By Referral
I have earned the trust and respect of my clients over the years and most of my new business comes via “word of mouth” referrals:
Top Environmental Boutique – The firm’s environmental manager enlisted my services to recruit a white collar partner based on a recommendation from a partner that I had placed at her firm in 2014, and;
Consulting:
Top Am Law 50 Firm – Asked to consult to develop environmental recruiting plan by MP of firm at which I had placed a small group with 8 years ago.
Big Law Firms
I spend about 75% of my time recruiting for my “big law” clients:
Adams and Reese—Akerman Senterfitt—Akin Gump-Allen—Matkins—Alston & Bird—Arent Fox-Armstrong Teasdale—Arnold & Porter—Baker & Hostetler—Baker Botts—Baker Donelson—Ballard Spahr—Barnes & Thornburg—Blank Rome—Bracewell—Brownstein Hyatt—Bryan Cave—Buchanan Ingersoll– (and over 100 more)
Looking back over the last 20 years, I have been most successful working with firms that take the time to work with me to develop not only the kinds of environmental candidates that they are looking for, but also specifically why a new candidate would benefit by making a lateral move, and precisely how the firm plans to make that happen.
Environmental Boutiques
I spend about 15% of my time working for environmental boutique clients.
My environmental boutique clients focus their practices on environmental, health, safety, and more recently include traditional and renewable energy practices as well.
They are practicing in 23 different states and range in size from range in size a 2-lawyer firm in Chicago to arguably the largest U.S. EHS boutique with offices located throughout the United States and internationally.
As with many other practice areas, the smaller the firm the greater the need for partners with more diverse environmental skill sets, and conversely the larger the firm the greater the chances needing partners with highly specialized practices.
Virtual Law Firms
I spend about 10% of my time recruiting for the top 5 U.S. “virtual” law firms ranging in size from about 70 to over 200 lawyers.
Thanks to Covid 19, most big law environmental partners have gotten an unexpected taste of what it might be like to work in a “virtual” firm by working at home over the last few months.
Virtual firms are not for everyone, but are growing in popularity among certain groups of lawyers – in particular: “Service Partners” with minimal, but significant annual originations and “Income Partners” that want to hold onto more of their originations, as well as female lawyers trying to balance a busy practice with family life, and; Older attorneys facing mandatory retirement requirements.