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
Photo: fizkes/Shutterstock.com
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
© 2025 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 All![Google Fails to Secure Long-Term Stay of Order Requiring It to Open App Store to Rivals Google Fails to Secure Long-Term Stay of Order Requiring It to Open App Store to Rivals](https://images.law.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=contain/https://images.law.com/contrib/content/uploads/sites/390/2024/10/Google-Play-Store-app-767x633.jpg)
Google 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 'Am I Spending Time in the Right Place?' SPX Technologies CLO Cherée Johnson on Living and Leading With Intent](https://images.law.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=contain/https://images.law.com/contrib/content/uploads/sites/390/2024/10/Cheree-Johnson-767x633-1.jpg)
'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 'It Was the Next Graduation': How an In-House Lawyer Became a Serial Entrepreneur](https://images.law.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=contain/https://images.law.com/contrib/content/uploads/sites/390/2024/04/Adam-Nguyen-767x633.jpg)
'It Was the Next Graduation': How an In-House Lawyer Became a Serial Entrepreneur
9 minute read![Renee Meisel, GC of UnitedLex, on Understanding and Growing the Business Renee Meisel, GC of UnitedLex, on Understanding and Growing the Business](https://images.law.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,fit=contain/https://images.law.com/contrib/content/uploads/sites/390/2024/03/Renee-Meisel-767x633.jpg)
Renee Meisel, GC of UnitedLex, on Understanding and Growing the Business
6 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Donald Trump Serves Only De Facto and Not De Jure: A Status That Voids His Acts Usurping the Power of Congress or the Courts
- 2Georgia Hacker Pleads Guilty in SEC X Account Scam That Moved Markets
- 3Trump's Pick for SEC Chair Likely to Stymie Shareholder Proposals from ESG Advocates
- 4Adobe’s Chief Cyber Legal & Privacy Officer Talks Managing Gen AI Risks, Cyber Training
- 5The M&A Partners Who Drove the Most Business as Deal Leads Last Year
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
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