Marketing Your Firm to Laterals
Part Two
By Adam
Radzik
Consultant to Professional Firms
About fifteen years ago, I was giving a seminar to about eighty professionals on the marketing of professional services. Toward the end, an individual stood up and said, “Sounds a lot like dating to me!” Everyone laughed. I responded, “It is exactly like dating!  It is the building of a relationship.” Attempting to persuade a lateral or group of laterals to leave their current home and move in with you is a tall order and should be viewed as such. Most attempts at recruiting laterals fail because firms are not prepared to do the “dating” – they don’t have the answers (or give the wrong answers) to critical questions and the recruitment attempt fails. In March we shared ten questions the recruiting firm needs to be able to answer. In this April issue, we share ten more questions.
- What are the firm’s current major practices, and what percentage does each major group make up of the whole?
- Where does the firm appear to be heading? What types of changes are on the horizon?
- Is the firm contemplating merger, either now or in the foreseeable future?
- What are the ages of the senior attorneys? What is the average age of the partners? Is there a plan for succession?
- What is the quality of morale at this office and other offices? What is the quality of interaction amongst offices?
- Has the firm performed any client satisfaction surveys or internal attitude surveys?
- What is the firm’s history with reference to laterals who have come aboard? What percentage of past laterals have remained?
- What is the general quality of work performed at the firm? How does this firm rate against its competitors with reference to quality issues?
- What is the quality of the associates/staff?
- What will be the availability of associates/staff to assist me with my client work?
Too many firms do not prepare adequately for talks with laterals. Too often it goes something like this: “Tom, they’ll be here for lunch. The recruiter – what’s her name? Elaine? Right, Elaine. She’s bringing over a couple of guys from their Executive Committee. Do me a favor and grab Frank and Harold. Tell them we need them to meet these guys. They’ll love Frank’s sense of humor. That boy is funny, isn’t he? Yeah! We’ll tell them about some of our big cases. We’ll walk them around the place. We’ll introduce them to our two judges. I’ll bet they’ll be impressed with our training room. Then we’ll take them to Gino’s for a nice lunch and a few drinks, and they’ll see, that we’re regular guys. Don’t forget to tell Harold to share with them about his past career in the minor leagues. Yeah, they’ll like that!” Enough said!
Preparing to recruit laterals properly requires hours of preparation and work and can be greatly facilitated by utilizing an external consultant.
Don’t forget to read parts three and four of this series. This subject is also available as a seminar to professional firms.
Comedy Corner
We thank Jamie Jesmain, a woman, for submitting “Four Words That Women Use.”
- “Fine!” This is the word women use to end an argument when they know they are right and you need to stop talking immediately.
- “Nothing!” This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine.
- “Go Ahead!” This is a dare, not permission. Don’t do it!
- “Don’t worry about it - I’ve got it!” Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking, “What’s wrong?” For the woman’s response, refer to #3 – fine!
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