Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

The Lateral Partner Process: Three Perspectives

By Dana Mesh, Esq., Howard Parris, Esq and Mari Passananti, Esq.
September 03, 2003

According to The American Lawyer, fully 40% of partners in the AmLaw 200 firms will move laterally at least once as partners. This is an astonishing statistic, since lateral partner movement was virtually unheard of a generation ago. Freed from the stigma that once haunted a partner who abandoned his partnership, today's law partners tend to be pragmatists who no longer view their firms as homes for life. Instead, they see them as vehicles to drive their businesses to higher levels. These days, law firm lateral recruitment has become big business. An entire lateral partner recruiting industry ' one of the country's youngest professions ' has emerged to help guide candidates and law firms through the complicated, and often emotionally charged, business of moving partners. In this article, we take a brief look at lateral partner recruitment from the different perspectives of the law firms, the candidates and the recruiters.

Law Firm's Perspective

From the law firm's perspective, while the payoff can be significant, bringing in a lateral partner is a difficult process ' one which many firms are not properly equipped to handle. Like any merger or acquisition transaction, the firm must pay a significant amount of time and attention to the process. The forward momentum of the 'deal' must be maintained. This is where the value of working with a high quality recruiter will be most evident. A firm that has a good relationship with a recruiter can rely on that recruiter to help guide it through the process. Working with a recruiter and focusing on the right issues can result in a lateral acquisition which is a 'home run' for the firm, in which the lateral partner brings new expertise, new business, new clients and new energy to the firm. In working with their recruiter, firms can reduce the potential risks associated with adding lateral partners by focusing on the following issues.

This premium content is locked for Entertainment Law & Finance subscribers only

  • Stay current on the latest information, rulings, regulations, and trends
  • Includes practical, must-have information on copyrights, royalties, AI, and more
  • Tap into expert guidance from top entertainment lawyers and experts

For enterprise-wide or corporate acess, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or 877-256-2473

Read These Next
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws Image

This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.

The Article 8 Opt In Image

The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.

Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin Image

With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.

Legal Possession: What Does It Mean? Image

Possession of real property is a matter of physical fact. Having the right or legal entitlement to possession is not "possession," possession is "the fact of having or holding property in one's power." That power means having physical dominion and control over the property.

The Anti-Assignment Override Provisions Image

UCC Sections 9406(d) and 9408(a) are one of the most powerful, yet least understood, sections of the Uniform Commercial Code. On their face, they appear to override anti-assignment provisions in agreements that would limit the grant of a security interest. But do these sections really work?