From Biglaw Partner To Legal Recruiter

Jon Kahn is a Principal at Lateral Link based in their New York office.

Jon has over 25 years of legal industry experience having been a partner at major AmLaw firms in New York prior to founding his own executive legal search firm, JEK Partners in 2009.  As a result, Jon has a unique understanding of lateral hiring having been involved on both sides and at all levels. He works closely with both law firms and candidates and brings extensive market knowledge, deep relationships and strategic thinking to the lateral search process where he has successfully placed partners, counsel and associates across practice areas with leading law firms and companies throughout the United States and in London. Jon focuses mainly on partner, senior level attorneys and group placements in the US and London. He also enjoys working with associates, particularly in the corporate and finance area.

Jon is a former capital markets partner with Morrison & Foerster and White & Case in New York and began his corporate legal career as an associate at Cahill, Gordon & Reindel where he specialized in high yield transactions.

Why did you become a lawyer and years later make a career change to become a legal recruiter?

It was hardly a straight path.

I found myself in a predicament shared and repeated by many undergraduates since; I was a history major with a political science minor at Emory University, and my career options pointed to the law. Once I took the LSAT, there was no stopping the forward momentum. I studied at Georgetown University Law Center, summered at Fried Frank and started my Biglaw career  in 1990 with the plan to become a corporate lawyer.

In 2009, when the financial crisis hit, deal flow had dried up, hours were scarce and the future was uncertain. Major investment banks were going under as were law firms and the sense was there was more to come. This backdrop gave me the motivation to leave practicing law, which I had been considering for awhile.

With the lateral market largely at a standstill, I launched my legal recruiting career. My wife gave me practical advice: “People dream of starting their own business, with your relationships and expertise this is an exciting opportunity to start your next chapter.” I started my own firm, but I felt that although I knew a great deal about recruiting from the law firm side, I needed to learn the legal recruiting business. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to partner up with an experienced recruiter I knew for many years and greatly respected. With this career change I had more control of my life (no more working all weekend turning documents) and much more time to share with my family. I was able to find a balance of working very hard to grow my business, but also finding time to coach travel sports and take my daughter to soccer practice. This was a very welcome change.

What Advice Would You Give Junior Attorneys? 

For starters, pick the right practice. What interests you? Where do you excel?

When I started at Fried Frank, my plan was to become a corporate lawyer. However, the economy was entering into a recession, and while history has characterized it as mild, it did not feel that way at the time. Across the city, litigation and bankruptcy departments were busy, corporate groups were slow, so I ended up in litigation, which was not the plan. I was less concerned about my career path than survival and lasted four years, before I was offered a second chance to become a corporate attorney.

Once the market recovered, I receive a call from a legal recruiter and jumped at the opportunity to retool my Biglaw career at Cahill as a corporate and high yield associate. I gave back two years seniority to get back on track and it worked out. I found a practice I really liked. The high yield market became a very hot practice and other firms wanted to get into the practice area.  As a result, associates from the top high yield firms like Cahill were in high demand. This eventually led me to becoming a partner at White & Case, a top bank firm that was looking to add high yield expertise. The takeaway here is not to settle, follow the career path you envisioned for yourself.

Many factors can influence an associate’s experience and success. Some in your control and others outside of it. Too often, lawyers keep their head down and just take on the next deal or case and do not pause to consider their personal and career goals because they are to busy. While self-reflection can be hard, it will help you take ownership of your career. Be proactive and make informed decisions – to stay at your firm, to change practice area, to try and make partner, to make a lateral move to another firm (and the type of firm) or to begin a new career. Find your passion and take control of your life.

What parallels do you see between your start in law and today?

The US and Global economy, economic policy, regulatory schemes and new technology to name a few all impact law firms and their clients. It seems that every decade a major event occurs that impacts law firms – the Recession in the early 90s that I stepped into, the bursting of the Dot Com Bubble and the fallout from Enron in the early 2000s and the Financial Crisis in 2008-2010. As a result, some practices become busier than others or are viewed as more strategically important. After the financial crisis Bank Regulatory, Broker Dealer and Bankruptcy were hot. Today it is, among others, Private Equity, Funds and Finance. Billable hours is a fundamental tenet of BigLaw life and when firms are busy, one tends to have more job security and choices; however when things get slow or come to a stop, then all bets are off. To differing degrees, these type of events impact everyone at BigLaw – how much work is there, which practice areas is busy, what are the lateral opportunities, job security, partnership prospects and firm economics.

What is your favorite aspect of legal recruiting? 

I enjoy advising candidates about the lateral market and helping them realize their market value. It is a great feeling helping them move to a firm that is a better platform and fit.

I also enjoy working with law firms to help them successfully navigate the lateral market and achieve their strategic goals. Firms recognize that the lateral market is competitive and have become more strategic in their efforts. They are focused on leveraging their strengths, making sure the right message about the firm is being delivered, the cultural fit and successful integration. Firms rely more than ever on and value experienced recruiters and are looking to partner with them. With 10 years of recruiting experience and almost 20 years in Biglaw as a partner and associate, I believe firms and candidates value my unique background.

Jon Kahn works primarily with partners and groups across the United States. If you are a partner or associate looking to make a lateral move, or a law firm looking for lateral expertise, Jon would be glad to assist you and can be reached at JKahn@laterallink.com

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This is the latest installment in a series of posts from Lateral Link’s team of expert contributors by Jon Kahn. Jon is a Principal based in the New York office. A former AmLaw 50 partner, he focuses mainly on partner, senior level attorney and group placements.

Jon has over 25 years of legal industry experience having been a partner at major law firms in New York prior to founding his own executive legal search firm, JEK Partners. Jon has a unique understanding of lateral hiring having been involved on both sides and at all levels. Jon works closely with his clients and brings extensive market knowledge, strong relationships and strategic thinking to the lateral search process where he has successfully placed partners and associates across practice areas with leading law firms and companies throughout the United States and in London.

Jon graduated from Emory University before earning his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.