1. Should I stay or should I go?

The obvious response is: “To ask the question is to answer it.”  However, the obvious answer is not always the correct one. Every move is subject to some risks—will my clients follow me?  do I know enough about the politics at the new firm?  am I going to get the support that my practice needs?  These questions need to be answered as part of the due diligence process. CRR’s legal recruitment consultants exist to help you find the answers and make a decision.

2. How much am I worth?

There is no simple formula, but several key factors include:  size of portable book; billing rate; number of hours billed per year; and whether your practice fits a particular need that the new firm happens to have. Again, CRR can help you maximize the value of your practice by identifying the firms to which your practice would provide the greatest compensable benefit.

3. What kind of metrics do I need to be marketable?

Most law firms that use recruiters seek a minimum portable book of $1-1.5 million. Numbers of billable hours and billing rate vary significantly by market and practice area.

4. How can I find the best person to negotiate on my behalf?

Let’s back up a moment. The first question to ask is whether to have an intermediary negotiate on your behalf or whether to do so on your own. We believe that it is always better to have CRR do the negotiating for you. There are several reasons for this.

First, having an intermediary often maintains an element of detachment that is necessary in relatively high-pressure environments, such as compensation negotiations. Many excellent deals, which would have been exceptionally good for both parties, unravel when one side or the other becomes wedded to a particular position, or says something that is misunderstood. Letting CRR handle the negotiations reduces the likelihood that small misunderstandings grow to become needless deal-killers.

Second, joining a new firm means establishing new relationships with new partners, and it is often uncomfortable to be on the “opposite side of the table” from people whose firm you are about to join. Leaving the negotiations to CRR gives us the freedom to negotiate the best possible deal on your behalf, rather than put you in the dilemma of either negotiating the best deal you can get, or ingratiating yourself with your prospective partners.

So, why CRR? It all comes down to experience. We have been in the recruiting business for almost a decade and have placed candidates everywhere from small regional firms to major international behemoths. Each of our principals has succeeded in law and in other industries, and has a wealth of knowledge and wisdom to negotiate to “Yes.”  And of course, we work hand-in-glove with you throughout the entire process.

5. Are firm cultures really that different?

Even if so, how can I know the difference? While most sizeable firms share basic features, there are noticeable differences in culture firm-to-firm. A Midwestern-based firm, for example, may have a distinctly different culture from a New York-based firm. And even within firms, culture varies on an office-to-office basis. There is really no better way to assess a firm’s culture—and whether it would be a good match for you—than to meet the people through the interview process. CRR can furnish insights based on our experience with prior candidates, but there is no substitute for your own impressions.

6. Can I get more autonomy in a move?

The law is indeed a jealous mistress, so there is a limit to how much autonomy it is fair to expect from any law practice. That said, firms differ markedly according to how much autonomy each partner has within his or her practice. Obviously, the larger the firm the greater the likelihood of client conflicts. As with firm culture, autonomy is an issue that needs to be determined on a case-by-case basis, and by the candidate him- or herself.

7. How quickly do law firms usually make decisions on lateral partners?

We have seen firms make decisions within two weeks, and we have seen decisions go through multiple rounds of interviews taking several months. The goal should be to find the right fit, not just the fastest one. That said, CRR will do everything possible—from collecting and furnishing information, to arranging convenient scheduling—to expedite the recruiting process.

8. Is accepting my firm’s counter-offer ever in my best interest?

Almost without exception, the answer is no, and you should hold a strong rebuttable presumption against accepting a counter-offer from your firm. “Well,” you might think, aren’t you a bit biased?”

Decades of experience among recruiters in all fields has bestowed upon the recruiting industry the wisdom of hard knocks — in this case, the hard knocks suffered by their lawyer-candidates who decide to stay in the nest. Many legal recruiters would agree with Paul Hawkinson, writing in National Business Employment Weekly, who characterizes acceptance of a counter-offer as “career suicide.”  Let us count the reasons staying at your firm rarely works out for the best:

1. Inevitably, people at your firm will resent the fact that you considered leaving. Even considering another firm, much less “forcing” your firm to pay you more to stay, is often considered an act of disloyalty that many of your fellow partners will not be able to get past. Relations at your existing firm will never be the same. Please don’t fool yourself. No matter what your firm says, trust will always be an issue. You won’t be considered a team player. The inner circle is likely to become, or remain, closed off to you.
2. We have seen that counter-offers are often little more than stall tactics that allow the law firm to scramble to replace the candidate.
3. If your firm cannot moved to appreciate your contribution or improve your morale and compensation fairly without an outside threat, your situation remains untenable in the medium-term, if not sooner. The temporarily improved conditions are usually an implicit admission that the firm could have done better by you all along, but chose not to. Is that a good fit for you?  And the reasons (including the firm’s management, compensation, and leadership culture) that drove you to consider moving will remain after the effects of the raise or bonus have worn off. Must you threaten to quit every time your needs prove to have been overlooked?
4. By contrast, well-managed firms are rarely so reactive and undisciplined as to bow to the perceived coercion of an outside offer, believe their compensation and policies are already fair, and have no-counteroffer policies to which they rigorously and in good-faith adhere. The context here calls for the wisdom of Groucho Marx, who understood that, sometimes, there are good reasons not to want to be a member of the club that would have you as a member.

9. Who pays your fees?

Law firms do. Read more on legal recruiter fees.