Private Equity: Impact of financing trends in London and analysis of this key battleground
for lateral hiring
The seven US West Coast firms that made the cut in The Lawyer's US Top 50 Firms in London 2018 report have confirmed a trend
for lateral hiring that has cemented their presence in the UK — and which could give them clout to grow.
Nevertheless, it is interesting to note that, so established has the trend
for lateral hiring in London become, that even when hitherto ultra-conservative lateral hirers such as Allen & Overy and Macfarlanes nab two partners apiece, the lack of novelty means that it no longer invokes quite the same comment it once would.
Some US firms will consider the current situation and weak pound as providing attractive opportunities
for lateral hiring and / or mergers.
The magic circle firm, which overhauled its three - tier lockstep system in 2015, has long had the ability to reward top - performing partners by moving them above its core 100 - point plateau, but has previously opted against such a move — even
for lateral hires in the highly competitive US market.
And
for lateral hires, there was a strong preference for work experience with a similar type of firm or corporation.
Set out in the four articles linked below are our thoughts on what Brexit will mean
for lateral hires:
From the Aug. 5 Boston Business Journal article, The lawyer hunt: In the legal industry, competition heats up
for lateral hires: «The lateral hiring sprees at national firms that have colonized Boston in recent years and the growing embrace of businesslike practices and cultures have spurred a bare - knuckled fight for talent.
There's a business case
for lateral hires: often they come with a book of clients.
«What we see time and time again are firms who know who they are are going to go after practices and people that fit with their strategy,» said Lowe, adding that he anticipates the market
for laterals hires will remain strong into 2018.
The London market
for lateral hires was much more stable than the US markets.
Not exact matches
«Metropolitan areas offer ample opportunities to make
lateral hires and are popular destinations
for the millennial generation.»
They might have had good strategic reasons;
for example, a firm's repeated appearance in a nationwide legal periodical could translate into recruitment and
lateral hiring advantages.
This can be done in part by
hiring people
for qualities over skills, and more importantly, by those in leadership positions exhibiting a spirit of cooperation and collaboration, not only to those who are on a
lateral plane but also to their subordinates.
Develop a strategy
for targeting specific types of
lateral hires and be prepared to move quickly
Whether they refocus on
lateral hiring, contract / temp - to -
hire attorneys, project attorneys, staff attorneys, alumni relations, interview training, marketing, personality testing, or non-traditional positions like pricing directors, the right mix will be different
for every firm.
Greenberg Traurig's latest
lateral hire is shareholder LARRY KANUSHER, who joins the firm's entertainment and media practice after 19 years with Sony, most recently as senior vice president of business and legal affairs
for Sony Music Entertainment's global digital business.
In evaluating possible merger candidates, significant weight should be given to the record of revenue and profits of the firm or
lateral -
hire candidate, the character of the key lawyers and their reputations
for integrity, work ethic, competence and firm culture.
Ben and Nick's appointments are the latest in a series of
lateral hires for Winston's rapidly expanding Dubai office, following the additions of Christopher Skipper in May 2017 and Campbell Steedman and Shibeer Ahmed in late 2016.
The «convince us why we should
hire you» approach is fine
for law students, but it simply will not work with
laterals, Humphries writes.
International law firms favoured continental Europe and Asia - Pacific ahead of the Middle East
for lateral partner
hiring last year, Legal Week research has revealed.
The majority of partners regard guaranteed pay deals
for senior
lateral hires as an ineffective weapon in the war
for talent, despite a consensus that such deals are common.
If your firm's latest merger or
lateral hire isn't «growth
for growth's sake», then save the unprompted defence.
«The
lateral hiring sprees at national firms that have colonized Boston in recent years and the growing embrace of businesslike practices and cultures have spurred a bare - knuckled fight
for talent.
For a more detailed discussion of all the issues, I can do no better than to recommend my own publication «Lateral Partner Hiring and Integration for Law Firms», available from Ark Publishing, he
For a more detailed discussion of all the issues, I can do no better than to recommend my own publication «
Lateral Partner
Hiring and Integration
for Law Firms», available from Ark Publishing, he
for Law Firms», available from Ark Publishing, here.
In a victory
for common sense (the least common sense of all, as we know...) I am happy to attest that while GOOD
lateral hiring is good
for business, BAD
lateral hiring is bad
for business, and the figures in this second piece of research seem to underline that quite neatly.
Holland is the fifth
lateral hire for the London office of Cooley this year when the office was established.
We rely on his direct, no - nonsense approach in accurately assessing the likely fit of potential candidates (
for their sake and ours) so that we can continue building our team with exceptional
lateral hires.
Lateral hires typically move for more money (and sometimes for firm management reasons) but paying more money to a lateral hire means that her rate will also increase, which means that clients pa
Lateral hires typically move
for more money (and sometimes
for firm management reasons) but paying more money to a
lateral hire means that her rate will also increase, which means that clients pa
lateral hire means that her rate will also increase, which means that clients pay more.
It has also pulled off some notable
lateral hires for its London office, including Herbert Smith property litigation head Martin Smith and LG insolvency veteran John Verrill, whose move prompted the launch of the firm's City restructuring practice.
LG has made its first Singapore
lateral hire since launching in the region last spring, as the firm sets out growth plans
for the office.
As a matter of conduct, you are not generally under a regulatory duty to supervise equity partners, but that is not a reason
for letting people go completely off on their own, and this is even more so with
lateral hires.
It was a relatively quiet year on the
hiring front
for the firm in London with only one
lateral hire, Rod Freeman from Hogan Lovells in September 2017.
Part of a
lateral hiring plan should include a repayment plan
for the debt incurred.
However, the expected savings in the capital cost of funding recent law school
hires has been offset considerably by the additional cash flow requirements
for the
hiring of
lateral attorneys and their support staffs.
The diversity lens we applied on our pipeline of
lateral hires and partner promotions has seen us break the crucial 30 per cent threshold
for large law firms, which is a testament to the quality of our senior lawyers.»
Two leading law firm
lateral hires illustrate that the appetite
for corporate work in Africa remains strong, while a recent survey from Herbert Smith Freehills illustrates the underlying drivers fuelling such recruitment.
Route1 is rapidly growing in both the UK and AsiaPac legal recruitment markets, and despite seeing
lateral hiring slowing in the UK in the wake of Brexit, we are experiencing strong demand
for 3 + PQE level transactional roles in Australia.
Two leading law firm
lateral hires illustrate that the appetite
for corporate work in Africa remains
I've produced original research — into the success of
lateral partner hiring in the London market — which gained international recognition, write regularly for The Lawyer magazine (among others), have spoken at a variety of conferences and authored «Lateral Partner Hiring and Integration for Law Firms», a 40,000 word special report from Ark Publishing in 2010 (second edition
lateral partner
hiring in the London market — which gained international recognition, write regularly for The Lawyer magazine (among others), have spoken at a variety of conferences and authored «Lateral Partner Hiring and Integration for Law Firms», a 40,000 word special report from Ark Publishing in 2010 (second edition
hiring in the London market — which gained international recognition, write regularly
for The Lawyer magazine (among others), have spoken at a variety of conferences and authored «
Lateral Partner Hiring and Integration for Law Firms», a 40,000 word special report from Ark Publishing in 2010 (second edition
Lateral Partner
Hiring and Integration for Law Firms», a 40,000 word special report from Ark Publishing in 2010 (second edition
Hiring and Integration
for Law Firms», a 40,000 word special report from Ark Publishing in 2010 (second edition 2013).
Organic growth via
lateral hiring has seen Freshfields recently adding a restructuring team from Kaye Scholer, and Allen & Overy bringing a finance and securities team in from Paul Hastings,
for instance.
This year
lateral hiring in cap markets has been extremely slow,
for two obvious reasons: a) Many IPOs US cap markets groups have been working on in HK / China are on hold; and b) there was much more than usual
lateral hiring in this practice area from late ’10 to mid ’11 (right before the slow down in IPOs).
Even if the firm has identified your department
for growth, is this going to happen organically, or through
lateral hires?
Most of them
hire these
laterals for their substantive background in law.
Trade publication IP Law 360 ran a brief story on January 15 about the
lateral hire with a headline that isn't unusual in the legal press, but was enough to incense Pitcock's former employers — by hyping the star
hire without mentioning the fact that he had been canned
for questionable behavior.
Senior partners set
for bumper payout as net profit climbs 12 % despite investment in offices and
lateral hires
As a Conflicts Staff Attorney, you will: • Conduct conflict of interest research • Interpret and evaluate conflicts reports • Conduct conflict clearances
for incoming new business and
lateral hire • Draft waivers and review engagement terms and outside counsel guideline • Work collaboratively with the firm's General Counsel and Loss Prevention Partners.
Despite assertions by some commentators who question the wisdom of
lateral partner
hiring,
lateral partner
hiring remains an extremely viable strategy
for growth and is the strategy most often identified by firm leaders as key to their competitive approach.
And while some key
hires did come aboard in 2011 — including bankruptcy partner M. Natasha Labovitz from Kirkland & Ellis and financial institutions partner Ethan James from Davis Polk & Wardwell — Blair says he does not have plans
for major
lateral growth this year either.
My latest research into
lateral partner
hiring in London — the second year I've undertaken this exercise — is now available
for download in the Downloads section of this website or, if you prefer, directly from me at
[email protected], which may serve if you have comments or questions.