Michael Allen
Ed. note: This is the latest installment in a series of posts from Lateral Link’s team of expert contributors. Michael Allen is Managing Principal at Lateral Link, focusing exclusively on partner placements with Am Law 200 clients and placements for in-house attorneys.
Have you ever wondered, “Am I forfeiting my bonus if I leave before year’s end?”
Associates are often reluctant to leave their current positions out of fear they may lose out on year-end bonuses. Right now, we are seeing bonuses approaching and often exceeding the $100k – $200K range for associates, making it seemingly difficult to justify a late season move.
What most associates may not realize, however, is that from now through the end of 2016, there are many ways to keep your full compensation – and even increase it. This is where working with a recruiter comes in handy. Because we have intimate knowledge of how many candidates are looking to make a move at any given time, we can definitively say that from this point now through the end of 2016 is a very solid time to make a move. We recommend starting with a target list of firms that will make you whole – that is, earn 100 percent or more of the compensation you would expect to receive. Right now, we are helping associates procure year-end and signing bonuses equal to, and in excess of, the amount they would have earned by staying with their current firm.
One of the keys to procuring these bonuses is identifying the firms that will lose out on business by not having someone to service it. Firms do not generally have established policies concerning signing bonuses, and will typically present the bare minimum to sway a lateral decision. Approaching the table with market intelligence tilts the conversation in your favor and increases the likelihood that the firm will, in fact, make you whole.
Signing and year-end bonuses are not your only means for recovering lost revenue from mid-to-late year lateral moves. If you are one of the unlucky few locked into the old compensation model, targeting a firm on the new model can also help you bridge or beat the gap between your prior compensation with bonuses and your new compensation even without bonuses.
This summer is an advantageous time for associates to consider a move. Typically, there is less supply and more demand for practices that have growing needs in a candidate-driven market. Additionally, the recent salary shake-up has many people wondering if they are earning the right salary for the city they live in. Because of these favorable market conditions, associates have a good chance of lateralling up to an even better firm that will also make them whole.
Most importantly, we help you identify the firms that match each of your requirements and preferences. Your practice, your compensation, and firm fit are only part of the puzzle to navigating the course of your legal career over the years. We help our clients thoroughly evaluate every facet of a lateral move from its overall efficacy to the minutia of details when it comes to charting the milestones of your career.
Lateral Link is one of the top-rated international legal recruiting firms. With over 14 offices world-wide, Lateral Link specializes in placing attorneys at the most prestigious law firms and companies in the world. Managed by former practicing attorneys from top law schools, Lateral Link has a tradition of hiring lawyers to execute the lateral leaps of practicing attorneys. Click ::here:: to find out more about us.