Legal Recruiters Say Niche In-House Counsel Roles Are Hard to Fill
The challenges in placing attorneys in in-house roles are not based around industry but rather the title and specific roles of the job, according to recruiters who help companies find attorneys for their legal departments.
February 14, 2019 at 04:25 PM
3 minute read
Lawyers tend to be eager for a challenge, which makes the jobs of recruiters placing them pretty easy. However, the challenges in placing attorneys in in-house roles are not based around industry but rather the title and specific roles of the job, according to recruiters who help companies find attorneys for their legal departments.
John Gilmore, the co-founder and managing partner at BarkerGilmore, said in his experience it is not hard to place attorneys in industry-specific in-house roles, but it is hard to place them in the niche roles companies look for in their legal departments.
“I would say that it's not so much a particular industry, but the niche regulatory positions are difficult,” Gilmore said. “If someone is an expert in a niche like insurance regulation, it does pigeonhole them to that industry. If they do become an expert in that particular niche, there is a big demand for that whether it's a general counsel or a senior-level individual contributor.”
Mike Evers, the founder and president of Evers Legal Search, said that for him placement becomes harder with the niche roles combined with the geography of the company.
Evers cited the Des Moines, Iowa-based Principal Financial Group, a company he has worked with placing attorneys in the past. He said finding a specialist in the local pool of attorneys there is difficult and that beyond finding someone who is qualified for the job, he would have to find someone who is willing to move from their current location to Des Moines and enjoy the lifestyle the area has to offer.
Evers said for the niche jobs there is not enough of a supply to meet the demand companies have for these skill sets.
“If someone has been working at the legal department at Merck, and Pfizer comes calling asking if they would like to do the exact same thing for them, it's hard to get a yes from that person,” Evers said.
“I haven't seen people turn away from a company or an organization because of the company or organization. It is more about what the role entails,” Sheri Michaels, a partner at Major, Lindsey & Africa in New York, said.
In fact, Evers said companies which appear to be going through a crisis attracts candidates because having that kind of job would give them an opportunity to prove themselves.
“The general counsel job at Facebook would be a great job. You're coming in facing a challenge and you have value to offer,” Evers said.
Michaels explained lawyers who go in-house want to know they're contributing to the company, whether it be a transactional role, a litigation-based role or a regulatory role.
“The role has to have opportunity. Lawyers are looking to interact with business people by participating in all phases of discussions—from day-to-day issues to strategic planning. The goal is to 'have a seat at the table' and be considered a partner with the business team in order to achieve stated business objectives,” Michaels said.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllGoogle Fails to Secure Long-Term Stay of Order Requiring It to Open App Store to Rivals
'Am I Spending Time in the Right Place?' SPX Technologies CLO Cherée Johnson on Living and Leading With Intent
9 minute read'It Was the Next Graduation': How an In-House Lawyer Became a Serial Entrepreneur
9 minute readRenee Meisel, GC of UnitedLex, on Understanding and Growing the Business
6 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Gibson Dunn Sued By Crypto Client After Lateral Hire Causes Conflict of Interest
- 2Trump's Solicitor General Expected to 'Flip' Prelogar's Positions at Supreme Court
- 3Pharmacy Lawyers See Promise in NY Regulator's Curbs on PBM Industry
- 4Outgoing USPTO Director Kathi Vidal: ‘We All Want the Country to Be in a Better Place’
- 5Supreme Court Will Review Constitutionality Of FCC's Universal Service Fund
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250