Arm Your Headhunters to Bag the Best Lateral Talent

Editor’s Note: The author of this post is a partner with Los Angeles-based legal search firm Seltzer Fontaine Beckwith.

By Valerie Fontaine, of Seltzer Fontaine Beckwith

The more information your headhunters have up front, the more effectively they can land top prospects on your behalf. When a legal search consultant calls a prospect with all relevant information at their fingertips, the candidate understands that the recruiter is engaged in a targeted search, not just a fishing expedition. The call is taken more seriously and is more productive. Arming your recruiters with all the facts enables them to effectively sell your story and bag the best catch.

With the dissolution of several high profile law firms, prospective lateral partner candidates are especially wary. Your headhunters must be able to assure prospects of your firm’s financial health and strong management before interesting them in talking with you. Give your recruiters accurate information, including the firm’s financial trajectory over the past several years and projections for the future. Discuss the firm’s liabilities including leases and debt.

With the dissolution of several high profile law firms, prospective lateral partner candidates are especially wary.

Your headhunters should understand your firm’s legal structure (partnership, corporation, LLC, etc.), organization (by office or practice group), and if there are multiple profit centers. Explain the firm’s management hierarchy and whether you have professional managers as well as lawyers in charge.

Lateral candidates interested in leadership roles want to know about your firm’s committees: who serves on them, how you select members, and which offices and practices are represented.

With your headhunters, construct a narrative about the firm’s or local office’s history and future plans. Develop talking points regarding historical growth and turnover rates, including the successes and failures of previous lateral partner hires. Alert the recruiters if your firm contemplates dramatic expansion or contraction, or any changes in its character, size, structure, or practice focus.

Most lateral partner candidates seek a better “platform” or enhanced ability to attract and service clients. Consequently, your headhunters need to know your firm’s processes for bringing in new clients and matters, and handling conflicts and waivers. Describe the firm’s marketing capability, cross-selling opportunities, and track record of supporting lateral partners as these can be strong selling points for your firm.

Your recruiters must understand your firm’s billing and collection practices to determine whether a candidate’s existing rates are compatible. Explain any flexibility. The ability of lateral partners to offer reduced rates or alternative fee arrangements might allow them to attract additional clients and matters they cannot serve at their current firms.

Arm your headhunters with information to explain to prospective candidates your process for setting compensation and the criteria taken into account. Partner compensation schemes vary widely between law firms and reflect how each values particular attributes. Some are purely formulaic, while others are almost completely subjective, decided by a few powerful people in the firm.

Clarify how your firm rewards business generation and origination and whether credit is given by client or by matter, hours billed, marketing activities, mentoring of associates, firm management, quality of work, pro bono or community work, and stature in the profession. Your recruiters need to ascertain whether the firm’s priorities align with those of the prospective candidates.

Partner compensation schemes vary widely between law firms and reflect how each values particular attributes.

Your headhunters also must understand your hierarchy of lawyers and where prospective candidates would fit in. Discuss voting rights, profit participation, and responsibility for liabilities for each tier; how a lawyer moves from one level to the next — and, possibly, back again — and who determines that movement. Include specific benchmarks, waiting periods at any given level and, especially, the experiences of other laterals.

If equity partnership is possible in the candidates’ foreseeable future, talk with your recruiters about capital contribution requirements, when it’s paid, and how it’s financed. If you’re seeking very senior laterals, describe the firm’s retirement policy. Some firms make retirement mandatory at a certain age, others automatically convert partners to nonequity status with a renewable contract, and some have no ¬retirement policy at all.

The firm’s culture and prospective lateral’s personality must mesh, as well. Fully describe the kind of candidates you seek not only in terms of expertise, background, and client base, but also the “soft skills” it takes to succeed at your firm. Top legal search consultants strive to meet personally every employer-client they represent and candidate they offer for consideration. They should visit your offices and meet as many key partners as possible.

Finally, clarify the hiring process so your headhunters can work with you to steer candidates through it. Communicate in a timely manner and give honest feedback to your recruiter at every step to address any concerns. The more ammunition you give your headhunters, the higher the likelihood they can help you bag the big game you seek.