In-House Counsel

Biglaw Bonuses Are Making It Hard For In-House Recruiters To Lure Associates Away From Their Firms

It's tough to get lawyers out of those golden handcuffs.

The problem is recruiting law firm people into in-house roles because the money is so good right now.

Sonya Olds Som, a corporate counsel recruiter at Heidrick & Struggles, commenting on the difficulties of finding top talent for in-house positions due to the Biglaw special bonus pool. Instead, she’s been finding attorneys at other law departments. “I’m competing against other really smart, young companies who tempt these lawyers to come and learn something,” she said.


Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.