A flood of tech startups' initial public offerings could boost the Bay Area's in-house counsel market in 2019, recruiters said, as companies' legal departments grow to meet new compliance requirements.

San Francisco-based ride-hailing company Lyft Inc. beat rival Uber Technologies Inc. to the IPO punch last week. Uber is still set to go public this year, alongside Bay Area neighbors Pinterest Inc., Slack and Airbnb Inc. In a 2017 interview with The Recorder affiliate Corporate Counsel, Lyft general counsel Kristin Sverchek hinted she would hire more securities counsel post-IPO.

“It's a candidate-driven market, with the current demand we're seeing,” said Jamy Sullivan, the executive director of legal employment agency Robert Half Legal. She said the demand for in-house counsel at tech companies is already high, growing last year with momentum she expects to see continue this year.

Kate Reder Sheikh, the managing director in the associate practice group for Major, Lindsey & Africa, said she's also seen an increasing demand for securities lawyers versus lawyers with emerging growth company experience. While the latter is still in demand, she said the Bay Area's market for counsel with capital markets experience will “go way up.”

The problem with a high demand for securities lawyers, Reder Sheikh said, is that the Bay Area  currently can't keep up with the demand, as many securities lawyers opt for careers in New York or London. But she added that could change with firms and companies “importing quite a bit of talent” from more established markets. Sullivan said companies are willing to bring in candidates from outside markets.

Even with a strong candidates market, prospective in-house counsel may want to develop skills that help them stand out. Reder Sheikh and Sullivan said there are certain traits companies are looking for in new hires.

“I think what we're going to see as part of this transition is that as part of the package of a generalist corporate lawyer, they're going to want people who for sure have that capital markets notch in their belts,” Reder Sheikh said. “Because if we're looking at people who are just straight M&A, they're not going to be suitable candidates for this environment.”

Sullivan said lawyers with business acumen, privacy and compliance skills also have an edge in the Bay Area in-house market. Experience with intellectual property is also a plus at many tech companies, she added.

Companies can help stand out in a candidate-driven market by offering financial incentives, such as competitive salaries, benefits and bonuses, and work-life balance, professional development opportunities and a healthy work culture.

“As well as having client interaction or challenging projects,” Sullivan said. “And, of course, taking a company IPO, filing all of that, would be a challenging process.”

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