Law, Society & Culture

The BCG Attorney Search 2017 State of the American Lateral Law Firm Legal Market Report

By Harrison Barnes, Managing Director

• Changes have occurred in the legal world according to the 2016-2017 State of the Market Report.
• For instance, hiring law firms are far more interested in an attorney’s niche practice than a generalist-type attorney.
• Niche practices have also shown themselves as more important for job hunting attorneys than where they went to law school.

Summary: This State of the Market Report covers the major trends in legal placements for 2016 and 2017. As this Report explains, one of the most significant features of the new legal job landscape is the increasing demand for specialist attorneys and the decreasing demand for generalist attorneys. In fact, it appears that the new badge of marketability has become the quality of an attorney's "niche" practice area experience as opposed to the quality of the attorney's law school or law firm. This Report tells you what happened with the legal job market across the country in 2016 and what we can expect in 2017. READ MORE >

Article type: State of the Legal Market, Partner Job Search Resources, Attorney Career Advice, Law Firm Culture & Economics, Law, Society & Culture, Specific Practice Areas

Top 10 Reasons Why Older Attorneys Have a More Difficult Time Getting Law Firm Jobs

By Harrison Barnes, Managing Director

• It can be difficult for an older attorney to find work in a law firm.
• Culture can be the reason, as well as some firms tend to favor younger attorneys.
• Keep reading to learn of more reasons it’s difficult for older attorneys to get work, but to also potentially increase their chances to finally be hired by a firm.

Summary: Find out why it is so hard to get a job in a law firm as an older attorney and how older attorneys can increase their chances. READ MORE >

Article type: Attorney Career Advice, Partner Job Search Resources, Law, Society & Culture

Law Firm Diversity: They All Talk the Talk, But It’s Harder to Walk the Walk

By Harrison Barnes, Managing Director

Summary: Are major law firms really as diverse as they claim to be? Find out why they have a hard time embracing diversity in this article. READ MORE >

Article type: Attorney Career Advice, Law Student Job Resources, Law Firm Culture & Economics, Law, Society & Culture

The One Simple Rule for Succeeding in a Law Firm

By Harrison Barnes, Managing Director

Summary: Why do some attorneys succeed in large, prestigious law firms and others fail? The reason generally does not have to do with how smart a given attorney is or where the attorney went to law school. The real answer has to do with whether or not the attorney follows one simple rule having to do with how much of a positive influence the attorney is within the law firm environment. READ MORE >

Article type: Attorney Career Advice, Law Firm Culture & Economics, Career Advice for Attorneys, Law, Society & Culture

Which Type of Law Firm Is Best for You and Your Career: Main Offices of Large National Firms, Branch Offices of Large National Firms, Midsized Firms, Boutiques, or Newer Fast-Growing Firms?

By Harrison Barnes, Managing Director

Summary: Are you in the right kind of law firm? Learn how the type of law firm you are in can make or break your legal career. READ MORE >

Article type: Attorney Career Choices, Law Firm Culture & Economics, Career Advice for Attorneys, Law, Society & Culture

What Yale Law School Teaches about How to Approach Your Legal Career That No Other Law School Does

By Harrison Barnes, Managing Director

• The profession of law is by no means static.
• In fact, Yale Law School teaches its students practical applications of a law school education other than practicing law.

Summary: This article explores the unique way Yale Law School graduates think about their legal careers. To the untrained eye, these graduates may seem aimless with their careers -- taking jobs in academia and government instead of prestigious law firms. But on closer examination it appears that these graduates might have discovered the secret to greater career and life happiness. This article explains how most attorneys are rent seekers and how to make this system of rent work for you like Yale Law grads do. READ MORE >

Article type: Legal Employer Resource Center, Attorney Career Advice, Law Firm Culture & Economics, Career Advice for Attorneys, Law, Society & Culture

Why You Should Find Your “Tribe” and Not Just Focus on Money in Making Law Firm Job Decisions

By Harrison Barnes,
Managing Director

• To work as an attorney in an established law firm, a person should know themselves as a person and attorney.
• Where their focus should not be is on money.
• Instead, a candidate should look out for others like him or herself.

Summary: Learn how identifying your “tribe” will help you achieve greater career satisfaction and financial security in a law firm. READ MORE >

Article type: Attorney Career Choices, Partner Job Search Resources, Law, Society & Culture

Why You Can Never Stop Practicing Law for More Than a Few Weeks Once You Start

By Harrison Barnes,
Managing Director

• Taking an extended absence from practicing law can have some serious implications for your law career, particularly when searching for a new law firm job.
• In fact, you may not be welcomed back into the practice of law at all.

Summary: This is a must-read article for any attorney who is considering taking an extended leave of absence from the practice of law. This article discusses how firms view extended leaves, the potential ramifications of such leaves on an attorney's career, and the factors firms will use to evaluate whether to hire you when and if you want to return to the legal profession. READ MORE >

Article type: Attorney Career Advice, Law Firm Culture & Economics, Career Advice for Attorneys, Law, Society & Culture

How to Easily Determine the Best Attorneys and Law Firms: The Five Prestige Levels of Attorneys and Law Firms

By Harrison Barnes,
Managing Director

• Many recruiters use a five-level system to determine the ability of a law firm candidate.
• Of course, those levels are based on criteria not just of the client, but the law firm as well.
• That can include the firm’s client base’s stature and the prestige level of the firm’s partners.
• For the candidate, their law school grades and work ethic are used for evaluation.

Summary: This article reveals the secrets of the Harvard-inspired ranking system used by high-end legal recruiters to appropriately match attorney candidates with law firms. BCG recruiters assign rankings of “5” (highest) to “1” (lowest) to every law firm seeking to hire attorneys and to every candidate seeking to find a law firm position. The rankings are based on a host of criteria including (for law firms) the stature of the firm’s client base and caliber of the firm’s partners and (for attorney candidates) the candidate’s law school grades and the candidate’s work ethic. READ MORE >

Article type: Partner Job Search Resources, Attorney Career Advice, Law, Society & Culture

State of the American Legal Job Market 2016: Hot and Weak Practice Areas of 2016

By Harrison Barnes, Managing Director

• What’s the labor market like for attorneys in 2016?
• Find out the lateral attorney trends and what practice areas are popular.

Through the process of working with thousands of attorneys and law firms each year, BCG recruiters are able to gain a profound understanding of the legal market and insight into trends in demand for trained, lateral attorneys in the various practice areas. This article provides our perspective on the state of the American legal job market as we enter 2016.

Read the 2017 legal job market report here: The BCG Attorney Search 2017 State of the American Lateral Law Firm Legal Market Report READ MORE >

Article type: Legal Employer Resource Center, Law Firm Culture & Economics, Law, Society & Culture, Specific Practice Areas

Why There Are No Lifestyle Law Firms

By Harrison Barnes, Managing Director

• The so-called lifestyle law firm is a newer innovation within the law community.
• It seeks to operate on a work-life balance principle.
• However, such a principle may not work well for law firms themselves.
• The consequence: lifestyle law firms don't usually last very long.

Summary: Attorneys are often seeking out lifestyle law firms. While these firms do exist, they are usually not around for long. READ MORE >

Article type: Law Firm Culture & Economics, Law, Society & Culture

The Top Reasons Why Money Is the Dumbest Thing Any Attorney Should Focus on When Joining a Law Firm

By Harrison Barnes, Managing Director

• As if finding law firm jobs weren’t hard enough…
• Finding well-paying law firm jobs is doubly difficult…
• While those jobs are still available, you should never base your law firm choice on the money they pay.

Summary: Learn why money should never be your first focus when you are trying to decide which law firm you should join. READ MORE >

Article type: Career Advice for Attorneys, Law, Society & Culture

Why Upper and Lower Class Attorneys Rarely Succeed in Law Firms: How Race and Class Often Hinder Law Firm Success

By Harrison Barnes, Managing Director

• Issues of class and race are just as strong in the legal profession as they are anywhere else in American society.
• Needless to say, class and race can play a large part in who gets hired and fired in today’s large law firms.

Summary: There is a major crisis facing American law firms that has been largely ignored by the legal profession. READ MORE >

Article type: Law, Society & Culture, Law Firm Diversity

Why Do So Many Attorneys Ask "What's the Point?"

By Harrison Barnes, Managing Director

Summary: Why is it that so many attorneys feel helpless and unfulfilled?

Lately I have heard many attorneys ask "What's the point?" This generally comes up in connection with depressing conversations and leads to uncomfortable silences and existential questions. I often feel forced to agree with such sentiments and find myself commiserating with responses like "That's awful!" and "That sucks" and "I know how you feel!"

• See Why You Should (and Should Not) Quit the Practice of Law for more information.

READ MORE >

Article type: Career Advice for Attorneys, Law, Society & Culture