Tag Archives: Legal Recruiter

Associate Tips, Featured, Partner Tips, Tips

Navigating Your Performance Review

Bonus season is around the corner!  But first, associates need to make it through performance reviews.  Few people look forward to the review process.  Some find it stressful — after all, these can be complicated conversations.  Others may be tempted to dismiss it as pointless, considering that many firms award bonuses based primarily on class year and/or hours billed.  But even if you’re at a firm where performance reviews are not a critical compensation driver, you should treat the review process as a valuable opportunity to elicit helpful feedback.

Instead of viewing your performance review as something to be endured, take control of the process to the extent possible.  Put in the time to prepare fully, clarify the feedback you receive, and reflect on the implications for your broader career goals.

Prepare for the review conversation

It’s likely that your firm will ask you to do some form of self-evaluation ahead of the review process, but regardless of what is formally expected, preparation is critical to achieving a productive conversation.  Questions to ask yourself include:

  • Did you make your hours?
  • What sort of feedback have you gotten along the way?
  • Did you have a trend line this year of improvement, or did you have the same problems all year?
  • Did you successfully address the feedback you received in last year’s review?

Identify your weaknesses, and think about how to frame them constructively.  You want to go into the review conversation prepared to talk about what you learned and what you’ll do differently next time.  Demonstrating that you have a specific plan for future improvements helps your evaluator look past any bumps.

Ahead of the review, be sure to update your deal sheet or representative matters list!  In case you don’t already have a deal sheet, see how to make one here.  Updating your deal sheet will help you review your work and prepare to discuss both victories and setbacks.  It’s too easy and too common for a supervisor to forget about things you thought were really important, so don’t rely on your reviewer to generate a comprehensive list.  Having your deal sheet at your fingertips will make sure you’re prepared to advocate for yourself.

Listen carefully and seek clarification

During the review conversation, remember to take notes as best you can.  You can’t expect to remember it all, especially if you’re anxious or you get feedback that surprises you.  Detailed notes will be helpful if you need to follow up on something later.  

Ideally, the feedback you receive will be specific and actionable, but it’s possible it will be generic and unhelpful.  If so, it’s on you to ask granular questions to elicit more precisely what the reviewer is talking about.  This applies to either positive or negative feedback, but it’s especially critical in situations where the reviewer is expressing concern about your performance.  Valuable questions to ask include:

  • Am I on track for partnership?
  • What do I need to do this year to get there/stay there?
  • What specific skills would you like to see me acquire this year?
  • Are there any weaknesses I need to shore up?
  • Now that I’m a Xth year associate, how do you see my role on deals in the coming year?  In mentoring juniors on our team?  In business development?

Ask for clarification, especially about critiques, but don’t be defensive.  Remember: “curious, not furious.”  Achieving this balance can be really challenging for us over-achieving lawyers.  You may find it helpful to practice reacting to feedback in advance, ensuring you enter the review conversation with some default responses.  Ask A Manager has some great advice on this, as well as scripts for if you disagree with the criticism.  For example: “I’m glad you’re telling me this.  I’ve been letting some deadlines on this project slide because I had thought that projects x and z were higher priorities and was more focused there.  But am I looking at this wrong?”

Keep in mind that it’s perfectly acceptable to ask for a follow-up conversation!  You may find that you ask more effective questions after having had some time to gather your thoughts.  Ahead of the follow-up, draft a list of questions digging into the specifics of how the firm wants you to perform in the next year.

Reflect on your broader career trajectory

Although the review process is principally about your performance in your current role at your current firm, don’t forget to reflect on the bigger picture.  The end of the year is a great time to consider whether your firm remains the best setting to achieve your career goals.  Are you getting the work you want?  How do you feel about your professional development?  Have you found your people at this firm?  Are you content?

If not, keep in mind that other firms would be happy to have you.  I’d love to help you think through your options or connect you with one my colleagues in your area.

Good luck!

Featured, Tips

How to Survive an Economic Downturn

With talk of recession now impossible to avoid, many lawyers have started to wonder about their job security. It’s worth emphasizing that actual hiring data still looks healthy by historical standards. Nationwide, lateral moves in Q3 2022 were down more than 20% from the Q3 2021 level, but keep in mind that the 2021 market was unbelievably active. If we use Q3 2019 as a more normal base case, we find an almost 10% increase in lateral moves in Q3 2022. But even if widespread pain is not yet evident, there is much anecdotal discussion of so-called stealth layoffs. Additionally, at least one firm has deferred start dates for its incoming first-year associates, reviving an approach that was widespread in the Great Recession.

Making the conservative assumption that conditions will get worse before they get better, now is the time to assess your situation and take steps to position yourself to survive a downturn. Here are some things to consider.

1. Are you a restructuring lawyer? Can you become one?

There’s nothing like a countercyclical practice to help you ride out a recession. If you do happen to be a restructuring lawyer, you should be worried more about a coming deluge of work than about job security. But assuming you haven’t worked in bankruptcy, now may be the moment to wedge your way in. In the old days, corporate lawyers tended to have broader skill sets, with bankruptcy being one component of a more diversified transactional practice. Even though modern law firms tend to be all about specialization, this historical legacy can still serve as an inspiration. If you’re already in a corporate or finance practice, call up a restructuring partner and ask if the group needs help. With the next wave of restructurings presumably on the horizon, if you can get in the door now, you might find yourself in the enviable position of having plenty of work.

More broadly, you may want to think about retooling, if not to restructuring then to another more recession-resistant practice. This is especially worth considering if you are a junior corporate associate who never particularly liked your work. The best time to retool is when your group is not busy — a slowdown in deals might present an opportunity to escape.

2. Assess your firm: is it well-positioned for a downturn?

In thinking about your firm’s relative strength, it’s helpful to consider the past, present, and future. As the disclaimer goes, past performance is no guarantee of future results. But if your firm is known to have conducted stealth (or outright) layoffs in the last recession, that’s probably a relevant consideration.

The present is relatively easy to assess. Are you busy? Is your group busy? What about your friends in other groups?

The future is inevitably murkier, but you can still make some educated guesses. Is your firm unusually reliant on corporate M&A and capital markets work? Bad sign. Is it well-diversified, with strong offerings in litigation and restructuring? Good sign.

3. Consider your alternatives

Keenly observing conditions at your current firm is an important first step, but you also need to contextualize against the rest of the industry. Talking to friends at other firms is a good idea. But for deeper insights informed by data, having a relationship with a trusted legal recruiter can be invaluable. We spend all day talking to people at various firms, so we’re always informed about how the market is trending. And we have access to extensive proprietary data specific to individual markets and practices. We know which firms are growing and which are losing people to the competition. As stealth layoffs pick up, you can be sure that seasoned recruiters will be among the first to know the real story.

If you learn that your firm is underperforming relative to peers, or that it’s perceived to be at greater risk in a downturn scenario, you’d be well advised to investigate whether firms in a stronger position may be seeking someone with your skill set. Naturally, a trusted recruiter can help with that diligence as well.

4. Watch the partners

Even in a good economy, most partners are open to hearing offers from rival firms. But with conditions deteriorating, it’s especially safe to assume that your partner is taking calls. Many partners feel the ground shifting under their feet, and they are just as worried as associates about potentially being pushed out. To the extent there may be concerns about the health of the firm overall, partners will be especially eager to flee: nobody wants to be the last person on a sinking ship. If you notice an uptick of partner turnover at your firm, it could be a sign that you too should look elsewhere.

Featured, Tips

Being Smart About Utilization and Realization: How to Improve Your Contribution to Firm Profitability

Law firm economics can be a little opaque for associates.  Partnerships typically aren’t great at explaining the business of law to non-partner firm members, and associates naturally focus their efforts on learning to be an effective lawyer.  But like it or not, a law firm is ultimately a business, and if you aspire to have a long-term career in private practice, you need to understand the drivers of firm profitability and how you fit into the equation.  In particular, you need to understand how to manage utilization and realization.

Utilization and Realization drive Profitability

Utilization is the proportion of your available time allocated to billable matters.  Specifically, it’s the number of billable hours you work divided by the number of “available hours,” times 100.  Let’s say your firm requires 2000 hours (your “available hours”), your billable hours are 1800 for the year, and you’ve got 300 in non-billables.  Your total hours tracked exceeds the 2000-hour threshold, but non-billables don’t factor into utilization.  Therefore, your utilization rate is 90% (1800/2000).

Realization is the percentage of recorded time that is actually paid by the client.  When your partner cuts your bills or offers the client a discount or write-off, that reduces realization.

Why do these metrics matter?  Simply put, firm profitability depends on them.  Here’s a simplified law firm profitability equation:

Profitability = Margin x Realized Rate (the “true” rate the client is paying) x Utilization x Leverage.

As an associate, you have no control over margin or leverage.  (Even as a partner, your ability to improve these metrics is constrained by market realities: for example, some practice areas are inherently lower margin than others.)  Conversely, although utilization and realization aren’t entirely within your control, it’s absolutely possible for you to influence them.

Track all your time, and resist the urge to cut it

Nobody enjoys billing, but accurate time tracking is a prerequisite to strong utilization.  If you’re not billing daily, you are likely failing to capture time that you would have remembered to bill if you had been more diligent about regular time entry.  Chronic underbilling is a major threat to law firm profitability, so you should do your best to ensure that you aren’t part of this problem.  (Of course, daily billing also guards against the risk of inadvertently overbilling, the consequences of which are even worse than underbilling!)

After you’ve accurately captured your billable time, do not cut it, even if you are uncomfortable with the pace of your work.  Partners need to know how long things are really taking, and the decision to cut a bill is theirs, not yours.  If you’re embarrassed about how long it takes you to complete a task, talk to someone about whether it truly is an issue and, if so, what steps you can take to improve your efficiency.

Knowing the accurate utilization rate within a department also helps partners decide when to request additional attorneys, and it’s a key input for firm management when approving requests to expand a group.  If everyone is underbilling, department leadership may not realize how close their lawyers are to burning out and potentially leaving the firm.

Remember that proper time tracking extends to non-billable hours also.  Your firm needs to know how much time you’re spending on administrative or other non-billable matters.  They may be tracking whether their workflow is efficient, if they’re using the right software, etc.  Useful analysis of those factors depends on you accurately reporting your non-billables.

Be smart about the wording of your bills

Healthy realization depends not just on how much time you spent on a task, but also on how you describe what you did.  Be aware that many different parties may review your bills: partners and clients, certainly, but potentially also courts or other third parties.  Take care to bill with the specificity that the client or firm requires (without including anything privileged or embarrassing, please).  Appropriately specific wording will make it easier to justify the bill for your work, creating the conditions for better realization.

Ensure aligned expectations

If partners are routinely cutting your hours, that is an indicator of misaligned expectations.  You should proactively communicate with partners about their expectations, so that you avoid incurring time that won’t be collected.  Find out how long the partner expects a project to take, and do your best to stay in that ballpark.  In the event the partner has an unrealistic view of what’s possible, have a conversation about it as early as you reasonably can.  You’re managing their expectations so they can manage the client’s expectations.  If you perceive a misalignment, it’s your responsibility to speak up and make an effort to resolve it.

Consider the bigger picture

So why am I sharing this, as a recruiter?  Managing utilization and realization makes you more productive and efficient: you’re a more valuable associate.  But this isn’t just about you.  It’s also about how much work the firm has: underutilization can result from not enough work to go around.  Conversely, understaffing can lead to overutilization.  And your personal utilization rate reflects your quality of life.  If your utilization is very high, then you’re likely overworked!

If this has got you thinking about your role in your firm, or your practice group, then let’s chat.

Featured, Market News

At the Pinnacle of the Profession: Latinos and Latinas Making Strides in Am Law Firm Leadership

Last week marked the beginning of National Hispanic Heritage Month, which extends from September 15 to October 15. Now is the perfect time to discuss the contributions of Latinos and Latinas in Biglaw and, in particular, to highlight our community’s representation in top Am Law firm leadership roles. As a Cuban-American, this is a topic close to my heart. Undoubtedly there is still much room for improvement, but the good news is that we increasingly have reason to celebrate!

Over the past couple of years, Am Law 100 firms have redoubled their efforts to increase diversity in their ranks. And when it comes to Latino and Latina lawyers, we are starting to see progress at various levels. The American Lawyer’s 2022 Diversity Scorecard indicated the most significant year-over-year improvement since 2001. Large law firms hired 1.5% more Hispanic associates, which was a greater rate of increase than for any other racial/ethnic group. At the partnership level, there was a 2.6% increase in Hispanic/Latino equity partners from 2019 to 2020.

But the most visible achievements have come at the top of the Biglaw pyramid, with an increasing number of Am Law firms now featuring Latino or Latina managing partners. Let’s take a look at these luminaries whose success is proof that the pinnacle of the profession is open to Latino and Latina attorneys, notwithstanding the inevitable challenges.

Yvette Ostolaza — Chair of the Management Committee, Sidley Austin

As the sole Latina at the helm of an Am Law firm, Yvette Ostolaza’s journey is particularly inspiring. Born in Miami to Cuban parents, Ostolaza attended the University of Miami School of Law and first made partner as a litigator in the Dallas office of Weil, Gotshal & Manges. She joined Sidley in 2013 as managing partner of the Dallas office and served as global co-leader of Sidley’s litigation practice before her elevation to Chair of the Management Committee in April 2022. She was recently honored by the Hispanic National Bar Association with the Mari Carmen Aponte Award, which recognizes a “Latina lawyer who is the first to break a glass ceiling.”

Miguel A. Zaldivar, Jr. — CEO, Hogan Lovells

Born in Venezuela to Cuban refugee parents, Miguel Zaldivar did not emigrate to the United States until adulthood. After graduating from the University of Miami School of Law, he joined Hogan Lovells and set about building a Miami-based Latin America project finance practice. As a partner, he became co-leader of the Hogan Lovells Infrastructure, Energy, Resources and Projects practice. In 2018, he relocated to Hong Kong to manage the firm’s 14 offices in Asia and the Middle East. Zaldivar began serving as Hogan Lovells CEO in 2020.

Frank Lopez — Managing Partner and Chair-Elect, Paul Hastings

Currently in the number-two role at Paul Hastings, Frank Lopez will assume the top leadership post (Chair) on October 15. The New York securities lawyer and former investment banker only arrived at the firm in 2019. A graduate of Georgetown University Law Center, Lopez spent 15 years at Proskauer Rose before jumping to Paul Hastings. In his relatively short Paul Hastings tenure, Lopez has succeeded in raising the firm’s profile in leveraged finance and has played a key role in attracting lateral partners from firms such as Skadden and Covington & Burling.

Wally Martinez — Managing Partner, Hunton Andrews Kurth

Unlike his colleagues on this list, Wally Martinez’s ascent to the helm of a major law firm is not a recent development. Born in Manhattan and raised in New Jersey by Cuban emigre parents, Martinez graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He first made partner at Holland & Knight in Miami before leaving to found a new Hunton & Williams Miami office in 1999. Martinez served briefly as general counsel at Diageo North America before returning to Hunton & Williams as managing partner in 2006. He has remained at the helm through the merger with the former Andrews Kurth Kenyon. For many years, Martinez was the only Latino leading an Am Law firm, so the fact that he now has significant company in the Am Law leadership ranks is especially noteworthy. 

A rising generation of leaders
The four leaders profiled above occupy particularly visible roles, but it is worth acknowledging in addition the rising generation of Latino and Latina lawyers poised to ascend to top posts in the coming years. To take just one example of a Latino partner to watch, Eduardo Fernandez currently serves as co-head of the European Committee at Willkie Farr and co-managing partner of the Paris office. A native New Yorker who received his J.D. from NYU, Fernandez began his career as a Wilkie Farr associate in New York. He is now recognized as one of the leading M&A and private equity lawyers in France.

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How to Help Recruiters Alert You to Relevant Opportunities on LinkedIn

It won’t come as a surprise to you that virtually every recruiter uses LinkedIn to source candidates. You’ve likely received at least a few unsolicited LinkedIn messages from recruiters. Chances are, some of those messages were for positions that do not align with your practice area. This can be a source of frustration, leading some lawyers to become pretty jaded about the general notion of recruiter outreach.

But here’s the thing. If your LinkedIn profile doesn’t clearly communicate your skills and specific experience, recruiters are left to guess. The best way you can improve the quality of recruiter outreach is to maintain an informative, up-to-date profile. This gives recruiters quick and valuable insight into your background, enabling us to contact you if there’s a strong match and, conversely, to move on if you’re obviously not the right candidate. I can’t promise that a more informative profile will entirely solve the problem of messages for irrelevant roles, but it will definitely help.  

Introduce yourself effectively

The “intro” portion of your LinkedIn profile (the top section) is in many ways the most important. This is your opportunity to communicate crisply who you are and what you offer. The best way to enable a recruiter to find your profile is by inserting informative keywords into the “headline” (the line immediately below your name). Describing yourself simply as an “Attorney” is a missed opportunity: instead, tell us what type of attorney you are. The more specific, the better. For example, “Litigation Attorney” is better than “Attorney.” But the best is  a headline like “Litigation Employment Attorney Specializing in Discrimination and Retaliation.”

Double check that your location is current. Many lawyers moved cities during the pandemic, and some have neglected to update their LinkedIn profiles accordingly. It only takes a moment! While you’re at it, consider selecting the “open to opportunities” setting that is only visible to recruiters. This will confidentially communicate to recruiters that you’re receptive to relevant outreach.

Photos are another critical element of an effective intro section. Adding a photo increases the likelihood that a potential contact will accept your connection request by 9x. In addition to uploading a professional profile photo, make sure to include a background photo. Your background is a visual representation of your personal brand and is one of the first things recruiters will see when they visit your profile.

Fill in the details

A basic rule: if it’s there, fill it in. The more complete your profile, the better. Obviously, you have to fill out Experience and Education. But beyond that, add some content to Skills (in case recruiters are filtering on those keywords) and your licenses & certifications (you’re a member of a bar, right?). Other optional sections can help give your profile a more personal touch. Are you bilingual? Fill out the Languages section!

Ensure that your Experience section is more informative than a simple list of titles. The nice thing about LinkedIn, in contrast to a resume, is you don’t have to worry about fitting all the content onto a printed page. So go ahead and include a couple of bullet points about each of your past positions to indicate specifically what you did and what you achieved. Naturally, this will change over time as you advance in your career and accomplish new things, so don’t just fill in the Experience section once and forget about it — be proactive about keeping the description of your current role up to date. As a matter of style, note that it’s perfectly appropriate to write in the first person on LinkedIn, in a way that would be uncommon on a resume. Using “I” statements helps to humanize you.

Education should be fairly straightforward, but do keep in mind that this is not the place to be modest. If you graduated with honors, say so. You may also wish to list your GPA and/or class rank, especially if you’re early in your career, with limited work experience.

Stay active

At a minimum, you should log into LinkedIn weekly to check your messages. If you aren’t in the habit of logging in regularly, you can also put your contact info (personal email and/or cell phone) on your profile, enabling recruiters to contact you through those alternative channels.

As an optional bonus, consider creating content on LinkedIn. This will boost your ranking in search results and can be a great way to get noticed — not just by recruiters, but maybe even by law firm partners directly. Being active on the platform builds credibility, demonstrating that you know your area of law and are comfortable speaking about it publicly. This is by no means required, but when you do it well, it certainly helps!

Check your search appearances 

Be sure that you are getting noticed by the right audience. To do this, go to your profile page, look under the Analytics heading, look for the magnifying glass icon, and click on “search appearances.” This lets you see how often you appear in search results. In addition to the number of search appearances, it also shows you the keywords you were found for. If these do not align with your current practice area or industry, consider adjusting your headline and intro section until you are appearing in more targeted searches. 

Have fun 

Finally, have fun. Networking and being open to new opportunities can be intimidating, but LinkedIn makes it relatively simple and stress-free. Treat it as a no-pressure environment for you to be yourself and engage with like-minded people.

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The Future Rainmakers Award: Ten Associates Poised For Greatness

At Lateral Link, we’re always searching for talent — scanning the market for future legal stars is the core of what we do. Today we are delighted to announce a new initiative to spotlight associates on the rise: the Future Rainmakers Award! This award recognizes associates who are on a path to future outsized success in the legal profession. This is a quarterly initiative, so stay tuned for more winners later in the year!

And now, without further ado, we present our first ten Future Rainmakers…

Aashiq Jivani 

Aashiq is an associate in Sidley’s Houston office, where he is a member of the Energy practice. He graduated from Harvard Law School.

Adrienne Jackson

Adrienne is an associate in Weil’s Corporate department, based in Silicon Valley. She graduated magna cum laude from Duke University School of Law, where she received the Christine P. Richards Scholarship.

Evan McLaughlin

Evan is a Real Estate associate in Greenberg Traurig’s Chicago office. He received his J.D., cum laude, from Chicago-Kent College of Law, where he was Notes and Comments Editor for the Chicago-Kent Law Review.

Jaleel Chandler

Jaleel practices general corporate and securities law in Cooley’s Palo Alto office. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law.

Matthew Mrozek

Matthew is a member of Debevoise’s Real Estate group, based in New York. He received his J.D., cum laude, from New York University School of Law, where he was an Arthur T. Vanderbilt Scholar.

Nicole Phillips

Nicki is a Real Estate associate in Jones Day’s Atlanta office. She received her J.D., magna cum laude, from Duke University School of Law, where she was Articles Editor for Law and Contemporary Problems.

Leon Sunstein

Leon is a member of Skadden’s Complex Litigation and Trials practice, based in New York. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, where he was Articles Editor for the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law.

Dmitry Dobrovolskiy

Dmitry is a Tax associate in Davis Polk’s New York office. He received his J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School.

Tae Kim

Tae is a Litigation associate at WilmerHale, based in Boston. She graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School, where she was Article Editor and Submissions Committee Member for the Journal of Law and Technology.

Tiffany Kwok

Tiffany is a Corporate associate in Kirkland’s Bay Area office. She received her J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School.

Featured, Market News

Midwest Markets Update: Smaller Cities Are Holding Their Own

With talk of a potential recession making some candidates hesitant to explore lateral moves, it’s especially important to ground our assessment of the market in data. Analysis of lateral hires in 2022 indicates continued strength, not just in the largest cities like New York and Chicago but also in many smaller markets. Taken together, Kansas City, St. Louis, and Detroit offer a useful case study.

These smaller midwestern markets are more than holding their own. In both St. Louis and Detroit, hiring this year has outpaced the level of 2021. In Kansas City, it has been comparable to 2021. Unlike in markets such as Austin, where multiple office openings and large group moves have supercharged lateral hiring, growth in these smaller midwestern markets has mainly been driven by individual hires into existing offices.

Robust hiring across these markets

Lateral opportunities have been especially plentiful this year in the St. Louis and Detroit markets. According to Leopards data, in the first half of 2022, there were 42 lateral moves in St. Louis (partner, counsel, and associates), a jump from 35 in the first half of 2021. Detroit saw 59 lateral hires, as compared to 48 in the same period of 2021. (The Detroit totals are for the broader southeast Michigan region, including offices in Bloomfield Hills, Birmingham, Ann Arbor, and Troy.) Kansas City was trailing its 2021 pace at the mid-way point this year, but activity picked up in July with 11 additional lateral moves.

Kansas City is the only market with a notable new office opening: K&L Gates set up shop, bringing over a team of Energy attorneys from Husch Blackwell. Detroit has seen some group hiring, with corporate attorneys leaving a smaller firm to join Dinsmore and Honigman, but even there, individual one-off moves predominate.

A diversity of practice area strengths

Although all three markets are expanding, there are meaningful differences between them in terms of practice area growth. In Kansas City, litigation and real estate appear to be growing most strongly, while corporate hiring has slowed. Real estate historically punches above its weight in KC, which has a smaller proportion of corporate attorneys than in some comparable markets. In St. Louis, in contrast, there has been a significant uptick in corporate/banking hiring, whereas litigation has remained steady. IP is also significantly more active than in 2021: in the first seven months of 2022, there were double the number of lateral moves seen in all of 2021. In Detroit, corporate/banking lateral moves are also notably outpacing 2021, with litigation/L&E, real estate, and IP close to matching last year’s pace.

Hiring numbers are low in all markets for tax, trust & estates, and ERISA/comp & benefits, but it does appear that hiring has increased in 2022 compared to 2021. That reflects a trend we have seen in larger markets as well. It will be interesting to observe whether the corporate practice groups continue to build in these smaller markets, even in a period when they seem to be cooling slightly in the largest cities.

Salary increases have attracted new talent

In Detroit in particular, several firms have raised salaries to at or just slightly below the major market level. Examples include Foley, Jones Day, Honigman, and Gunderson. These increases have been especially effective in attracting candidates from Chicago Big Law offices. The Michigan firms have understood that many Chicago-based associates grew up in the Detroit suburbs but started their legal careers in Chicago to take advantage of higher compensation and more extensive Big Law opportunities. Some members of this group have jumped at the chance to move home without taking a substantial pay cut.

In the Missouri markets, salaries remain below the national market scale, but the largest players such as Bryan Cave, Polsinelli, and Husch Blackwell have raised pay substantially over the past year. Those increases have widened the gap between the highest-paying Missouri firms and their smaller peers in these markets. Local candidates who previously believed that the incremental pay difference wasn’t worth Big Law hours requirements have been reconsidering that assessment. Although at first glance one might expect Missouri offices to face difficulty attracting top talent from larger markets without paying on the national scale, it’s worth noting that cost of living remains quite low in both Kansas City and St. Louis. Going forward, it will be interesting to monitor whether the leading firms in these markets have done enough to bring in a significant number of major-market laterals.

Associate Tips, Featured, In-House Tips, Partner Tips, Tips

Lawyers’ Mental Health Remains In Crisis, But Awareness Is Growing

It’s hardly news to say that the collective mental health of the legal profession is under severe strain. The results of the recent ALM Intelligence 2022 Mental Health and Substance Abuse Survey confirm what has long been true: the situation remains grave.

On the other hand, there is some indication, both in the annual ALM survey data and elsewhere, that law firms are taking mental health concerns more seriously than in the past.

The 2022 ALM survey was administered to more than 3400 respondents working at law firms of all sizes. The survey pool was global, but 79% of respondents were based in the United States. Respondents were 52% female and 48% male, with less than 1% identifying as transgender or other gender. 85% of respondents were White (non-Hispanic), 5% Hispanic or Latino, 4% Asian, 3% Black, and 3% Other/Multiracial.

Broadly experienced negative mental health impact

The proportion of respondents who agree that mental health problems and substance abuse are at a “crisis level” in the legal industry has grown each year since 2019, reaching 44% in the most recent survey. On the question of whether mental health problems and substance abuse are worse in the legal industry than in other industries, 55% of respondents said yes, 36% don’t know, and only 9% said no.

35% of respondents said they personally feel depressed, and two-thirds reported having anxiety. Three-quarters reported that the profession has had a negative effect on their mental health over time. 64% reported that their personal relationships have suffered as a result of being a member of the legal profession. 19% answered yes to the question: “In your professional legal career, have you contemplated suicide?”

When asked to select factors that negatively impact their mental well-being, 72% of respondents selected “always on call/can’t disconnect,” 59% selected “billable hour pressures,” 57% pointed to “client demands,” and 55% selected “lack of sleep.”

Rising awareness of the problem

Even though the overall data are undeniably bleak, the survey does include some indications of progress. The proportion of respondents who agreed that their “workplace is a safe environment to raise concerns about mental health and substance abuse” has risen from 40% in 2019 to 45% in 2022. Still far too low, but at least moving in the right direction. The survey also indicates that more firms are taking tangible action to provide more comprehensive mental health support: in 2022, 61% of attorney respondents reported that their firm offered an Employee Assistance Program including assistance for mental health or substance abuse, up from 54% in 2019.

In addition, the survey suggests that COVID-related mental health pressures are starting to improve. 61% of respondents reported that the COVID pandemic had made their mental health worse, but this was down from 70% in 2021.

Mental health and return to office

Although some aspects of the survey might seem like “more of the same,” the section on Remote Work Environment is particularly timely, given that the profession remains in a tug of war over a return to the office. In a set of questions introduced for the first time in this survey, ALM asked respondents about the effect of “hybrid or remote work environments” on various elements of their professional and personal lives. The results are less than conclusive.

There was something approaching consensus on a few points. For example, 76% of respondents reported that remote work had decreased the quality of interpersonal relationships with colleagues and 62% said it had increased the quality of home-based personal relationships. 59% reported that remote work had increased their quality of life.

But the reported mental health effects were much less clear. 38% of respondents stated that remote work increased mental health, whereas 35% said it decreased mental health, and 27% reported no impact. On the question of whether hybrid or remote working environments increase or decrease the likelihood of professional burnout, 25% said increase, 33% said decrease, 25% answered “stay the same,” and 17% didn’t know.

Unfortunately, the published survey includes no breakdown of how these responses intersect with demographics, which is perhaps a missed opportunity.

For those who found that remote work flexibility relieved stress levels, the prospect of being forced to return to old ways of working inspires real anxiety. It will be interesting to observe over the coming months and years how the widespread desire of firm leadership to encourage (or enforce) return to office will interact with increased awareness of a responsibility to address mental health challenges.

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How To Work Effectively With A Legal Recruiter

Let’s be honest: lawyers like to complain about legal recruiters. And hey, I get it! Sometimes lateral candidates have bad recruiter experiences, through no fault of their own. But without excusing the unprofessional behavior that some recruiters engage in, it’s important to recognize that the candidate/recruiter relationship is a two-way street. It’s highly advisable to treat your recruiter considerately and professionally — not only is this the right thing to do, but it also maximizes your recruiter’s ability to effectively advocate for you.

To some extent, this is basic common sense (or should be)!  But to be fair, the lateral market can be stressful, and sometimes candidates may not be fully cognizant of the effects of their actions. So it’s worth laying out a few best practices that you should follow if you decide to work with a recruiter.

Be open and honest. This is the foundation for a productive, trust-based relationship with your recruiter. Some of the conversation will cover very standard terrain. How would you describe your experience and skill set? What are your short- and long-term career goals? What are your compensation expectations? Other aspects may be more awkward to discuss. Have you ever been fired? Have you recently worked with another recruiter? Have you applied to certain firms in the past? This is all important context for your recruiter to have. Remember: you and your recruiter are on the same team. The more you tell us, the more effectively we can frame your candidacy.

Communicate often. Part of being open and honest is being communicative when circumstances change. Have you adjusted your goals? Did your current work or compensation situation change recently? That’s fine, but you need to tell us. It isn’t helpful to have a recruiter pitching you to firms based on outdated information.

Be loyal. If you are targeting law firm roles, only work with one recruiter at a time. At the outset, it’s advisable to speak to a few recruiters to get a sense of which one feels like the best fit. But once you find a recruiter you feel you can trust, stick with that person. Law firms very rarely offer recruiters exclusive roles, so working with multiple recruiters is of no practical benefit (and in fact, can complicate your job search). Note that in-house roles are a different story. These are often filled through exclusive recruiter arrangements, so if you are going in-house it’s fine to work with more than one recruiter to gain access to a wider range of roles.

Be considerate and respectful. Be aware that recruiters only get paid if we place you with a new employer. When we invest time to help you with resume revisions or provide extensive interview coaching and career counseling, we do so with the expectation that you’re serious about working with us. If you aren’t certain you want to work with a particular recruiter, it’s extremely inconsiderate to mislead that person and take advantage of their services. Most especially, please understand that it’s highly unethical to learn about an opportunity from a recruiter and then go behind our back by submitting an application directly or through a friend who works at the firm. Don’t be that person.

Be responsive and committed. We get it, you are busy and working long hours. Many of us are. But you need to help us help you. Respond to our emails and phone calls, even if it’s just to let us know you’re tied up and will follow up with a response at a later time. If you agree to an interview, follow through on that commitment by showing up on time. If you promise to send a recruiter your resume by a certain date, either keep your promise or give a heads up that you’ll need a few more days. Don’t ghost a recruiter after you’ve agreed to work with us or after we’ve helped you. If you change your mind, that’s okay, it happens. But do your recruiter the courtesy of letting us know. It only takes a second to respond to an email.  

Be professional. This last one is a bit of a catch-all, and the importance of it cannot be overstated enough. It applies not just to your dealings with recruiters, but to everyone you interact with in the lateral hiring process. Keep in mind that the legal industry is relatively small, and your reputation will follow you. The bridges you build (or burn) while in the recruiting process may affect your career years from now in unexpected ways. Make sure you leave a positive and professional impression. At some point in the future, you’ll be happy you did.

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Lateral Interviews: Advice from Seasoned Interviewers

With the end-of-year bonus season upon us and a lateral hiring market that remains exceptionally strong, it’s a safe bet that many law firm associates will soon be preparing for lateral interviews. What can you do to maximize your chance of a successful interview?

To get some pointers, I spoke with Mike Blankenship, managing partner of Winston & Strawn’s Houston office, and Randall Clark, corporate and securities partner in Gunderson Dettmer’s New York office. Both have extensive experience with lateral hiring and were happy to offer their advice.

  1. Be prepared to talk about your representative matters.

The biggest difference between on-campus and lateral interviews is that, as a lateral candidate, you’ll be expected to actually know some law! But before your imposter syndrome intensifies, rest assured that technical questions are almost never asked. The way partners assess your skillset is by probing your resume and, most importantly, your representative matters. “The deal sheet gets more attention from us than the resume,” says Randall, so you must be prepared to discuss any of your listed matters. Take time to reacquaint yourself with the basics of each matter and prepare some talking points about your specific contributions.

  • Assemble an effective deal sheet or representative matters list.

There are three dimensions to bear in mind when preparing a deal sheet: format, substance, and length.

  • Format: Most partners prefer deal sheets organized by type of transaction, not chronologically. Use this to your advantage by placing your most impressive deals at the top of each category.
  • Substance: Include enough detail to convey the essence of the deal. For example, instead of writing “client,” write “a national supplier of widgets.” Emphasize aspects that align with the interviewing firm’s practice strengths. Additionally, indicate your scope of responsibility. This can be as simple as describing your overall role (e.g., “lead associate”) or as detailed as listing your primary contributions.
  • Length: Don’t let the term “representative matters” fool you—it’s important to go beyond a small sampling of matters and submit a deal sheet that reflects a high volume of work. The ideal number of matters will vary by firm, practice, and class year, but it’s generally a good idea to consider including all of your matters, even those in which you played a smaller role.
  • Look professional.

Yes, the world is changing, Goldman Sachs no longer requires a suit and tie, but despite this trend, it’s better to play it safe for law firm interviews. “Most law firm hirers still expect professional attire because their clients still expect professional attire,” says Mike.

  • Do sufficient background research and prepare informed questions.  

“While we’re all large law firms, there are distinguishing factors, areas where a firm is great at something,” Mike observes. Look into both overall firm platform as well as the strengths of the specific office or group.

Even if a firm’s top strengths don’t align directly with your practice area, it’s important to demonstrate that you are interested enough to have learned about the firm on your own time. Partners want to be able to quickly identify that you’ve done your homework and start convincing you that you should choose their firm. When conducting screener interviews, Randall “know[s] within a few minutes whether or not [he] like[s] a candidate.”

It’s also advisable to briefly review your interviewers’ biographies. Referring to an interviewer’s background is a great way to avoid awkward silences. And simple questions like “What made you decide to retool into x practice?” or “How is it working for x industry clients?” can surface valuable insights.

  • Speak clearly and concisely.

This is important in any interview, but it is essential at firms like Gunderson where associates are expected to interface early with price-sensitive clients. “I want to see whether we can put you in front of founders,” says Randall, and that means being clear and getting to the point.

  • Prepare a tight answer for why you think the firm is the right fit.

Never tell a firm that you want to lateral in order to work less. Mike explains that, although he understands “a lot of law firms out there ask a lot more of their attorneys than they probably should,” the risk of an interviewer misinterpreting comments about workload is too high. 

Good reasons include wanting to specialize in something not available at your current firm, wanting a change in the type of clients you represent, or simply that you’ve heard great things about the firm and believe you would be a strong match for the culture.

  • Assess whether your interviewers would make good mentors.

Finally, remember that you are also interviewing the firm and its partners and associates. Especially for more junior attorneys, mentorship is an important factor to explore. As Mike observes, “that doesn’t mean a formal mentorship program, because every law firm has that.” Instead, try to determine whether your interviewers are the kind of lawyers who would be gracious in helping junior colleagues expand their toolkits.

Why Winston & Strawn? Why Gunderson?

Of course, I also wanted to give Mike and Randall the opportunity to explain why an associate on the market should consider their firms!

“We’re young, entrepreneurial, and we’re growing,” Mike says in relation to Winston & Strawn’s Texas operations. The firm also prides itself on providing excellent guidance to young attorneys. “You are never left on an island,” Mike promises.

Randall sees Gunderson’s culture and the opportunities it affords associates as major selling points. The culture is shaped by Gunderson’s young tech clients, making it an exciting place to work. Conscious of the importance of preserving that culture, the firm is strongly committed to promoting partners from Gunderson’s associate ranks. And given the tech sector’s growth, Randall projects: “we are going to have to make a tremendous number of partners.”