I'll get to the recession, Bear Stearns and the current state of the in-house employment market in moment. Let me start, however, with a simple calendar observation. April through July has become “hiring season.” Annual bonuses are behind us, and most candidates are willing to pro-rate their first annual bonus with you–instead of seeking a signing bonus to cover what is being left on the table. My point: this is the best time of year to hire regardless of macro-economic conditions. So, if you have a current opening in your legal department, hurry up and fill it. That's the easy advice.

Now here's the part where I challenge you. Most legal departments are frozen right now in terms of headcount. While you can still get authorization to fill a hole when someone departs or retires, this is nonetheless the worst hiring environment I have seen since my firm opened for business in 1996.

Although times are not as bad as during the recession of the early 90s when many legal departments downsized, times are still hard for a candidate looking for work. Here is where the opportunity lies for a brave general counsel. Now is a fabulous time to recruit talent with industry experience and grow your department. Of course, you will have to make the case that such an approach makes economic sense. This means lobbying your CEO with numbers and a colorful graph that shows how much money the company will save versus outside counsel use when you take more work in-house. There are numerous consultants who can put together this analysis for you, or you can contact me for free guidance.

I realize that bulking up is a contrarian approach in a recession. However, a true business leader will appreciate the market opportunity. When JP Morgan boldly bought Bear Stearns, the move was largely about snapping up talent. Speaking of Bear Stearns, if you are the GC of a financial institution or private equity firm, you should already be recruiting their in-house attorneys.

I realize this column sounds terribly self-serving. I'm a recruiter and of course I want you to add staff, but that does not make my argument ring any less true. Also, you have leverage right now on search fee terms, just as you have leverage on outside counsel fees. Some top-notch recruiters are prepared to offer more reasonable terms to lock in good assignments. Therefore, if you are going to grow, go about it the right way and don't limit yourself to want ad responses.

I'll get to the recession, Bear Stearns and the current state of the in-house employment market in moment. Let me start, however, with a simple calendar observation. April through July has become “hiring season.” Annual bonuses are behind us, and most candidates are willing to pro-rate their first annual bonus with you–instead of seeking a signing bonus to cover what is being left on the table. My point: this is the best time of year to hire regardless of macro-economic conditions. So, if you have a current opening in your legal department, hurry up and fill it. That's the easy advice.

Now here's the part where I challenge you. Most legal departments are frozen right now in terms of headcount. While you can still get authorization to fill a hole when someone departs or retires, this is nonetheless the worst hiring environment I have seen since my firm opened for business in 1996.

Although times are not as bad as during the recession of the early 90s when many legal departments downsized, times are still hard for a candidate looking for work. Here is where the opportunity lies for a brave general counsel. Now is a fabulous time to recruit talent with industry experience and grow your department. Of course, you will have to make the case that such an approach makes economic sense. This means lobbying your CEO with numbers and a colorful graph that shows how much money the company will save versus outside counsel use when you take more work in-house. There are numerous consultants who can put together this analysis for you, or you can contact me for free guidance.

I realize that bulking up is a contrarian approach in a recession. However, a true business leader will appreciate the market opportunity. When JP Morgan boldly bought Bear Stearns, the move was largely about snapping up talent. Speaking of Bear Stearns, if you are the GC of a financial institution or private equity firm, you should already be recruiting their in-house attorneys.

I realize this column sounds terribly self-serving. I'm a recruiter and of course I want you to add staff, but that does not make my argument ring any less true. Also, you have leverage right now on search fee terms, just as you have leverage on outside counsel fees. Some top-notch recruiters are prepared to offer more reasonable terms to lock in good assignments. Therefore, if you are going to grow, go about it the right way and don't limit yourself to want ad responses.