10 Most Common Mistakes Associates Make During The Lateral Process

Ed. note: This is the latest installment in a series of posts from Lateral Link’s team of expert contributors. Abby Gordon is a Senior Director in the New York office where she focuses on placements of partners, counsel, and associate candidates for law firms and in-house. Her focus is primarily on the New York, Boston, and European markets. Abby holds a J.D., cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center and a B.A. in Government and Romance Languages, magna cum laude, from Dartmouth College. Prior to recruiting, Abby spent seven years as a corporate associate with Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, focusing on capital markets transactions for Latin American clients in New York, and for the last five years for European clients in Paris, France. She regularly participates in professional and career panels and has published numerous articles offering career advice and tracking trends in the legal market (links to which are on her LinkedIn profile). She is a member of the New York, Massachusetts, and Maine state bars. Abby is fluent in French and Spanish, and enjoys dabbling in Portuguese and Italian. You can view additional articles by Abby here.

After seven years with a top international law firm, I am now in my sixth year as a legal recruiter. I have worked with hundreds of lawyers — smart, thoughtful, and successful people. But over and over, I see candidates damage — or nearly damage, before my intervention — their best shot at advancing their careers by making mistakes that easily can be avoided.

What are the 10 most frequent mistakes my colleague and I witness as legal recruiters?

1. You wait too long to start the process. The time to start thinking about a lateral move is now. Whether you’re still in law school, in Day One of your first year at a firm, or further along in your career, you should always be thinking of next steps. That doesn’t mean you have to move right away, or even within a year. The next step may even mean an affirmative decision to stay put. But you should be proactive about continually evaluating and re-evaluating your professional development. You should keep your résumé and representative matters sheets up to date at all times. You should inform yourself of the legal market regularly so you know when in terms of market cycles, seasonal demands and seniority your skills will be most valued, and you can be sure not the miss that window. At a minimum, have initial no-commitment discussions with a trusted recruiter early on, establish a relationship, and understand the market for your talent.
2. You are not responsive. You don’t have to check your e-mail every minute, but don’t let a whole day go by without responding to a prospective employer with additional documents they may request or with your availability for an interview, for example. Delays reflect poorly on your ability to manage a demanding job, the level of seriousness you bring to the job search, and your interest in the position.
3. For more senior associates, counsel, and partners, you don’t take the time to develop a solid business plan. I published a full post on this topic recently so I won’t go into great detail here, but the punch line is that a persuasive business plan can be the key factor in convincing prospective employers that you understand the business law firms are in and that you are planning to take an active role.
4. You let silly typos slide. I am a fan of sending thank you e-mails to your interviewers. They can be brief but they must be professional. Do not just type a thank you on your phone without proofing it. We’ve seen associates not advance to the next round of interviews due to such mistakes. Also, do not just copy/paste the identical thank you note to multiple people. Assume they will share the message internally.
5. You are too negative or not enthusiastic enough in interviews. You must be natural and true to yourself, but you also must be the best possible version of yourself in an interview. You must sound enthusiastic about your work — current and future. Interviewers are evaluating your passion for the practice of law and also your presentation skills. Do not fall into the trap of sounding negative about your current employer. That will be a red flag to any prospective employers.
6. You accept a counter-offer from your current employer. There’s a reason you are looking to leave in the first place. Don’t assume that your current employer will keep promises made when forced into a corner, with the imminent prospect of losing you. I‘m not saying your current employer is necessarily acting deceptively. The decision to fulfill these promises may not be in the hands of the partner doing the promising. The problems that drive you to look around are usually systemic.
7. You draw out the process and don’t know when to stop asking for more. Once you have an offer in hand, you have the upper hand. But you cannot abuse this leverage. Do not try to nickel and dime the new firm or ask for too much in terms of a delayed start date, signing bonuses, etc. The firm always has the option of rescinding your offer if they feel you’re not enthusiastic enough about the opportunity or they sense you’re going to be difficult.
8. You put all your eggs in one basket. Or maybe two baskets. But not enough baskets. Even with the best credentials, guidance and experience, the lateral process is full of unlucky breaks. You will be much better served by keeping an open mind as to your next firm. Do not rule out options based on the unfounded rumors or stereotypes we’ve all heard about various firms. Do not waste your time or anyone else’s by applying to firms in which you have zero interest. But just as prospective employers are not committed to extending an offer to everyone they interview, you also don’t have to be 100% committed to accepting a future offer before applying. You just have to be 100% committed to taking the process seriously and genuinely considering any offers that result.
9. You work with multiple recruiters. There are some rare circumstances under which you should consider working with a second recruiter or even multiple recruiters. But this is the exception and not the rule. Some candidates believe that working more recruiters equates to receiving more job offers. This is simply not true when applying solely to other law firms. When you work with more than one recruiter on law firm searches, you run the risk of multiple applications to the same firm — which only makes you look unprofessional. You also impede your main recruiters from managing the process and its timing in your best interest. You make it harder for recruiters to offer you unbiased advice in the final decision-making stages.
10. You do not work with a recruiter at all. Deciding if and when to make a lateral move can be difficult. It would be a shame to put so much time and effort into your legal career over the years, just to ruin your best shot at a new position over a mismanaged job search or even a small oversight along the way. A legal recruiter can help you analyze the market and draw upon experience to help you determine the best strategy for attaining your career goals. A recruiter can also serve as your guide to be sure you don’t fall into the easy-to-avoid traps such as those listed above. Sometimes small mistakes can have lasting repercussions.

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