Career Center: State of the Market - Texas (Part 3)
As mentioned previously, these State of the Market posts by Lateral Link, as compiled by Director Gary Cohen, will focus on one of the country’s largest states — Texas.
The strongest market in Texas is Houston, with some of the strongest candidates being those with corporate, capital markets, or finance experience. A close second is Dallas, and a distant third in terms of strong markets in the Lone Star State is Austin….
According to Director Gary Cohen, it remains very difficult to find a lateral position in Austin. The demand of attorneys looking to find new jobs in Austin simply outnumbers the scarce supply of openings that appear every now and then. To the extent firms need new attorneys in Austin, it is helpful to have a tech focus, either in corporate, M&A, and private equity/venture capital work in particular, or IP litigation with a computer science or electrical engineering background. There has been little to no activity in all other practice areas, with the occasional opening being highly competitive. Moving forward into 2012, we are hopeful that Austin will become more robust. Even if this is the case, competition for open spots in Austin will be intense.
As always, it is critical to have an extremely strong connection to Austin to have a chance of finding a new position. For most Austin firms, fitting in culturally can often be as important (or even more so) as strong academics and experience.
Other Markets
Houston, Dallas, and to a lesser extent, Austin, remain the primary legal markets in the state. We do see the occasional opening elsewhere, such as San Antonio or Fort Worth, but these tend to be one-off openings. We expect the same in 2012.
Feel free to contact any of the recruiting professionals at Lateral Link about law firm and in-house job opportunities. For additional career tips, check out the Career Center, powered by Lateral Link.
