Legal Career Advice: Keep Your Eyes Open!

Last week, I had the opportunity to revisit my law school days at my 10th law school reunion (go Fordham!) It is incredible to see how diverse the career paths of my classmates have been. Sure - there are those who joined a firm in 1998 and have now made partner there. But the vast majority have tried two or more law firms, before going in-house or on to another venture - either law or non-law related.

For many junior attorneys, partnership is the ultimate goal. That changes for many people as they gain seniority and realize that there are many other options for them. Some turn down partnership because they are more intrigued by another path.

In my class, we have spread like the diaspora around the country and the world. We are in so many different industries and are partners, counsel and associate at law firms big and small.

Here are some examples:
- partners at BigLaw firm in U.S.
- partners at BigLaw firms outside of the U.S.
- partners at smaller firms in NY and in smaller legal markets
- general counsel at a publicly-traded corporation
- general counsel at an investment firm
- solo practitioners
- in-house counsel
- government employees
- one (very) happy staff attorney
- one (very, very) happy legal recruiter!

You’ll have so many options throughout your career. Your career path has to work for you. Believe me - very few of my colleagues would have chosen to become a legal recruiter. But it completely works for me.

My advice for today: Work hard, be well-regarded among your colleagues and periodically assess your options.

My BCG Attorney Search colleagues and I are always here to discuss the legal market!

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Choosing a Recruiter for Your Lateral Partner Search

BCG does quite a bit of work with partner candidates. The market continues to be strong for lateral partners nationwide.

Partner searches are different from associate searches, and it is important to find a recruiter who understands your objectives. I recently wrote an article on Choosing a Recruiter for Your Lateral Partner Search, highlighting important qualifications in a recruiter on partner searches. If you have a talented recruiter on your side, then your search will be much more pleasant and (hopefully) successful.

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Is the Versatility of a Law Degree Just a Myth?

How easy is it to use your law degree to secure a position in an alternate field? Ever wondered just how versatile your law degree will be? Steven Seckler, managing director of BCG Attorney Search, notes that a law degree might not be as flexible as one might hope in Is the Versatility of a Law Degree Just a Myth?, a National Law Journal article.

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Best wishes for a very happy Thanksgiving from all of the recruiters at BCG Attorney Search. Even in challenging economic times, we all have so much for which to be grateful.

Enjoy the holiday!

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Online Job Boards Help Job Seekers

Try as we might, recruiters cannot help everyone. There are many unemployed professionals who are looking for their next position. The Wall Street Journal recently featured an article about online job boards, For the Jobless, Web Sites Offer More Options. Online job boards can definitely help job-seekers find their right match!

BCG’s parent company, EmploymentScape, has a job board custom-tailored for the needs of attorney job hunters: LawCrossing, the largest legal job portal in the United States. I have been a long-time LawCrossing subscriber - for many more years than I have been employed by this company - and definitely think that it is a phenomenal site for legal positions. I always recommend it to my job-searching friends. Check it out at www.lawcrossing.com.

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Tips for Holiday Networking

There are many networking opportunities during the holiday season! You need to take advantage of these opportunities.

Laura Hill, founder of Careers in Motion and career coach extraordinaire, has put together a quick list of tips for holiday networking:

‘Tis the season to be merry, and even though we may not be feeling as cheerful as usual, it’s still the best time of year to build your professional network. If you’re in a job search, take advantage of this time to build momentum going into the New Year. If you’re not conducting a job search, this is the perfect time to further existing connections and make new ones before you need them.

Here are a few tips for holiday networking which I hope you will find useful.

1. Have your answer to “What do you do?” ready at all times - this is your elevator pitch. Provide your function (human resources, chemical engineering), context (your company name, industry or sub-specialty) and something unique or memorable about what you do. Modify your pitch for the situation and practice it out loud beforehand.
2. If you’re in a job search, tell everyone - and I mean everyone - your dentist, hairstylist, accountant, relatives, and neighbors. Give them your elevator pitch and include “I’m interested in companies such as ABC, XYZ, and DEF.” They may have another client who works at one of your targets!
3. Contact former colleagues and old friends: “How’s your schedule for catching a drink to toast the holidays?” or “With things a little slower due to the holidays, I thought this might be a good time to catch up over lunch.”
4. A holiday greeting card or e-mail letter is a great way to keep your name top-of-mind with your networking contacts. Include recruiters you know who work in your field and your professional network.
5. Arrive on time and stay late at a function to allow ample time to meet as many people as possible. Briefly greet and make plans to follow up with people you already know so you can focus on meeting new people.
6. Volunteer: not-for-profit organizations need more helping hands during the holidays. It’s a great way to meet people outside your usual network and it will lift your spirits.

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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!

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Creative Ways to Increase Employee Departures

As we deal with a challenging economy, both law firms and companies are
not experiencing the expected annual departures from their ranks. Each
year, a law firm can count on a percentage of associates heading to
greener pastures. But, as there have been fewer opportunities for
associates this year, many have chosen to hunker down and ride out the economic storm at
their current firm. Unfortunately, that doesn’t really mesh well with
law firms’ business models. Imagine if no one left your firm and the
firm continued to bring in sizable summer classes? That would be a lot
of people on line in the lawyers’ dining room (a nod to my old firm and
its lovely cafeteria.)

The obvious way of forcing attrition is
layoffs. Many firms have utilized this method lately. But other law
firms and companies have become much more creative. For example:

1. Announce to your company’s employees that, at
some indefinite time in the next year, 53,000 of them will be without a
job. Citigroup announced this plan on November 17th, and a flood of
resumes hit the street.

2. Announce to your firm’s non-equity
partners that they must contribute a sum of money (rumored to be
$150,000) to the firm and become equity partners who generate business. DLA Piper announced this yesterday to a decidedly mixed response.

3. Announce to your firm’s associates that, not only are their bonuses for 2008 lower than they would like, but that they should not expect bonuses
for 2009. Cravath announced this tonight, and we’ll expect to see
resumes trickling out of Cravath in the next few months as management
no doubt hopes.

All of these are creative ways to cut headcount. I expect that we will see more creativity in the upcoming months!

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Math for Lateral Partners

The lateral partner market is a flurry of activity right now. We are currently working with a number of lateral partner candidates. The most frequent concern among partners conducting a search? How to value their book of business in strange economic times. My colleague, Dan Binstock, just wrote a fabulous article on this very issue. In We Were Told You’d Bring Billables, Dan addresses the most effective way to value your book so that you are representing yourself in an honest, accurate and marketable way.

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The Layoff List

American Lawyer and Incisive Media have compiled a list of AmLaw 200 firms that have had “employment shifts” in 2008. Click here for the list.

It will turn around. I hope that you are doing your best to weather the storm.

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