Evan Jowers is a Principal and a key member of Lateral Link’s Partner Practice Group. He leads partner level searches across the United States, Europe, and Asia and serves as Head of Asia and Co Chair of the London Desk.
With more than two decades of experience advising firms and partners on complex cross border moves, Evan has built a truly global practice focused on senior level placements. In this spotlight, he shares how his career has evolved, the perspective he brings to high stakes partner transitions, and what differentiates Lateral Link when it comes to executing global searches.
How would you describe your career path and how your practice has evolved into what it is today?
I was recruited into attorney recruiting in 2003 while I was a junior associate at Cadwalader in New York. I actually did not take well to recruiting at first and after around 6 months went in-house for an international garment company in Miami, with operations in Russia and Ukraine. I continued to do some recruiting part time and by 2006 decided to return to attorney recruitment full time with a focus on Asia.
By 2007, I realized I had found my career calling and spent the next 18 years focused on Asia Big Law recruiting, including over 500 placements made – mostly associates but also many partners. From 2016 to 2023, I co-founded and built Jowers Vargas into the leading Asia Big Law recruiting firm. In 2023, I made a strategic decision to move to what I strongly believe is the best attorney recruiting company in the USA – Lateral Link – in order to get more involved in the US and Europe markets, while continuing my Asia practice simultaneously. In 2025, my Jowers Vargas co-founder Yuliya Vinokurova came over to Lateral Link and we have a great team for partner level recruiting in US, Europe and Asia..
Having worked across the United States, Europe, and Asia, what perspectives or lessons most influence how you advise firms and partners on high stakes moves?
It’s important to continue to learn through experience every day, and focus always on what is in the best interest of the law firm client and the candidate, many of whom have become good friends over the years. Growing key relationships and friendships are always the focus rather than the placement fees.
Having experience on the ground in Asia and Europe and understanding my partner level candidates’ practices over many years is a key component to our law firm client’s trust in our partner candidate introductions.
What drew you to Lateral Link, and how does the platform support the way you run your practice now?
For an international practice to work in practical terms, without running out of bandwidth on a regular basis, it’s important to have a lot of support and resources, and a great team of colleagues to work with.
For global, partner level searches, what do you think truly differentiates Lateral Link in the market?
The resources at Lateral Link are second to none and I can rely on and team up with many experienced colleagues with decades of experience, and great relationships across many markets and law firms.
When you think about the legal market today, what trends or shifts are most impacting partner mobility internationally?
Many major US law firms are expanding into new overseas markets and also expanding offices in key overseas financial centers, from what were satellite offices into 50+ or even 100+ attorney offices.
Evan Jowers, a Principal operating from Miami and Hong Kong, is a key member of our Partner Practice Group and spearheads numerous partner searches for our law firm clients in the United States, Europe and Asia. Evan also serves as our Head of Asia and is Co-Chair of our London Desk. You can contact him via LinkedIn or email at ejowers@laterallink.com
