With the talent wars at an all-time high in Big Law, law firms are increasingly spending more time on vetting candidates, particularly in ensuring books of business, legal industry recruiters say.

Overall, law firms are taking a month or more to vet partner candidates, they said. The process now entails firms calling more of a candidate’s clients to check their business, a candidate meeting more partners at a firm, and firms meeting candidates more face-to-face instead of mostly via Zoom, recruiters say, as firms seek to obtain a more comprehensive outline of laterals’ books of business.