Movers, Shakers & Rainmakers: A New Legal Industry Podcast
Are you a lawyer? Someone who hires lawyers? Do you care about the latest trends in Biglaw? Lateral Link has a new podcast for you.
Are you a lawyer? Someone who hires lawyers? Do you care about the latest trends in Biglaw? If so, you should be listening to Movers, Shakers & Rainmakers, a new podcast from Lateral Link. Hosted by Zach Sandberg and David Lat, the podcast provides a coast-to-coast view of what is happening in Biglaw. From major lateral partner moves to intriguing office openings to emerging legal industry trends, the podcast fills you in and lets you know what to expect.
So who are Zach and David, and why should you care what they think?
Zach Sandberg is a Senior Director based in Lateral Link’s Los Angeles office. He focuses on placing attorneys at premier firms and corporations throughout California and the West Coast. With about a decade of experience in legal recruiting, Zach draws on his wide network of law firm sources to gain insight into the latest Biglaw trends.
David Lat likely needs no introduction. A renowned legal industry writer best known for founding Above The Law, David is an alum of Yale Law School, Wachtell, the Department of Justice, and Lateral Link. His latest project is Original Jurisdiction, a Substack newsletter that “aspires to be a source of incisive, fair-minded, and occasionally entertaining commentary about law and the legal profession.” David’s connections within the broader legal industry are second to none.
A Lateral Link Podcast Hosted by Zach Sandberg and David Lat.
The hosts typically begin with news about notable lateral moves and office openings, then spend the majority of the episode covering a broader industry trend. For example, in the most recent episode (Episode 5), Zach and David discuss Davis Polk’s lateral hire of Cleary Gottlieb tax partner Corey Goodman and reflect on the retention challenge for Cleary’s lockstep model, versus Davis Polk’s newly more flexible compensation system. They also address the move of a highly-pedigreed five-partner litigation group from Munger Tolles to Wilson Sonsini and discuss Wilson Sonsoni’s opening of a Salt Lake City office. The majority of the episode is devoted to the growing trend of virtual law firms. Noting that a virtual firm, FisherBroyles, recently entered the AmLaw 200 for the first time, the hosts compare the economics of virtual firms to the traditional Biglaw model. They discuss the type of partner for whom the virtual firm model might be most advantageous, the extent to which virtual firms will appeal to associates, and the outlook for continued virtual firm growth.
In Episode 4, Zach and David cover former Delaware Chancellor Andre Bouchard’s decision to join Paul, Weiss as a litigation partner in the Wilmington office, as well as Crowell & Moring’s office opening in Denver. They also talk about the notable uptick in 2021 of cross-border lateral hires of international associates by U.S. Biglaw offices. The hosts explain what is driving that trend, which countries are most favored for cross-border lateral hires, and whether the American Biglaw market is likely to remain open to international associates in the longer term.
Movers, Shakers & Rainmakers has already addressed several timely topics, including Biglaw Office Openings, the Attorney Talent War, and the Future of Work. But the podcast remains a work in progress, by design. Zach and David are actively soliciting feedback from listeners about the topics they should cover. The goal is for the podcast to be as useful and informative as possible. The target audience is busy, and that’s why the hosts decided an audio format would be best. With a run-time around 30 minutes, the idea is to produce a product that busy lawyers can consume while on the go.
If you have suggestions for topics that Movers, Shakers & Rainmakers should cover, please reach out to Zach Sandberg or David Lat, and let them know what you’d like to hear discussed!
For now, a new edition of Movers, Shakers & Rainmakers is being released every two weeks. If you’d like to be notified when a new episode is available, please sign up here.
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.
