The list could go on. The bottom line is that most partners change law firms once or twice in their careers � not enough to become an expert on the topic. An experienced recruiter will have walked dozens of partners through the transition process. That experience results in “collected wisdom” in many forms that can prove very valuable to the partner considering a change.

NOT USING A RECRUITER

If you choose the wrong recruiter (or, worse yet, you let the wrong recruiter choose you via a well-timed cold call), there can be significant downside. You are going to be sharing very sensitive information, and you need to know that your recruiter recognizes it as such. A breach of confidentiality can obviously have serious consequences. There is also a direct correlation between the quality of information provided to you by your recruiter and the probability of your making a good versus bad decision about which firm to join.

The cost to the acquiring firm of the recruiter’s fee is, I believe, a non-issue. As I tell every partner I work with, if you were to call up a target firm and ask � “Should I send my resume over to you directly or should I approach your firm through a recruiter?” � it would be a rare firm that would choose the recruiter option. I submit, however, that the question misses the point. The correct questions to ask are:

  • Do I think the recruiter will add value for me in the course of the representation? (If “no,” stop reading and delete the names of all recruiters from your electronic Rolodex.)
  • Will the acquiring firm view my candidacy less favorably, or pay me less, if I choose to be represented by a recruiter?



The marketplace for lateral partner talent has never been as competitive as it is today. Recruiters with a track record of success in partner placement are buried with requests from law firms seeking lateral partners.

Under these circumstances, no firm worth joining would even consider imposing a “recruiter tax” on a desirable lateral partner candidate. Doing so would put a firm at a significant competitive disadvantage in the competition to land that particular partner and would destroy the recruiting firm relationships that the law firms are so aggressively seeking to build.

Chuck Fanning is the global practice leader for partner placement for the legal recruiting firm Major, Lindsey & Africa. Fanning specializes in counseling law firm partners about possible lateral moves. He can be reached at 415-956-1010.