Hiring: 6 key tips for successfully hiring Partners in 2022

So 2021 was interesting…from starting a year to lockdown, to ending the year…in not quite lockdown but with most lawyers working from home and certainly not ‘business as usual’ with travel restrictions in place and most firm Christmas parties having been cancelled. Yet in what would seem a parallel universe, the legal recruitment activity has continued apace throughout the past year, with a seemingly rapacious appetite from law firms to hire across their entire spectrum of areas. This has been exacerbated by almost continual salary increases for associates as US firms vie to attract them and then the UK firms are forced to play catch up as far as they can (conclusion: there’s still a gap, but firms are desperately trying to differentiate their offerings in other ways).

Transactional areas have been exceptionally in demand, yet litigators have also been wooed and no area has been immune from a host of opportunities for lawyers at all levels. The expected need for restructuring/insolvency lawyers hasn’t quite transpired but what does 2022 bring? Bearing in mind, not even Mystic Meg would have foreseen that we’d still be grappling with Covid, I thought it would be more useful to set out 6 pointers for law firms to be aware of when hiring in 2022 from lessons learnt last year:

• Adapt your processes: If you want the candidate, there is every likelihood that so will a whole host of other firms. It is no longer ‘this is the way we’ve always done things’. Granted, there will be certain hoops to jump through and meetings to have, but now is the time to be creative and adapt, if you want the candidate. This is no time to have a slow and drawn out process simply because Joe Smith isn’t available for a couple of weeks. The beauty of everyone being familiar with Teams and Zoom is there is no excuse not to have good communication with a candidate.

• Make sure there’s an internal Partner mentoring the process: this makes a huge difference in ensuring that the process stays on track and the partner feels wanted. Momentum is everything and having a Partner drive the process can make a crucial difference.

• Face-time AND face-to-face: Differing views on having meetings abound: there is the definite ease in diary management of having interviews online, but some partners want to get a real-life feel for firms and their partners. As the rules and firms’ reactions to the rules have changed, it’s worth bearing in mind that often an all-online process doesn’t cut it anymore. Flexibility is the name of the game and firms are well advised to offer different types of meetings to secure as much buy in from the potential partner as possible. With any luck, we are no longer in the same territory as when closing conversations had to be conducted in local parks, but having a variety of ways to speak to the candidate is essential.

• Have your ‘why us’? answers ready: of course, all law firms want to ensure that future partners have the right practice, potential clients and are the right cultural fit – all of which can be judged during the process – but this is a market where good partners are in demand and law firms need to be wooing partners, not simply focusing on the size of the book of business. Why should they come to your firm and not others? Trumpeting good financial results is not enough. Most firms can do the same and this isn’t a differentiator. From the outset, partners need to feel wanted, an understanding of how they are fitting in to the firm’s plans and strategy and where the space for them lies.

• Expect and plan for counter offers: in this market, counteroffers are a given. Firms should anticipate that one will be made and plan accordingly. Do you want to be seen to only move up to match a counteroffer by the current firm? Set your stall from the outset and give some clear ground. Pay is almost always a key part of why a partner is moving (either feeling underpaid compared to the market, or just not valued enough) and a strong offer is a great way to lead the process from the front and show a partner how you would treat them differently. In nearly all of the processes we have handled in 2021, there has been a counteroffer and firms can avoid getting into a wage war from the outset by making a partner feel valued with a decent package.

• Treat their notice period as an extension of the process. Lateral hiring is hard. Keep close to the partner until they have actually arrived. Often partners have lengthy notice periods and this provides plenty of time for their current firm to woo them back. Where appropriate, invite them to social events and keep in regular contact with them.

If you’d like to discuss your hiring plans or need further guidance, please get in touch. Here’s to a strong 2022!