Not only is writing a job description the best way to think through what skills the job requires, it also can be your best evidence should an unwarranted claim of discrimination be filed.
One placement agency addresses the myths surrounding contract attorneys and offers some ground rules for effective working relationships between law firms and agencies.
Deciphering the educational systems and qualification requirements of candidates from various countries is a challenge.
Why do some laterally hired associates leave and why do some stay? How can you instill the same level of loyalty among lateral associates that is found in entry-level associates?
Here are some tips for those who have transitioned to recruiting from other roles within their firms.
A survey explored the compensation of recruiting professionals in Chicago, Dallas, Houston, New York, and DC, and also satisfaction levels with that compensation.
Sourcing lateral candidates effectively starts with convening your partners to discuss their thoughts and expectations for the search.
These are the overall findings about lateral hiring from NALP’s “Survey of Legal Employers on 2017 Recruiting,” which requested information on lateral hiring in 2016 and 2017.
Over the last couple of years, a number of states and municipalities have considered or enacted measures aimed at narrowing pay gaps for women and minorities. One such measure seeks to end systemic wage inequalities by prohibiting employers from asking about or considering a job applicant’s salary history (including benefits and other compensation) when making recruitment or employment decisions. The rationale is that pay inequity is perpetuated over the course of one’s entire career when employers rely on previous disparate salaries to assess the value of a prospective employee, rather than on bona fide job-related factors such as experience...
The Innovating Talent Acquisition Work Group has set out to understand and report on how other professional services industries identify, recruit, and on-board talent for their organizations.
Director of Research Danielle A. Taylor examines NALP data on how fall recruiting for summer programs at law firms has changed over time, as well as the impact on callback ratios during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wisnik Career Enterprises Founder Eva Wisnik shares highlights and trends from the company’s 2021 surveys of legal recruiting professionals across five cities.
This interest group is for members with an interest in or responsibility for law firm lateral recruiting.
Summary of recruiting discussion during Roundtable on the Future of Lawyer Hiring, Development, and Advancement.
After two years of declines, lateral hiring nudged up in 2014, finishing the year not quite 5% higher than in 2013.
Overall, based on aggregate hiring of just over 1,500 lateral lawyers in 2009, the volume of hiring decreased by 52% compared with 2008.
Before we know it, the OCI season will be upon us, and it is during this hectic time that workplace self-care is most needed yet often neglected. With a bit of preparation and intention, however, self-care can actually save you time at work and help you accomplish your goals, all while maintaining your well-being during the recruiting madness. Here is an offering of helpful self-care ideas with tried-and-true examples from your NALP colleagues. We hope these tips help you tackle OCI with less stress and worry.
Suited Co-Founder and CEO Matthew Spencer explains how law firms can use artificial intelligence to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts in recruiting and hiring.
Over the past decade, more and more firms have forged international alliances, many with foreign firms with a pre-existing corporate culture. One of the most difficult aspects of business for a multinational firm to overcome is recruiting.
Sterne Kessler's technical specialist program was built upon the premise that, "It is easier to teach patent law to Ph.D. scientists than molecular biology to lawyers."
Although the thought of applying normal ethics rules to recruiting materials should not create panic, it should induce caution and care. Law firms should avoid the kind of statements that create gross ethics violations.
Review of Recruiting Lawyers: How to Hire the Best Talent
Tips for cultivating relationships with legal search consultants -- even during a down market.
As the competition for recruiting top talent continues to increase, follow-up techniques are becoming more critical in the recruiting process.
Assessing "firm fit" in the recruitment and decision-making process is no easy task. If it were easy, everyone would already be doing it succesfully.
A stack of warm résumés hits your desk, fresh off the copier. How do you work through the stack in the best, most efficient way, to find the candidates who would truly enrich your organization?
Talent management approaches provide an opportunity to systematically review and benchmark hiring outcomes against long-term performance.
As the volume of lateral hiring has been increasing, finding ways to maximize the relationship between a law firm and an agency is more important than ever.
Here are some steps you can take to gear up for a successful lateral recruiting season by honing your firm's message, streamlining the process, and setting goals.
Congratulations! You've landed a new job at a law firm. How do you hit the ground running?
Howard University School of Law’s Lauren R. Jackson explains how counting pro bono hours as part of law firm practice could help even the playing field in the effort to increase DEI within the legal profession.
NALP Webinar: Lateral Lawyer Integration
Recruiters and administrators can positively influence the recruitment and retention of lateral lawyers at their firms using these simple suggestions.
With lateral hiring up, effective lateral integration has become more important than ever.
Due diligence should start from the moment the applicant walks in your door.
While staying competitive is a legitimate, pro-competitive reason for being interested in collecting information about the compensation packages offered by other law firms, care must be taken to gather this information in a manner consistent with goals
Law firm recruiters who develop partnerships with their marketing department will reap benefits for both recruiting and marketing department.
These suggestions can help both employers and candidates mitigate the impact of unconscious bias on recruiting.
Brown Rudnick LLP’s Alexandra Gharghoury and McDermott Will & Emery LLP’s Amanda Ryan examine strategies for lateral associate recruiting in a market with lots of job activity related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The lateral hiring market showed continued signs of a course correction in 2023, with lateral lawyer hiring down 35% overall, following 2022’s decline of 11.5%, according to the latest analyses from NALP’s "2023 Lateral Hiring Survey."
A look at the findings of the NALP Foundation's latest survey of associate attrition.
After two years of year-over-year double-digit increases, from 2009-2010 and again from 2010-2011, aggregate lateral hiring has now declined for the second time in a row from 2012 to 2013, finishing out the year just over 7% lower than in 2012.
The volume of entry-level associates starting work in 2009 plunged by an estimated 40%.
In lateral partner hiring, as in the rest of life, solid relationships cannot be built on a foundation of empty promises.
New economic realities require that law firms break tradition, jettison class year shorthand, and take a closer look at the criteria they use to recruit and hire lateral associates.
The new normal that panelists at the most recent Roundtable on the Future of Lawyer Hiring, Development, and Advancement see emerging involves more careful management, more purposeful action, more people in more dialogue about more decisions, more contingency planning, more thoughtful recruiting, and more work directly with law school CSO offices.
Lateral hiring volume decreased dramatically during the recession in 2008 and 2009, and then experienced a big rebound as the legal economy recovered in 2010 and 2011. Since then changes have fluctuated from a double-digit loss to double-digit growth. In 2018 aggregate lateral hiring was up by over 14%. This follows an aggregate increase of less than 2% from 2016 to 2017. Lateral associate hiring surged by almost 22%, accounting for almost all of the net increase in lateral hiring. Partner lateral hiring was off by not quite 1%. Overall lateral hiring averaged 16.5 lateral hires per office/firm, but volumes and per office figures varied great...
A summary of the discussions and outcomes from the Reimagining Recruiting Design Thinking Workshop and NALPathon held in March 2019 in Washington, DC.
As the recruiting cycle has lengthened from a heavy first quarter to cover the entire year, we thought it could be helpful to shout out a Top Ten List for Working with External Recruiters.
NALP Director of Research Danielle A. Taylor explains how lateral hiring at law firms plummeted according to information in the 2020-21 Survey of Legal Employers on Recruiting.
Director of Research Danielle Taylor provides details on results from NALP’s Survey on 2021 Lateral Hiring, which shows an 111% increase in lateral hiring last year in comparison to 2020.
Director of Research Danielle Taylor looks at results of NALP's Survey on 2022 Lateral Hiring.
The Recruiting Section is for NALP members who are responsible for, or who have an interest in, issues related to law school outreach, summer programs, and entry-level lawyer recruiting.
Lateral hiring has outpaced entry-level hiring for the most recent three years for which data are available from the NALP Directory of Legal Employers.
This paradigm shift should come as a surprise to many partners and legal professionals because the data runs contrary to conventional wisdom.
When reviewing these applications (and when counseling non-U.S. trained lawyers), remember that the requirements for bar admission vary from state to state.
These three tips can enhance the effectiveness of your lateral hiring.
These steps can help law firms realize the full benefit of their lateral partner hires.
At a plenary session at NALP's 2010 Annual Education Conference, Dan DiPietro predicted lasting changes in law firm recruting models.
Chapman Cutler’s Shannon Burke and Jessica Hoffer offer tips for increasing cross-departmental collaboration and communication among the recruiting and DEI functions at legal employers.
ForeReach Consulting Founder Kristy Foreman shares the results of a study of law students about their experiences with the virtual interviewing process over the past year-plus during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2015, for the second year in a row, lateral hiring outpaced entry-level hiring — just one of the findings of the NALP Foundation's newly released study.
NALP President Karl Riehl of Epstein Becker Green emphasizes the importance of well-being among the NALP community during the busy summer and early fall periods, as well as planning time for your personal wellness after more than two years in a global pandemic.
Structured interviews offer law firms the opportunity to make lateral hiring more consistent, data driven, and efficient. By linking evaluations to firm specific competencies and standardizing both questions and scoring, firms can reduce bias, improve decision-making, and strengthen long-term talent outcomes.
According to information reported by offices in the 2006-2007 NALP Directory of Legal Employers, lateral hiring has outpaced entry-level hiring by about 25% in the two most recent years for which data is available.
Lateral hiring levels continue to be strong, with the overall volume increasing for the fourth year in a row, although the results of this year's survey suggest a moderating pace of growth.
Seyfarth Shaw LLP’s Lisa Pachucki and Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP’s Katie Ivory explain the networking opportunities available when joining the NALP community and volunteering for a work group or leadership position.
In the NALP spirit of collaboration, it is time for some live, in-person innovation. Enter NALPathon 2019, which will be held on March 14-15, 2019, in Washington, DC! As created by the Reimagining Recruiting Task Force, this opportunity for member education and training in design thinking and experiential learning will gather participants from across the country to engage in design thinking training and facilitated learning while, at the same time, helping devise new solutions to these long existing challenges in the legal recruitment process.
Want to understand what lateral partners encounter at each stage of the process, from their end? Check out this new resource, lateralpartners.com, by veteran legal recruiter Dan Binstock.
Penn State Dickinson Law’s Tom Lee explains why legal employers should consider neurodiverse candidates in their recruiting practices.
Matt Spencer argues that the changing legal environment demands a reimagined recruiting process that incorporates more data and leverages technology and innovative tools to ensure accurate and equitable outcomes.
Reviewing resumes, cover letters, and other application documents is a key aspect of being a career counselor. This guide is meant to help provide a framework for how to conduct effective document review while still honoring your own style of feedback and communication.
NALP Lateral Hiring Best Practices Guide, February 2020, a practical resource on how to navigate all aspects of lateral hiring and recruiting
Lateral associate hiring has not only become a necessity for the continued growth and success of a law firm in recent years, it has become a necessity. Here are tips for more effective lateral recruiting and retention.
Law firms can take the following steps to be more strategic and effective in their planning, hiring, and management processes to help them weather the storm and be in a strong position as the economy rounds the corner.
Lateral hiring was down by more than 25% in 2008.
Two members of different teams within a firm explain how they found new ways to work together that can work for other firms as well.
A moving company offers advice to those who manage relocations for their firms.
The future of lawyer hiring will be shaped by the changes we are making in the here and now.
The codification of client notification procedures and confidentiality guidelines into state rules of professional conduct warrants heightened risk management considerations for both lawyers and recruiters involved in lateral moves.
A well planned and executed on-boarding process can lay the foundation for long-term success for both your firm and the new lateral.
On January 22, 2014, NALP will host its first ever Legal Recruiting Summit, a high-level one-day conference on current issues in legal recruiting.
Recruiting effectively in today's market requires new skills and new strategies -- from developing a talent acquisition plan to using social media, leveraging alumni, and partnering with partners.
Recent changes have relaxed the restrictions placed on foreign-trained lawyers to sit for the Massachusetts Bar Exam.
Solidifying relationships with firm recruiters, identifying pain points, maintaining frequent contact, showcasing the local area and leveraging family connections are all ways recruiters can close the deal.
In 2016, aggregate lateral hiring was down for the first time since 2013, finishing out 2016 almost 11% lower than in 2015.
Here's a bird's eye view of some of the key professional responsibilities and ethical issues involved in the lateral recruitment process.
NALP Research: Entry-level and Lateral Hiring
Insights into lawyer hiring activity just before the slow-downs of 2008.
There is a good case to be made for placing the responsibility of conducting substantive exit interviews with those of us who are the recruiting, legal personnel, and/or professional development directors of our firms.
You've just been told that you need to hire a foreign-trained associate to build an international practice, now what? Here are some tips for navigating the labyrinth of unfamiliar credentials and complex hiring rules.
The combination of the one-on-one interview for recruiting with the structured panel interview (SPI) for identifying high performers is the killer app for lawyer hiring.
Collaboration can lead to more effectiveness not only in recruiting but also for other departments.
Anyone who works with legal search consultants can benefit from a thorough understanding of the NALSC (National Association of Legal Search Consultants) Code of Ethics.
In most cases, the success of a lateral partner hire is greatly determined by the effective transition of his or her clients to the new firm. How do you determine whether a lateral candidate’s clients really are portable and assess the likelihood that they actually will send their legal work to your firm? What can you do to make their portability more likely?
NALP seeks a select committed group of legal industry stakeholders to engage in a team competition with a spotlight on entry-level recruiting — a process involving lots of frustrations and concerns, but limited concrete solutions. Challenged by NALP President Melissa Lennon, and task force co-chairs Kristine McKinney and Donna Gerson, the Reimagine Recruiting team has “ideated” NALPathon 2019, a two-day program to be held on March 14-15, 2019, in Washington, DC.
When our Midlevel Associate Survey results weren’t quite as high as we had hoped, my firm’s director of attorney recruiting and I put our heads together to hatch a plan. We had been looking for ways to collaborate, and this seemed perfect. How could we better understand associate morale, all while working to improve the firm’s recruiting and retention efforts? And how could we do so in a way that felt productive to our associates, and not just like another fruitless venting session? Below is a step-by-step guide to how we developed and implemented small group associate forums in offices across the firm. We’ll also discuss the impact we had an...
Frequently asked questions, themes, issues, and guidelines when dealing with a serial mover.
Findings on lateral hiring trends in the legal profession from NALP’s “Survey of Legal Employers on 2019 Recruiting.”
Consider these two scenarios. Which does your orientation most resemble?
NALP Executive Director James G. Leipold reviews some of the trends that emerged in 2020 following the COVID-19 outbreak in March, including virtual work environments, struggles to fight racial inequality, and changes to OCI.
In recognition of the continued evolution of law student recruiting, and the latest phenomenon of simultaneous 1L and 2L recruiting, NALP’s Board of Directors dedicated time to thoughtfully discuss these issues. This article derived directly from those discussions, with a goal of providing guidance regarding updated terminology for law student recruiting as well as considerations for employers, law students, and career services professionals navigating the legal recruitment landscape.
Three C-Suite leaders share their insights and perspectives on the legal industry — what’s changing, what’s challenging, and where things are headed.
What happens when lateral partner recruiting remains primarily reactive, candidate-driven, and focused on filling short-term needs? In this competitive client landscape, firms are discovering a persistent gap between the partners they hire and the strategic outcomes they hope to achieve. That gap is the missing link. When who a law firm hires aligns with what the firm is trying to build, lateral hiring becomes a powerful growth engine.
Here are some tips to help recruitment professionals manage the administrative aspects of lateral hiring.
Results of the Snapshot of the Recruiting Season survey
lateral recruiting; lateral hiring
More law firms are beginning to use behavioral interviewing to find candidates who best fit their firms.
Here are some findings from a new Small to Mid-Size Firms Subgroup of the NALP Recruiting Section.
In 2011, Wisnik Career Enterprises, Inc., surveyed law firm recruiting and PD professionals to learn more about changes in the way they are managing their functions at their firms — and to determine what core competencies are central to these roles.
What a difference nine months make! When NALP and the NALP Foundation began a series of Roundtables on the Future of Lawyer Hiring, Development, and Advancement in June 2009, law firms, law schools, and client corporations were staggering under the weight of the worst of the recession, with no clear end in sight.
NALP’s Sexual Harassment and Recruiting Conduct: Considerations for Legal Employers and Law Schools offers a series of guidelines to promote a safe and healthy work environment for all.
Becca Newberger of Kirkland & Ellis and Drexel Kline School of Law’s Jim Walsh explore what the recruiting process for the legal community might look like after the COVID-19 pandemic subsides.
Whiteford Taylor Preston LLP Chief Legal Talent Officer Meredith J. Kahan shares her unique perspective on the recruiting process after going through her own job search during the pandemic.
Charting the course for an updated recruiting strategy in the midst of a law firm merger or other significant change requires both detailed data analysis and strategic alliances.
Aggregate lateral hiring was up for the second year in a row, finishing out 2015 8.5% higher than in 2014.
A personal account of a NALP member reflecting on her recruiting career. She writes, "As I approach my tenth year in legal recruiting, it feels like the perfect time to reflect on how far I have come and to look ahead at the exciting future that awaits."
To create and maintain a successful working relationship between internal recruiters and external recruiters, we recommend a few simple guideposts and four tips.
NALP's "Snapshot" survey has documented five years of aggregate increases in lateral hiring, and in some cases substantial aggregate increases, but the patterns vary from market to market.
Here are due dililgence tips for ensuring that a laterally hired lawyer's past doesn't come back to haunt his or her new firm.
Advice for recruiters during a downturn.
New online tools may not replace traditional methods of finding lateral lawyer candidates, but some of these new tools are well worth considering as you develop recruiting strategies.
How can you interview to find the lawyers who already speak confidently and professionally or can be trained to do so?
What do candidates and employers want when it comes to using social media in legal recruiting?
How can law firms best identify candidates with growth mindsets?
SeltzerFontaineLLC’s Valerie Fontaine explains how law firms can avoid missteps in the lateral hiring process by watching for key red flags.
Goodwin Procter’s Christine Whitehead lays out three stages of questions for recruiters when interviewing lateral partners at law firms.
LSU Paul M. Herbert Law Center’s Gwendolyn Ferrell and Holland & Knight’s Precillia Soares provide an update on the efforts of NALP’s Knowledge Management & Resource Implementation Advisory Group.
NALP Executive Director Nikia Gray explains the history of on-campus interview (OCI) timelines, the complex dynamics shaping the recruiting environment including competition and antitrust considerations and encourages NALP members to collectively drive new advances in recruiting by sharing insights, ideas and best practices.
Branding in law firms isn’t just about the logo, website, or firm name. It’s about how your firm is perceived in every interaction, from client development to internal project execution. But one area where branding can be neglected and where reputational damage can quietly accumulate is in partner or associate recruiting.
Now, with a steady stream of international resumes to consider, understanding non-U.S. credentials is an integral part of our job.
Some tips on rewriting recruiting materials.
How are HR and recruiting functions being folded together, what does this look like in practice, and what does this mean for the future of recruiting?
The more information headhunters have up front, the more effectively they can help you land top candidates, as this headhunter explains.
Lateral hiring was up by 48% in 2011 compared with 2010.
Overall, a NALP survey found that the volume of lateral hiring was up by 38% in 2010 compared with 2009.
NALP Executive Director James G. Leipold’s column explores how the COVID-19 pandemic could lead law schools and law firms to reimagine the process of identifying and hiring lawyers.
While everyone is talking about using "big data" these days, using your own firm's hiring data can be more valuable.
Whether you want to learn what other firms are doing, sharpen your competitive edge through reporting, hear the latest on AI, or simply take the pulse of today’s legal market,you cannot afford to miss NALP's 2026 Annual Education Conference.
