In this episode, Murray Coffey and Steve Nelson delve into the intricacies of legal recruiting, offering a blend of practical advice and personal anecdotes. They discuss the best ways to manage recruiter inquiries, key considerations for those contemplating a career move, and the importance of building solid relationships with reputable recruiters. Additionally, they cover current market trends and emphasize the significance of carefully evaluating counteroffers. This episode is designed to equip you with the insights needed to navigate your legal career with confidence.

Episode Highlights:

• Best Practices for Managing Recruiter Inquiries: Learn how to effectively handle calls and messages from recruiters.
• Controlling Your Identity: Safeguard your resume and personal information by only sending them to authorized firms.
• Importance of Ethics in Recruiting: Recognize and avoid unethical practices by some recruiters.
• Candidate Preparation: Ensure you have your statistics and relevant information ready before engaging with a recruiter.
• Choosing the Right Recruiter: Identify recruiters who have strong relationships with hiring firms and understand your market and practice area.
• Working with One Recruiter: Build a strong, trusting relationship with a single recruiter to increase your chances of successful placement.
• Personal Relationships and Referrals: Use your network to get referrals for reputable recruiters.
• Recruiter Methodology: Understand the recruiter’s approach and ensure they can effectively reach suitable firms.
• Assessing Opportunities: Utilize a recruiter’s expertise to determine if a move is in your best interest.
• Long-term Relationships: Work with recruiters who are committed to your career growth and provide honest assessments.
• Evaluating Offers: Be cautious with counteroffers and consider their long-term implications.
• Market Trends and Insights: Stay updated on the latest trends and dynamics in the recruiting market.
  
  

Key Takeaways:

• Be Prepared: Have your market statistics and relevant data ready when engaging with a recruiter.
• Ask the Right Questions: Ensure the recruiter has a genuine relationship with the hiring firm and understands your needs.
• Control Your Identity: Avoid having your resume sent to multiple firms without your consent.
• Work with One Recruiter: Develop a strong, trusting relationship with a single recruiter for better results.
• Evaluate Offers Carefully: Consider the long-term implications of counteroffers and trust the insights of experienced recruiters.

Join Murray and Steve as they share valuable insights and experiences, helping you navigate your career with confidence and professionalism.

Contact Steve
McCormick Group

Contact Murray
M Coffey

Overview:

This episode provides a deep dive into the essentials of business planning for attorneys considering lateral moves. Steve Nelson leverages his extensive experience in legal recruitment to guide listeners on crafting high impact business plans that align with market trends and firm expectations. This episode may be our most practical and actionable let. We even have Steve’s business plan templates in our show notes.

Key Insights:

• Business Plan Importance: Detailed discussion on the necessity of a business plan for lawyers aiming to move laterally.
• Components of a Strong Business Plan: Steve outlines the critical elements that should be included in a business plan, such as market analysis, client needs assessment, and personal value proposition.
• Strategies for Differentiation: Tips on how attorneys can set themselves apart in their business plans by linking their unique experiences to the needs of potential firms.

Episode Highlights:

• Crafting the Business Plan: Steps for developing a plan that addresses both the current landscape and future market opportunities, focusing on the lawyer’s role in navigating these changes.
• Demonstrating Market Knowledge: The importance of showing deep understanding of regulatory trends and how they affect potential clients.
• Networking and Resources: How to effectively utilize existing networks and resources to bolster the business plan’s effectiveness.

Bonus: Steve gives us his analysis of the lateral recruiting market in the the nation’s capital (hint: it is an election year.)
Business Plan Template Option One
Business Plan Template Option Two
Business Plan Template Option Three

Contact Steve
McCormick Group

Contact Murray
M Coffey

The decision to pursue other opportunities is multilayered with no one consideration being more important than the other. Yet compensation often is a driver. But most professionals including lateral partners at law firms don't do a deep enough dive on a target firm's compensation structure. Each firm approaches compensation differently. Which means it is incumbent on the candidate to know what is important to them and to ask the right questions. So to, firms need to be as forthcoming as possible about the compensation structure. Steve knows the ins and outs of compensation systems based on his decades of experience. Have a listen and if you have more questions, please contact Steve at snelson@tmg-dc.com. Mention Steve's Rules when you call and get a prize. We mean it.

Contact Steve
McCormick Group

Contact Murray
M Coffey

Leveraging government service into a lucrative career in government relations can be done. But, it can be tricky to turn your knowledge and connections into a career path. This podcast will be especially informative for those folks currently in Capitol Hill contemplating your next move. We start out the second season of the acclaimed Steve's Rules podcast series with a fast paced discussion featuring McCormick group principals David Ris and Tim Horgan. Join Steve and his colleagues as they share lessons learned in this high stakes area of executive recruiting with a special deep dive for those coming out of government service from Capitol Hill and beyond. We take an insider look at what candidates can expect whether they are pursuing a position in-house, with an association or a multi client practice.

Episode Notes:
Email Steve and his guests:
Steve Nelson snelson@tmg-dc.com
David Ris dris@tmg-dc.com
Tim Horgan thorgan@tmg-dc.com

Article Referenced in Podcast:
Building a Better Mousetrap: A Model for a Lawyer’s Business Plan

Contact Steve
McCormick Group

Contact Murray
M Coffey

Well, here it is the 2023 season finale of Steve's Rules. In this very special episode we are joined by Steve's colleagues Saadia Sultan and Rob Verga who share insights from the 2023 lateral recruiting in market and their predictions for 2024. We end our podcast with some truly hard won observations about how firms and candidate's can impede their own efforts and some best practices as well. As always we welcome your thoughts and ideas about how we can improve our podcast. Please contact Steve or me Murray Coffey at any time. Thank you for listening and tune in next year for season II of Steve's Rules.

Contact Steve
McCormick Group

Contact Murray
M Coffey

In this episode Steve provides some intel on the hottest lateral partner market (hint they call this city the Third Coast, and its the place Murray first drew breath.) Then we discuss contingency and retained search and relative merits of each approach based on your firm's profile and needs. Finally we hear a hunk from Steve's standup show. We packed a lot into 30 minutes. If you have any thoughts or ideas for future programs please feel free to contact Steve or Murray. Thank you as always for listening.

Contact Steve
McCormick Group

Contact Murray
M Coffey

Law firms need to hire business professionals as skilled and capable as the lawyers in their respective areas of focus. And yet, many firms still try to hire professional staff by relying on self-sourcing, agencies, or contingency recruiters. Steve explains why these results are often mixed at best. And what firms need to do to make sure they are recruiting the very best talent. Steve also shares his thoughts on some recent survey results regarding lateral partner financial performance. (Hint, multiples are not what they used to be if they ever really were.)

Contact Steve
McCormick Group

Contact Murray
M Coffey

Contact Steve
McCormick Group

Contact Murray
M Coffey