Lateral Upwards

“Opportunities multiply as they are seized, but you need the first opportunity.” – Sun Tzu, The Art of War

If you are a biglaw or regional law firm associate, you may (justifiably) feel you have got it made. Yes, the hours are long and the clients demanding, but you are paid handsomely for your time, the work is important, and by objective standards life is good. Most importantly and whether true or not, your employer has made clear that your job is secure. After a tumultuous almost two years, any stability is certainly welcome.

But as we near the end of 2021, we challenge you to take stock of your career and ask yourself if your situation could be improved. Why now? After all, the holidays are approaching and so is the year-end bonus season. Because in this 4Q 2021, we remain in perhaps the most uniquely vibrant law firm hiring market in history. For you, this means leverage. Biglaw and regional law firm associates, by combination of ability and availability, have now attained the position to seize these opportunities Sun Tzu portends in his seminal quotation. So what are they, exactly?

Moving up the rankings. In this market, an associate in the bottom half of the Am Law 200 can jump up to the gilded Am Law 50, and those at regional law firms can attain the coveted “Am Law 100 associate” title. Even associates with more gaps than the Mall of America are getting a shot at course correcting their careers. While working for a Vault 10 law firm is unlikely to improve your weekend free time, some time at the pinnacle of legal practice may be worth the sacrifice for better opportunities down the road. Simply stated, if there is a category of law firm practice you have always been interested in pursuing, this is the time to do it.

Retooling your practice. A complete change of practice area was previously a near impossibility, but now we are making it happen for candidates. In recent months, several of our biglaw candidates have been able to change their practice focus and pursue the legal specialty that most excites them. Typically, retooling comes with a step back in class year, but setting yourself up in the practice that most interests you is a recipe for long-term success.

Location Independence. As our law firm clients have navigated this pandemic, they have been forced to establish their philosophies around office culture and facetime. Some firms are bullish on attorneys being present in the office and have kept their doors open (and can’t wait for a full return of personnel). Other firms have adopted the remote work concept as their path forward and also as a tool for attracting lateral talent. We think most firms will end up in the balanced middle – attorneys will come into a physical office space a few days a week whilst retaining some flexibility to work remotely. But if you are a “have-laptop-will-travel” digital nomad at heart, this hiring market allows previously unimaginable opportunity to join a premier firm and work in the location of your choosing. West Coast firms seem to be leaning into this paradigm the most heavily, but even some of our white shoe law firm clients are considering candidate hires in non-office markets. Our advice: determine the office dynamics you want in your life and career and make the move towards achieving those goals. Just make sure you have a great wifi signal.

Interviewing from your living room. March of 2020 was a frightening and uncertain time. In our industry, lateral hiring ground to a halt as all bravely adjusted to new protocols – social distancing, mask wearing, hand sanitizer at every turn, and closed offices. But we humans, especially lawyers, sure are adaptable when faced with an extreme challenge. By May of 2020, we had candidates in Zoom interviews in markets across the globe and offers were being extended without any in-person contact, something previously unthinkable. At this point, we have taken for granted how easy it is to take a video interview meeting from home. While some in-person interviews are necessary and encouraged, most lateral interviews are conducted via video, making it easier than ever to wade into the job market. As attorneys get called back to their offices soon, interviewing will become more difficult. So, take advantage of this moment in time to conduct lateral interviews from the location of your choosing.

Show me the money. Special bonuses, retention bonuses, signing bonuses, above-market year-end bonuses, have all entered the recruiting conversation. “We need associates!”, our clients enthusiastically demand, before listing off the benefits they are ready to deploy to make themselves more attractive. Want to pay down a large chunk of your student loans, secure a down payment on a home, or buy some Dogecoin? There has never been a better time to leverage your candidacy for compelling compensation. Corporate associates with M&A, funds, capital markets and finance experience are particularly coveted.

Fortunately for the adventuresome amongst us, most associates will never answer the call. They will stay at their firms out of fear of change or the false notion that all moves are lateral. But if you are that associate who recognizes that this is the rarest of markets, then now is the time to take the steps towards an upward move. Call us – you will get nothing from us but straight talk, and if the time is right for you, we can help.