Pryor Cashman Managing Partner Ronald Shechtman wrote a column for Law.com's Mid-Market Report discussing the advantages that midsize firms like Pryor Cashman have when recruiting lateral partners.
In "Many Advantages In Lateral Partner Recruiting Come With Being 'In The Middle,'" Ron notes, "As a midsize firm we have found ourselves perched comfortably between Big Law partners who crave our comparative agility and flexibility, and lawyers from smaller firms who see the midsize platform providing the potential to raise their ceiling and business development goals."
The column examines what a midsize platform can offer to laterals from larger firms:
When lawyers at the biggest firms talk to me about the mid-market platform and alternative, their concerns are notably consistent: they have usually faced serious obstacles in their client development efforts. Smaller matters that may be essential to developing a client are often treated as nuisances. Rate structures including associates at $1,000 per hour likewise inhibit client development, especially of mid-market clients... Our structure, which is much less leveraged than most Big Law firms, usually offers leaner, more economic staffing, with less pressure on partners to leverage the representation.
And the upsides available to partners moving from small firms:
What is typically most attractive to lawyers interested in moving to a larger (but still midsize) firm is the availability of practice areas and expertise that are often unavailable at a smaller firm, including tax, executive compensation, corporate immigration/mobility and other services. Moving to a larger firm opens up a range of cross-selling and potential for developing clients with particular needs in those areas.
The recruiting picture for mid-market firms offers potentially "transformative" opportunities for laterals who find that the "flexibility and agility have allowed them to create the type of legal career they envisioned and to expand their client list and offerings to their clients."
Read the full article using the link below (subscription may be required).
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
