For
almost
two
decades,
Kinney
Recruiting
has
been
a
premier
international
legal
recruitment
agency
and
home
to
some
of
the
most
respected
legal
recruiters
in
the
world. This
week Daniel
Roark,
Jessica
Chin
Somers, and Jack
Hopper tackle
your
burning
questions,
starting
with
what
makes
a
good
legal
recruiter.
If
you
have
any
questions,
would
like
to
know
more
about
how
legal
recruiting
works
or
want
our
take
on
the
market,
email askarecruiter@kinneyrecruiting.com and
we
will
get
back
to
you
with
our
take!
Question: What
makes
a
good
legal
recruiter?
What
can
a
new
recruiter
do
to
be
successful?
Daniel
Roark:
Recruiting
is
a
unique
industry
in
that
there
is
very
limited
training,
educational
requirements,
certification
processes,
governance,
industry
oversight
etc.
It
is
a
career
that
encompasses
sales,
consultancy,
subject
matter
expertise,
technology,
and
good
old-fashioned
gabbery.
As
such,
new
recruiters
dive
straight
into
the
“doing”
part
of
the
job
with
oftentimes
little
oversight
and
unclear
directives.
And
this
sink-or-swim
environment
is
also
very
much
integral
to
the
job
–
to
make
a
market
out
of
communication,
information,
and
old-fashioned
effort.
My
tangible
advice
to
new
recruiters
is
three-fold:
1).
Shadow
more
experienced
recruiters
whenever
the
opportunities
present
themselves.
Just
as
associates
learn
at
the
feet
of
partners
about
how
to
interact
with
clients,
handle
crisis,
assess
risk,
communicate
effectively
(both
formally
and
informally),
etc,
a
new
recruiter
can
learn
the
myriad
soft
skills
required
by
this
profession
by
learning
from
more
experienced
recruiters.
2).
Shrink
the
market
into
bite-sized,
achievable
goals.
New
recruiters
generally
don’t
have
a
pipeline
of
candidates,
client
relationships
or
deep
market
knowledge,
and
they
face
pressure
move
quickly
since
the
sales
cycle
of
our
business
is
so
long
(several
months
can
pass
before
a
new
recruiter
closes
a
deal
and
receives
a
fee).
So,
initially,
new
recruiters
should
focus
their
efforts
on
one
or
a
very
few
job
leads
they
are
excited
about
and
can
own
until
these
position(s)
are
filled.
This
strategy
requires
knowing
the
opportunity
inside
and
out,
recruiting
and
vetting
every
possible
candidate
within
contact,
and
working
the
job
until
it
is
filled.
3)
Structure
your
days.
It’s
easy
to
run
down
useless
rabbit
trails,
just
as
in
the
practice
of
law.
Bottom
line:
recruiters
are
measured
by
the
deals
they
close.
We
are
not
rewarded
for
how
many
hours
we
work,
how
many
phone
calls
we
make,
how
many
conversations/meetings
we
take,
or
how
many
industry
articles
we
read,
even
though
these
activities
are
critical
to
long-term
success.
But
working
on
a
schedule
with
fixed
tasks
and
deliverables
(e.g.,
making
a
set
number
of
phone
calls
a
day)
is
a
suggested
way
for
recruiters
to
structure
the
sometimes
amorphous
nature
of
our
profession.
Many
new
recruiters
wash
out
because
they
fully
embrace
the
freedom
of
a
commissions-based
career
without
organizing
their
days
around
the
sometimes-boring,
but
essential
tasks
required
to
be
successful.
Question:
I’m
curious
to
know
what
the
market
is
right
now
for
laterals
in
Biglaw,
specifically
tax.
Can
someone
lateral
from
an
accounting
firm
into
Biglaw?
Jessica
Chin
Somers: There
is
always
a
need
for
good
tax
lawyers
in
Biglaw,
especially
tax
lawyers
with
law
firm
experience
and
good
JD
and
LLM
grades.
However,
because
tax
is
a
niche
practice,
it
is
not
as
easy
to
get
many
offers.
Some
tax
practices
really
want
candidates
with
specific
types
of
tax
experience
(for
example,
securitization
tax
or
bankruptcy
tax)
and
so
they
will
wait
forever
for
the
right
candidate.
Some
transactional
practices
have
a
strong
preference
against
tax
planning
candidates.
The
best
thing
to
do
is
connect
with
us
and
let
us
keep
a
pulse
on
the
market
for
you,
so
when
there
is
a
suitable
opening,
we’ll
make
sure
you
get
in
front
of
the
decisionmakers.
Question: How’s
the
Biglaw
lateral
market
looking?
Jack
Hopper: While
it
is
difficult
to
generalize
about
the
Biglaw
market
as
a
whole,
we
have
not
noticed
any
dramatic
down
turn
in
hiring
in
Biglaw
as
of
October
2022.
Yes,
there
are
areas
that
have
experienced
a
slowdown
–
capital
markets
for
one,
and
certain
firms
“overhired”
during
2021
in
corporate,
M&A
specifically
–
but
there
are
other
sectors
that
remain
strong
or
that
are
“heating
up”
–
real
estate,
litigation
and
bankruptcy
for
instance.
Some
firms
have
implemented
a
hiring
freeze,
but
this
has
certainly
not
been
a
market
trend.
The
takeaway
is
that
for
the
“best
and
brightest”
candidates,
while
such
perks
as
huge
signing
bonuses
like
we
saw
in
2021
may
not
be
the
norm,
opportunities
abound.
Have
a
question
of
your
own?
Email askarecruiter@kinneyrecruiting.com and
we
will
get
back
to
you
with
our
take!