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Few areas have more potential for internal criticism and strife than determining the appropriate compensation level for lateral partners. And even large firms that recruit tremendous numbers of lateral partners can have a hard time figuring out how to attract and compensate these new owners. The difficulties in compensating lateral partners vary depending on the compensation system employed at each firm, so the tried-and-true tactics outlined below should be helpful to law firm leaders who need ideas for recruiting and compensating lateral partners: READ MORE >

In 2001, the NALP Foundation for Research and Education released its groundbreaking study, The Lateral Lawyer: Why They Leave and What May Make Them Stay with an eye on revealing: 1) the primary and secondary influences on the decisions of lawyers to change jobs including the role of practice interests, financial incentives, work/life balance priorities, work environment characteristics, and professional and career development needs; 2) the perceptions of laterally hired attorneys about how their new (current) employers are meeting their expectations for assimilation, marketing of the lawyer to clients, compensation and more; 3) The relative degree of loyalty or anticipated longevity of lateral lawyers as they report their own expectations for tenure; and 4) How law firms recruit and hire lateral lawyers, including the role of referrals, self-initiated contact, search consultants; law firm lateral hiring criteria and selectivity; and lateral hiring incentives. READ MORE >

Were most of your partners satisfied when the firm allocated remaining profits last year? READ MORE >

In many firms, lateral hiring resembles a revolving door: Lawyers come in, spend three or more years with the firm, and then depart. Indeed, when it comes to integrating laterals, most law firms do a good job of detailing the programs, policies, and paperwork needed to cover the administrative aspects associated with joining a new firm, but they fail to describe the business objectives they have for the lateral. READ MORE >

Most law firms have taken on a lateral who didn't produce as expected because something fell through the cracks during due diligence: READ MORE >

Lateral hires are on the rise, which means law firm leaders must review their due diligence practices, especially when considering prospects who seem too good to be true. There are a number of now crucial areas in which to concentrate your due diligence: READ MORE >

Marketing is now part and parcel of what it means to be successful with lateral recruitment, especially in a marketplace where the most coveted prospects want to know why they should join your law firm and not the one down the street. Consequently, it's up to you to devise ways to communicate your firm's uniqueness. In order to effectively market your firm, you must first develop a plan to: READ MORE >

When can hiring a lateral be detrimental to your law firm? All firms consider the impact the potential lateral hire will have on the firm's professional liability insurance and take the following precautions: READ MORE >

These days most law firms are constantly on the lookout for groups of laterals in key practice areas. While there's no denying that a lateral strategy can work for the bottom line, law firm leaders will attest that it has its pitfalls. READ MORE >

BCG Attorney Search’s research, interviews, and informal conversations with law firm leaders suggest that lateral hires and practice group procurements fail as often as full-scale mergers. The reasons. READ MORE >

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Has your firm been hiring new associates who seem to meet your criteria in the hope that they'll learn and improve and still be with the firm when its time to make partnership decisions? Rather than hoping, now may be the time to identify the competencies your law firm needs. Then you can teach lawyer/interviewers to uncover the desired behaviors that will create a legal workforce that can develop those competencies and is reliable, productive, and stable. READ MORE >

While the desire of your firm to land a promising lateral may be nigh overwhelming, caution is the watchword. Consider this cautionary tale before your firm rushes to retain even its most prized prospect: "Hiring is up, yet my firm seems to be riding into these unions with blinders on," one law firm leader confides, explaining her firm's lateral hiring strategy. "I'll wager that one out of two will end up being a drag on the firm's profits and morale." READ MORE >

For the World’s Largest Collection of Law Firm Interview Resources Click Here

While law firms' lateral hiring pace is likely to slow somewhat this year as many begin refocusing on first-year recruiting, most data suggest that attracting and retaining top laterals in hot practice areas will remain a priority for law firm leaders for some time to come. READ MORE >

When considering and, specifically, the nature of marketing legal services in the future, the best guide is empirical data of two kinds: (1) law-specific data combined with (2) information from the mature unregulated service professions. READ MORE >

The stakes—time, money, or firm-wide resources—are always high when you embark on a search for a lateral hire. And these costs often have nothing to do with due diligence or questions of fit and synergy. Instead, it's a matter of sheer economics. Because some headhunters' fees now run in the six-figure range, managing such relationships on the front-end can be crucial. READ MORE >

Going in for a lateral partner recruitment involves looking into a lot of details and making sure that all the mundane but necessary details are taken care of. Here is a short checklist and a questionnaire put together by BCG Attorney Search that you can use to help you in this process. READ MORE >

Many of the practices that lead to successful lateral hiring are basic common sense. In many instances, however, BCG Attorney Search has found firms mistakenly adhering to a number of practices that seriously undermine the success of their lateral hires. These include: READ MORE >

Today, most lateral associates enter their new firms with the understanding that the position is actually an opportunity to audition for the role of partner. In the best-case scenario, at the end of the experience, firms are able to identify those with the skills needed to enhance firm profits and advance in a reasonable amount of time. In BCG Attorney Search's estimation, it's always prudent for law firm leaders re-evaluate the traits their individual organizations find desirable—particularly since such characteristics are apt to change along with the firm's needs. Developing an informal list and then checking potential lateral hires against it can help firms avoid serious financial implications caused when a once-promising prospect later turns out to be a ''bad fit.'' READ MORE >

Firms must be creative to find and capture elusive information.

FORMAL knowledge management programs are built on the process of finding, and capturing, knowledge—in a form that allows it to be shared and re-used by others, to create new work. READ MORE >

Some firms are still trying to figure out what knowledge management (KM) means and how it relates to their business. Leading firms have long recognised it as the key to their future success and have been working at it for years. READ MORE >

Practice Groups are increasingly becoming the way law firms manage their businesses, including a significant component of the marketing agenda. The following ten ideas will help practice groups - and especially their leaders - decide the best ways to manage and focus their marketing activities. READ MORE >

The Dumbest Things Law Firms Do READ MORE >

There are many reasons why law firms are choosing to engage in the development of ancillary businesses, and many law firms have gone down this path. These reasons include the following: READ MORE >

The activities that comprise a law firm’s marketing mix–business development, promotion, and client care almost always have a major impact on a firm’s IT planning. READ MORE >