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Book
Smart Collaboration for Lateral Hiring
Successful Strategies to Recruit and Integrate Laterals in Law Firms
Heidi K Gardner, Anusia E Gillespie
Published: 2018
Pages: 103
eBook: 9781787421981
Laterals who collaborate with their new colleagues are significantly more likely to stay with the firm longer, to hit or exceed their targets, and to thrive professionally. Firms need a well-constructed plan and clear accountability processes if they expect to help laterals achieve two-way collaboration quickly and efficiently.
One of the biggest challenges in today’s law firms is recruiting partners, experienced associates, and senior business professionals into the firm—and then finding ways to integrate them, retain them, and help make them sustainably productive. Yet, many firms are misallocating their efforts and resources.
This Special Report offers a new, research-based approach for law firms to improve their lateral hiring process and results by engaging new hires in smart collaboration. Laterals who collaborate with their new colleagues are significantly more likely to stay with the firm longer, to hit or exceed their targets, and to thrive professionally. Firms need a well-constructed plan, a relentless focus on execution, and clear accountability processes if they expect to help laterals achieve two-way collaboration quickly and efficiently. This Special Report offers the tools, processes, and best practices for successful implementation.
Aimed at readers who aspire to take a more strategic approach to improve lateral hiring, this report will be useful for law firm leaders, hiring partners, professional executives such as chief operating officers and chief talent officers. Lawyers or business executives considering a career move across firms, or business professionals seeking to move into the legal sector, will find practical ways to boost their likelihood of success.
This Special Report offers a new, research-based approach for law firms to improve their lateral hiring process and results by engaging new hires in smart collaboration. Laterals who collaborate with their new colleagues are significantly more likely to stay with the firm longer, to hit or exceed their targets, and to thrive professionally. Firms need a well-constructed plan, a relentless focus on execution, and clear accountability processes if they expect to help laterals achieve two-way collaboration quickly and efficiently. This Special Report offers the tools, processes, and best practices for successful implementation.
Aimed at readers who aspire to take a more strategic approach to improve lateral hiring, this report will be useful for law firm leaders, hiring partners, professional executives such as chief operating officers and chief talent officers. Lawyers or business executives considering a career move across firms, or business professionals seeking to move into the legal sector, will find practical ways to boost their likelihood of success.
Table of Contents
| Front cover | i | |
|---|---|---|
| Title | 1 | |
| Copyright | 2 | |
| Table of contents | 3 | |
| I. Introduction: Smart collaboration and lateral hiring | 7 | |
| II. The business case for integrating lateral hires | 11 | |
| 1. The war for talent | 11 | |
| 2. The cost of losing laterals | 13 | |
| 2.1 Lateral partners | 13 | |
| 2.2 Business professionals and associates | 16 | |
| 3. The threat and impact of new competition for lateral hires | 19 | |
| 4. Smart collaboration for lateral hires’ success | 20 | |
| III. The three-stage process for successful lateral hiring | 23 | |
| 1. Stage 1: preparing to hire | 24 | |
| 1.1 Connect your talent plan to the firm’s strategic plan | 24 | |
| 1.2 Update analysis of future needs | 26 | |
| 1.3 Define the expertise needed and think creatively about who is best placed to meet objectives | 30 | |
| 1.4 Consider internal ‘laterals’ before looking for external candidates | 34 | |
| 1.5 Create a data-driven business plan | 36 | |
| 1.6 Run analyses to track pockets of ‘churn and burn’ | 38 | |
| 1.7 Define the role and articulate the required capabilities | 39 | |
| 1.8 Develop the talent pool | 41 | |
| 1.9 Allocate the support necessary for success | 45 | |
| 2. Stage 2: recruiting and interviewing | 48 | |
| 2.1 Search for capabilities over credentials | 48 | |
| 2.2 Evaluate candidates across four key capabilities | 52 | |
| 2.3 Identify and train people to conduct behavioural-based interviews | 60 | |
| 2.4 Determine key qualifications and assign scores to each | 62 | |
| 2.5 Use the interview data to debrief and make decisions | 63 | |
| 2.6 Close the deal | 64 | |
| 3. Stage 3: integration | 64 | |
| 3.1 Make laterals’ experience meaningful from Day 1 and start even before they officially join | 64 | |
| 3.2 Acquaint with the culture and shape processes around new hires’ strengths | 69 | |
| 3.3 Assign a peer mentor | 70 | |
| 3.4 Assist new joiners in building their networks | 72 | |
| 3.5 Hold new joiners, the hiring partner and peers accountable for success | 72 | |
| 3.6 Continuously audit and revamp the lateral integration process | 75 | |
| IV. Conclusion | 77 | |
| Appendix: Lateral hiring toolkit for law firms | 83 | |
| Tool 1 Analysing lateral hire success to find pockets of excellence and opportunities for improvement | 84 | |
| Tool 2 Strategy checklist | 90 | |
| Tool 3 Decision tree to answer the threshold question of whether the firm should hire | 91 | |
| Tool 4 Financial pro forma to answer the 92 threshold question of whether the firm should hire | 92 | |
| Tool 5 Interview form | 94 | |
| Tool 6 The what, why and when of integration | 96 | |
| List of figures and tables | 14 | |
| Figure 1. Regional averages of five-year lateral partner attrition rates | 14 | |
| Figure 2 CMO tenure from 2017 report based on US, Canada and UK sample set | 17 | |
| Figure 3. The collaboration required to retain lateral partners | 21 | |
| Figure 4 Allocation of time spent on each stage of the lateral hiring process | 24 | |
| Figure 5. Forecasting talent needs | 30 | |
| Figure 6 The types of legal service customisation that clients demand | 31 | |
| Figure 7 The Corporate Legal Operations Consortium’s 12 core competencies | 43 | |
| Figure 8 Evaluators who ranked fit as most important criterion in job interviews, by firm type | 57 | |
| Figure 9 Less profitable firms face a disadvantage in lateral partner hiring | 59 | |
| Figure 10 Value alignment diagnosis | 62 | |
| Table 1 The three-stage process to successful lateral hiring in law firms | 25 | |
| Table 2 Connecting the firm’s talent strategy to its strategic objectives | 27 | |
| Table 3 Descriptions of the types of customisation that clients demand | 32 | |
| Table 4 Five-year attrition rate of lateral partners by practice area | 39 | |
| Table 5 Relative success of acquiring lateral stars and groups to explore versus exploit | 46 | |
| Table 6 Key collaborative competencies to test with candidates | 55 | |
| Table 7 Integration highlights at leading technology companies | 65 | |
| Table 8 Social capital needs in Year 1 and Years 2 to 5 of employee tenure | 73 | |
| Table 9 Survey questions to audit current partner integration procedures | 76 | |
| About the authors | 101 | |
| About Globe Law and Business | 103 | |
| Back cover | 106 |
Law firms venturing into new geographies or new areas invariably need to hire laterally and ensure successful lateral integration. To do it strategically and effectively, they should take advantage of this report. Nearly all law firm leaders could benefit from the practical examples and guidance in these pages.
Robert S Insolia
managing partner, Goodwin Procter LLP