Careers
Hiring for Lateral Partners—and Entire Practice Groups—is Strong
Posted Aug 29, 2008, 06:00 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
Law firms are continuing to hire lateral partners, but the process is slowing as each side takes more time to evaluate the other.
Legal recruiters who spoke to the Recorder cite a number of reasons for a strong lateral market for partners—and for entire practice groups.
In some cases, law firms are eliminating or de-emphasizing practice areas, pushing some lawyers out the door or leading those in disfavored practice groups to move on, the Recorder story says. Or lawyers may find that their firm’s billing rates are too expensive for their clients, so they move to a firm with lower rates and a welcome mat for the clients.
Or they may be lured away by one of the increasing number of law firms that are expanding their practice offerings or opening offices in new cities and seeking to quickly hire staffers. Or they may be lured because they have a strong book of business or want to jump to a new firm with higher profits per partner.
While the market is strong, lateral hiring is an increasingly slow process, the article says. Laterals themselves are showing a lot of caution about making the move, said legal recruiter Stacy Miller Azcarate of Miller Sabino & Lee. “There is no longer the assumption that law firms are inherently stable, immune from debt overload, market influences and other financial disasters," she said.