Case Studies

In the last six months, I have placed three plaintiff-side lemon law attorneys at three different plaintiff-side boutique lemon law firms in Los Angeles. What is lemon law, you ask? From Wikipedia, "Lemon laws are American state laws that provide a remedy for purchasers of cars and other consumer goods in order to compensate for products that repeatedly fail to meet standards of quality and performance." So, these three lemon law firms bring claims against the manufacturers of faulty cars. This is a niche within the already niche practice area of consumer class action litigation, so a niche within a niche! Knowing this, it doesn't surprise me that this practice area is so hot right now in California. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I find that the candidates that are getting the most traction are the candidates with very specialized skill sets and who practice in niche areas of the law. Think, bankruptcy and financial restructuring, tax, trusts & estates, tech transactions and data privacy. But also, lemon law! READ MORE >

It's tough to be a Big Law general litigator in a major market looking for a job right now. In fact, it's always a little tough to be a Big Law general litigator, especially as the attorney gets more senior. Unfortunately, Big Law firms are often not looking to hire mid-level and especially senior litigators who don't come with business, and this is of course the case for the majority of Big Law litigators, as they've been billing for the firm's huge clients and on its huge matters and haven't had the time or opportunity to develop their own business. I've noticed that it's particularly hard for Big Law (and really, all types of general litigators) to get traction right now, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The practice areas that are doing the best are niche practice areas, such as bankruptcy and restructuring, tax, trusts & estates, technology transactions, data privacy, etc. General litigators are a dime a dozen, and firms just don't seem eager to hire general litigators when a lot of the courts remain closed and so many trials have been delayed. READ MORE >

I find it fascinating how much the market has changed since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States hard in March. Whereas before March, most of my traction was happening throughout California, and in practice areas such as General Corporate and Labor & Employment, since then, I find that most of my traction is happening in small markets and in niche practice areas, or at firms with a need in a niche practice area. My most recent placement is an example of this recent trend, in that I placed a Class of 2016 litigator in Seattle (still a rather small market, despite the speed at which the economy and population are growing there) at a personal injury, class action and sexual abuse boutique. READ MORE >

So long as they have strong credentials, candidates in niche practice areas can be fairly straightforward placements. Firms with niche practice areas like to hire laterals who have significant experience in those areas. This case involved placement of an attorney for a position involving Food & Drug Administration law, but other niche practice areas are ERISA law, Data Privacy law, Environmental law, Political law, and Family law. READ MORE >

You cannot succeed at any business, including a legal business, without clients. Rainmaking is an essential skill that all law firms need. However, while rainmaking capability is valued in partners, it is not always valued in younger associates. Firms do not hire associates to bring in clients; they hire associates to service clients that partners bring in. READ MORE >

Timing is often a critical component to successful job searching. The right job needs to come at the right time in the right location. That is what happened with this superstar diverse soft IP candidate. I connected with her long before I ever placed her - while she was happily practicing at an AmLaw firm on one Coast. By the time our work was through, however, she was even more happily practicing at another AmLaw firm on opposite Coast. READ MORE >

Law firms tend not to hire attorneys who are trying to make practice area changes. This is because firms like to hire attorneys who are experts in specific areas of law, and who demonstrate consistency in their personal and professional lives. But the story of this talented candidate shows that there are always exceptions to the rule! With BCG's help, he was able to transition from a career as a criminal prosecutor to a new start as a civil litigator. READ MORE >

This candidate is an example of a candidate who handled a tough situation by taking steps to get back where they wanted to be. READ MORE >

This candidate is a fantastic example of the situations some of our candidates find themselves in. They are smart, articulate, well-credentialed, who happened to make a poor lateral move that in some way derailed their career. This is something they will readily admit. A mistake. And it is something that could happen to every one of us, and something we at BCG understand. READ MORE >

This candidate contacted me directly regarding a move. He had an interesting background, and one that might get overlooked in other situations by other recruiters, but not by BCG. We understand the value of certain candidates that other recruiting firms might not. This candidate went to a great law school and was at an average firm - big law, but not a top type of firm you would expect from someone of his credentials. He also had weird moves on his resume in the sense that he left his firm, went in-house, re-joined his firm, and then left again to be in-house. READ MORE >

I worked with an 11th year attorney who had graduated in the top 5 percent of his class at Michigan and who had spent seven years as a Litigation Associate doing White Collar and Government Investigations at a strong AmLaw 100 firm. He then joined the Department of Justice as a Trial Attorney. The candidate wanted to return to a law firm for monetary reasons. He told me his wife was a teacher and that he needed to make more money for the family - with two kids in the D.C. area, his government salary was feeling a bit "tight" he said. The candidate assumed he would be able to join a top firm as Partner. He told me he had spoken with his previous firm already and that they had communicated that they did not have room for him at this time. READ MORE >

Subject matter experts are extremely marketable. Boutique law firms love to hire them; they require little training and can provide immediate value to the firm. It is not always necessary for subject matter experts to have a book of business. If the firm has work, they may need someone who can hit the ground running and assist them with existing business. Here the candidate had over nine years of experience with two well-regarded firms. She wanted to relocate to a new city, where a close friend lived. The city also had a much better climate, an added bonus that convinced the firm she was serious about the move. She graduated from a top 25 law school, then joined a nationally ranked law firm in a mid-sized market. READ MORE >

This associate moved with a group. Partners with large books of business are always attractive to firms. Always. Most major law firms require a portable book of business of at least $1.5 million to consider a lateral attorney for an equity partner position. Some require more than this amount, with top Am Law firms requiring around $3 million in business to consider a lateral candidate for equity partner. The threshold for income or non-equity partners is lower, usually around $500,000 or more, with most major firms requiring around $1 million in business for income partners. Firms also welcome groups of attorneys if they support a partner with a significant book of business. They will consider attorneys as part of the package and may be flexible regarding books of business if the main partner or partners have large books that can support their team. READ MORE >

This was the fastest placement I have ever made! READ MORE >

This partner-level, relocation placement was very exciting for us at BCG. Our candidate was a patent prosecution attorney who had experience at multiple highly-regarded firms, a strong history of client development, and who was seeking a new opportunity in order to move to Chicago where his wife had recently started a new position. READ MORE >

This candidate has an interesting path that is really worth exploring. She came to BCG on the senior side, having graduated almost 8 years before. She graduated from a respected law school, top-50, where she was not in the top of her class. She earned her undergraduate degree at a well respected public university where she really excelled, graduating in the top of her class with an almost perfect GPA. This candidate went straight to law school upon graduating from collece. READ MORE >

It's not often that placements surprise me, but in the case of this candidate, I was surprised at both how fast we were able to get him placed and about how strong of a firm we were able to place him at. READ MORE >

This candidate reached out to BCG to help him to land a job in big law. This candidate was someone we believed in right away that other recruiters might not have -- he belonged in big law and had some personal issues that caused him to have to leave the law firm world before having a chance to really be in it. He was very junior, only a second year attorney. READ MORE >

When I began to speak with this candidate, he was already entering the senior side of his practice, as a 7th year associate. It can often be difficult to make a lateral move at that time, but he was very determined, and was at a very well respected firm. While he enjoyed the substantive work he was performing, the location of the firm was getting more difficult for him with his family as he lived outside of NYC and the firm was located as far away as possible from where he had to go in the City. He wanted to still work in NYC, but wanted a bit of an easier commute. He also wanted to make a move for the substance of the work, and to find a gem that let him work between two practices, in the finance and capital markets world, which he did now. READ MORE >