefits, (5) bar fees, (6) bonus system, (7) partnership track, (8) vacation, (9) parking, and (10) anything else the firms offers (such as attorney retreats or in-house lunches). Almost all law firms will have you fill out a conflicts form, and many firms will carry out a criminal background check and a credit check.

Relocation Expenses

Not every firm pays to relocate candidates, although many large firms do. Typically, law firms have caps on relocation expenses (anywhere from $2,000-$7,000), and others will either pay for or reimburse a candidate for his/her “reasonable moving expenses.” Some firms do not consider shipping a car or a piano to be “reasonable.” Each firm is different, and this is normally not something that can be negotiated.

California Bar

If a candidate is not already admitted to the California Bar, most firms will give time off (two to four weeks) to study for and take the exam. Some, but not all, firms will pay for your time off. Some firms will pay for a bar review course, as well as expenses and fees associated with the exam. Most firms will pay yearly bar membership dues and for Continuing Legal Education courses.

Parking

The standard in California is for firms not to pay for parking. If a firm offers to pay for parking, that is a perk others do not offer, even large firms.

Practicing Law in California

Typically, attorneys begin their days between 8-9 a.m. and leave between 6-9 p.m. You will also find many firms have an “open door” policy, meaning most attorneys work with their doors open. Having an open door shows your supervisors you are working and that you are approachable.

Some practice areas are not as sophisticated as those on the East Coast, particularly in New York. For instance, generally speaking, corporate law practices are not as sophisticated in California. However, there are many tech companies in California with sophisticated intellectual property needs or thriving start-up/emerging company practices. Of course, this is a generalization; and some California firms pride themselves on having a “New York” practice.

Cost of Living in California

Renting  and buying a home in California is expensive too. Gas is very expensive (more than the rest of the country). Before beginning your search, you should investigate real estate websites such as www.ziprealty.com and salary/cost-of-living calculators such as www.homefair.com.

California is a wonderful place to work and live. It has great weather and offers a variety of outdoor and cultural activities. It is better to investigate the realities of living and practicing in California before beginning your search. Because once you receive an offer, you will not have much time to make a decision (typically one to two weeks). If after reading this article, you are still interested in making the move, I would recommend speaking with a BCG recruiter as soon as possible.

What’s the Best Way to Develop Business?

When people are in law school and even in their first few years out of law school they come to believe that the most important components of a successful law firm career involve (1) billing lots of hours (i.e., working hard) and (2) doing quality work.  Very rapidly, however, young lawyers come to understand that just as important as doing first rate work is their ability to generate business for the firm that they work in.

The purpose of this article is to examine the most important methods attorneys can use for generating business.  In many respects, this may be one of the most important articles you ever read-your success in generating clients and business will in large part determine your eventual success as an attorney.  More important that your success as an attorney, however, will be your security as an attorney. Having a lot of business is essential to having security as an attorney because you will always have work to do.  Moreover, having work to do and will provide you the platform to hire others to work for you, to build your organization and to further your career.  In my opinion the some of the greatest success (from a psychic and material aspect) you can have as an attorney comes from having a lot of work to do.

A. Remember Every Person You Meet is Someone Who Will Potentially be in a Position to be a Future Client

One of the largest mistakes attorneys (and even law students!) make is not realizing that every single person you ever meet is someone who is in or will be in a position to one day be your client-or even be your client right now.  Many attorneys believe that they are often being “smart” sizing up people that they meet and trying to understand whether or not they are people who could potentially one day be their client.  They may assume, for example, that the janitor in their building could never be their client.  They may assume that the person who sells them auto insurance could never be their client.  They may assume that someone who was once their biggest enemy could never be their client.

How about if the janitor’s son went to Harvard Law School and he was now the General Counsel of a major publicly traded computer software company in California?  What if the auto insurance salesman was the 21 year old son of the CEO of a major American insurance company?  What if the biggest enemy of the person was the owner of a major company that does work for companies in the pre-IPO stage?

When I was practicing law I received hundreds of thousands of dollars in business from one of these types of clients and heard stories about people getting business from two other similar types of stories.  Each of these clients if properly served could have made the career of the attorney involved.  Millions of dollars in fees could have been made.  Each of these clients above went to high paying ultra-prestigious law firms for their work.

Whatever you are doing and whomever you meet you need to realize they are potential business for you and/or your firm.  It does not matter if you are at a ultra expensive and prestigious law firm or if you are at a smaller law firm—or even if you are just practicing on your own.  Every time you meet someone they are a potential client of yours.  How you act towards others will also determine whether or not they are likely to be your client in the future.  Take no one for granted.
1. Do not take any vendors you deal with for granted
Your dry cleaner, the person who mows your lawn, the mechanic who fixes your car—whomever you can imagine-is someone who is a potential source of business for you.  Stay in

2. Do not take your peers or subordinates for granted
One of the best sources of future business for most attorneys is generally the people they worked with early in their career.  This includes your peers in college, law school and your employers.  Make sure you treat everyone you come into contact with as if they could be a future client.

3. Do not take your relatives for granted
Relatives can often be a great source of business.  Relatives love to tell people you are a lawyer-or even use you for legal work.  Treat them will too.

4. Do not take your former employers for granted
Your former employers (and all of the people within them) will move to other employers and potentially be in a position to give you business.  Your former employers may also have cases and other work they do not want to do but which you can do.  Whatever the case-you need to realize that your former employers are people who are in a position to give you a great deal of work.  DO NOT burn bridges wherever you go and make sure your former employers are always your advocates.  Your former employers will be in a position to give you work and talk about you to others who can also give you work.

5. Do not take your superiors for granted
If you do a good enough job impressing your superiors they can be a great source of future business for the same reasons your former employers can. Always go above and beyond the call of duty.

There is no one you should ever be taking for granted. Whomever you encounter is someone who is always a good potential source of business and work for you in the future.  Remember this and treat the world and everyone you encounter-both inside and outside of work-as a good source of work.
B. Talk About Your Work

About 10 years ago I was in Charlottesville, Virginia in a hotel ball room watching an attorney from a very prestigious large Southern law firm give a three hour power point presentation entitled “Developments in Franchising Law”.  Every local owner of a Burger King, McDonalds, Subway and other franchise had apparently turned out for this bizarre event.    I had been required to go to this for a class on Franchising Law I just happened to be taking.

I call the event bizarre because it was very funny.  The speaker was mid-60s old southern gentleman type of lawyer in a bow tie who spoke for some 3 hours about franchising law and was so boring and his material so dry and irrelevant to anything that I could scarcely believe that I was alive throughout the 3 hours.  The lawyer also seemed very bored by the subject matter he was delivering. In fact, there were several points where I had to hold myself back from laughing I was so bored.  Other members of my class were reached a point where they were afraid to make eye contact with one another for fear they would also break into hysterics.

Incredibly, all of the local owners of the franchises who had been invited to this monumentous event seemed to keep sitting up at attention the who time and were the only ones (besides the law students) who made the effort to appear to really be interested in this.  Over hore d’evors at the break I spoke with the owner of the local JaniClean franchise and another franchise there and realized no one seemed to have any idea what this old lawyer was talking about.  They all agreed , though, that he must really be on top of this material.

When the event ended, however, I watched as one audience member after another went up to the lawyer and told him they “enjoyed” his talk, asked him for a business card and told them they wanted to discuss one issue or another with their particular franchise with him.  The lawyer must have picked up 10+ clients that day.  Right then and there I realized that something very significant had occurred: Just because the lawyer had spoken so much about his work everyone presumed he was good at what he did and was eager to hire them as their own attorney.

If you want to get business you need to talk about your work.  People need to see you as an expert and believe you are very good at what you do.  People need to believe they can turn to you for advice about what they are doing and also need to believe that you are enthusiastic about what you are doing.

When you think about it-the people you want to go to for assistance and turn to when you need help are most likely to be the people who seem most enthusiastic about what they are doing.  You need to realize that sounding enthusiastic and being enthusiastic is likely to get attract people to you.  Writing articles is an example. Giving public talks is another example.

Talking about your work goes deeper than simply writing articles or giving talks, however.  Talking about your work means getting enthusiastic about your work with everyone you encounter.  Talk about your work with people in your office.  Talk about your work with your clients-just keep talking!

The reason talking about your work is so important is that people remember those with enthusiasm about their work.  This also goes for your peers.  You want to be remembered by everyone you come into contact with as someone who talks about their work.

Remember the example of the boring attorney I saw talk about franchising law a decade or more ago.  Think about what would have happened with this attorney had he really been interesting!  Here, he simply talked and got a lot of business.  You need to speak to get business too and I urge you to speak a lot about what you do.

One of the most effective marketing lines I ever heard was “You can build a better mousetrap but if the world does not know about it they will beat a path right around your door.”  People need to know you do what you do and they need to think you are enthusiastic about what you do. That is why restaurants and others put giant bill boards on the highway-and some even put more billboards saying things like “Only 4 more exits until the best green pea soup in Ohio!!” then “Last exit before the best green pea soup in Ohio!!”  People get enthusiastic about something as mundane as green pea soup because the restaurant talks about it!  So too should you talk about your work.

C. Set a Good Example

Setting a good example means that you walk the walk and talk the talk of the sort of attorney others would want to be represented by.  This is exceptionally important and others need to believe you are the sort of attorney who could effectively represent them and would always looks out for their best interest.

At the outset I should note that I have the twin qualifications of writing this article of formerly having been an attorney with business and now being in a position where I am involved in hiring outside counsel for various companies here.  There are several issues clients are likely to be concerned about when hiring you.

One of the most important issues clients are likely to be concerned about is your perceived level of honesty.  I know that I would never want to hire an attorney who seemed the least be dishonest-at all.  The person that is writing down their hours on your behalf is someone you want to insure is telling the truth.

I know when I was practicing law I knew of at least a couple of attorneys who made up their hours—including a high ranking partner in a law firm I worked in (which will go unnamed).  I remember an associate working all weekend and completing an assignment at 7:00 am after being up since Friday night and then going to change and take a shower.  When he returned a few hours later and went into the office of a partner to discuss the assignment he had put on his chair that evening he saw a timesheet that indicated the partner had assisted with the brief all weekend and worked some 25 hours that weekend-the partner had not worked at all.   Now from my standpoint and others, I am sure not likely to ever want to use this partner for any work ever.

The issue goes much deeper than this, however.  If as an attorney you are dishonest at all in your personal (or work life) in the least then this will get out.  You are always being tested-whether it is in the store when the clerk gives you change, you name it.  People want to deal with those who are honest.  You want to be dealing with people who are honest as well.  Your clients will ask people who may refer others to you if you are honest-they will give their “honest” opinion on most occasions.

Another example which comes to mind is the “partying” attorney who goes out and will take their clients out for a wild substance packed evening.  No one wants an attorney who is out of control or does not handle themselves in a good way at all times.  Clients want people who are likely to do the best work possible at all times.

When you examine most organizations which are very successful and have been around a long time it is very easy to see that these organizations tend to look for “steady” people who are not particularly mercurial and seem very competent.  This is something that is needed at all companies and companies look for this because they need people like this to run successfully.

You need to act and behave at all times as you would want your attorney to act and behave at all times.

D. Be Interested in Others and Their Legal Issues

People want to be assisted by people they perceive as caring about their problems and issues.  You need to be interested in the work you are doing.  The more interested you are in the work you are doing the better you are likely to do at this work.

If you are interested in the work you are doing you will also have the tendency to seek out others and provide them advice.  People will also be more receptive to your advice because they will realize you are interested in what you are doing and care about what you are talking about.

When you are interested in others and their legal issues you will develop a mindset where you will do your best to speak with others when stuff comes up that you can assist with.  You will also do your best to listen and take the time to understand what other peoples’ problems are.

Understanding what other people problems are is something very few attorneys are good at-or even know how to do.  When you take the time to listen and insure that you understand where people are coming from they will be grateful. In addition, when you take the time to understand what others’ problems are they will feel invested in you.  When others feel invested in you they want to work with you more closely.

Allow your clients (or potential clients) to speak at length.  This is something that will pay huge dividends.

I remember a few years ago when I was speaking with a firm outside of the law (a branding firm) about doing some work for a Juriscape company.  At that point I had few bids and both were roughly the same price of $250,000.  I remember one of the companies that was going to be my first choice was invited to come by my office and meet with me.  I had several concerns I wanted to speak about.  I never really got the opportunity to speak, though.  What happened was the representative from this company spent all the time of our meeting speaking about what was important to them-the fact that they were a big company, the fact that they had done a lot of work for others in the past, the fact that they had good people working for them-and telling me what I needed, that they never gave me the opportunity to say a single thing about what was important to me.  Due to this I ended up not using the company.

When you think about it the people were are most interested in and like the most are the people who are most interested in us.  When you are interested in other people you make them feel acknowledged and understood.  Being interested in other people also makes them believe you are interesting (even if you are not!).  Being interested in other people is crucial to being a good business generator.

A final point is that attorneys are there to serve others.  The more you learn about your clients and potential clients the better you will be able to potentially serve them.  Learn everything you can about your clients and potential clients to serve them better.  The more you know the more you can assist them with (or offer your assistance with) and the more potential work and business you will have.

E. Get Out! And Form Relationships

If you do not start somewhere you will be nowhere.  In order to get business as an attorney you need to get out and meet people and push your comfort zones. You need to learn how to break down the boundaries of formality and form relationships with people outside your immediate influence.

If you are a young associate remember it will be very difficult to ever build a book of business (you still can, but it will be more difficult) if the only people you know are those you are meeting through work.  You must get out and meet people outside of work.  This means going to events where attorneys are likely to be present but it also means going to events where you are likely to stand out because you are an attorney.

There are millions of potential social situations you can inject yourself into.  It is important that you get involved in any many social situations outside of work as you possibly can.  These social situations will give you the ability to meet new people and connect.  These people may have the ability to refer relationships to you-or they may not.  If you do not start and form relationships, however, then you will not have be someone who can get business in the first place.  Get out and form relationships!
F. Specialize!

You need to specialize.  An attorney with a certain specialty is likely to get more work along the same specialty when it becomes available.  People will simply refer to you.

There are many ways to specialize.  If you specialize in litigation that is a start.  If you specialize in representing manufacturer of disposable lighters that are defective and injure people that is probably even better.

As an attorney you need to also put on your marketing hat.  Being a good marketer means being seen and being easily found for one thing or another when people need your service.  If you are good at what you do then and you are specialized then people will find you.

There was a period in around 1997 until roughly the middle of 2000 when seemingly anyone with a decent idea could make some money on the Internet.  This was called a period of Internet “land grabbing” and people were making great sums of money.  Notwithstanding, during this same period of time most people were “losing” great sums of money.  What is interesting to examine, however, is the few people who are making money.

The few people who were making money were setting up small businesses on the Internet selling simple specialized products.  They were selling bird cages, they were selling replacement batteries for cell phones, they were selling cases for Palm Pilots and other similar knick knacks.  The reason people selling these things were making money in these early days of the Internet is due to the fact that they were the ones being found when there was a need for a particular product.  Think about it: If you need a bird cage and searched for a bird cage person you would want to use the person who appeared to be an expert in bird cages.  In fact, this might be the only person you need.

If you need an attorney to help you with the regulations in Franchise Law then you are likely to use the one who appears to be an expert in franchising-especially if there is only one attorney in your area doing this.

The specialist usually gets the business.  If you want to get work then figure out how to make yourself and your practice seem as specialized as possible.

G. Be Familiar!

In order for people to do business with you and choose you as their attorney you are going to need to be familiar-very familiar.  This means phone calls on peoples’ birthdays.  This means frequent letter updates.  This means forwarding articles of interest. This means going out of your way to let people know you are there.

It does not take a ton of effort to let people know you are there.  In order to let people know you are there it is important to make contact with them as much as possible.

When I was a young attorney I was so eager to get clients and gain business that I sought out the motivational guru for attorneys looking to get business.  His entire process involved having people write down the names of everyone they know and consistently making contact with them.  Through this method it was believed that you could get lots of work.  Making sure people know who you are is essential.  Some years later I read a book called The Referral of a Lifetime which has a similar sort of system (this book is very good and I recommend it highly-it will help you get clients).

If you are going to get business you need to be familiar.  Once you get clients you also need to stay and be familiar.  Be familiar!

H. Study Marketing

Read articles and books about marketing.  Go to a marketing seminar.  Pick ones that interest you.  Get interested in this subject matter as much as you can.

I constantly recommend people study marketing in a way that suits them-only read the stuff about marketing you are interested in.  The more you study marketing the better you will become.  Every form of marketing can translate into the world of getting legal clients.  If you read about copyrighting this may assist you with writing letters to get clients.  Learn and study marketing.  The effort you put in studying marketing is likely to pay far more out than you put in.

I. Don’t Quit

One big client (or several) can change your life and your entire practice of law.  You need to implement a strategy where you are resilient and always looking for clients.  Just because you do not think you are not good at marketing does not mean you are not good at marketing.  Some of the attorneys with the most business out there are the biggest nerds and/or social misfits you ever met.  Some of the attorneys with the most business are also the most introverted.  In order to get business, however, you are going to need to do something because if you do not start somewhere you will be no where.  You are also going to need to not give up.  Some relationships can take years to develop.  If you try one strategy and it does not work then try another.

Conclusions

At its highest level, attorneys who are good business generators may hardly practice law at all.  The proverbial retired senator or judge may be used more for their name cache and business generating ability than their desire or ability to practice law.

I want to bring up a point that is pretty disturbing and one I hope will change your life.  When I first became a legal recruiter and became known as a very good one I started getting an inordinate amount of calls and requests for meeting with partners of law firms who wanted to move.  In order for a legal recruiter to place a partner the partner generally needs to have enough business to sustain them (generally around 3-4 times their anticipated salary) and a long history of having this much business.  Therefore, a partner making $300,000 a year will need to have $1,000,000 in business in most cases.  This is just the way it is.

A lot of the calls I received were from partners who had no or very little business.  Most of these partners had children in school and had been practicing for 25+ years.  In many cases I saw partner in major AmLaw 100 law firms who were being paid less than 1st year associates because they had no business.  Their houses were unkempt and these partners had a very hard time.  You would meet them and the lack of confidence on their faces and the demoralization they had was apparent.

Every day partners with no or very little business at law firms all over the United States are calling BCG Attorney Search looking for new jobs.  Privately, BCG Attorney Search recruiters could tell each other the names of partners with no business at firms throughout the cities they practice in.  In the majority of cases these partners are eventually told they need to be out of the firm in six months, a year-or whatever.  The consequences can be dramatic and painful.  Because I have seen the results of this and it is so sad it has affected me personally I actually started numerous other companies besides BCG Attorney Search to help attorneys like this and others get jobs.

The point I want to make that you need to understand is that if you do not work hard to generate great amounts of business you will be at the mercy of your firm for your entire career.  They can pay you what they want to and they can let you go if they want to. And when a firm lets go a partner with no business the partner often has no place to go because most firms only want to hire partners with business-going in house is not always easy either.

You might as well know that the most important thing you can do as an attorney for your career is to develop a lot of business.  Your life and happiness in your career will largely depend on this.  If you do not do this then you will eventually somewhere down the road find yourself in very serious trouble-or simply exploited and at the mercy of your employer into your retirement.

Get business.  Follow the advice in this article.  A successful career depends on this.