Something Different
|
March 2010
|
|
Welcome to the March issue of Something Different!
SXSWi: Lawyers' Creative Spring Break For students, March signals spring break. The main article of this issue focuses on a creative spring break available to lawyers - South By Southwest Interactive Festival (SXSWi) in Austin, Texas, March 12-16.
Working with a Legal Recruiter I've also included a short piece that I distributed when I participated on a panel discussion for new lawyers at the Dallas Bar Association last month. This piece covers issues lawyers should understand before working with a legal recruiter.
SXSWi + Austin Legal Tweetup - March 12 Last month I organized tweetups for legal professionals in Dallas and Houston. It's time to organize one in Austin and what better time than SXSWi. I've teamed up with Kelly Hoey and Ashley Hunter (our Austin local) to organize a tweetup at Lustre Pearl on Friday, March 12 at 6:30 p.m.
A tweetup is
an informal gathering of people in a geographical area who tweet - they
gather for drinks, coffee or small meal - dutch treat. If you are in Austin, we'd love for you to join us on March 12th - even if you don't tweet!
The 6Ps of the BIG 3™ I continue to provide updates about my forthcoming books on The 6Ps blog. I also update the blog with news and tips about using social networking in your job search, the subject of the books. The blog posts for the past month include:
Something Different ... for Capitol Hill Job Seekers For your dose of something different this month, I found an article with some helpful advice for lawyers (or anyone) seeking legislative positions on Capitol Hill. According to this Politico article, you need to be on a special list if you are seeking one of these jobs.
As always, I welcome your comments and questions.
Amanda
|
|
Where's Amanda?INK |
March 12-16, 2010 - attending SXSW Interactive in Austin, TX
March 12, 2010 - organizing SXSWi + Austin Legal Tweetup at Lustre Pearl
March 18, 2010 - Recruiting Administrators of Dallas presenting The 6Ps of the BIG 3™
March 22, 2010 - Brooklyn Law School presenting The 6Ps of the BIG 3™
March 24, 2010 - Pace Law School presenting The 6Ps of the BIG 3™
April 28-May 1, 2010 - attending NALP 2010 Annual Education Conference in San Juan, PR. Stop by exhibit booth to hear about The 6Ps of the 3™and pre-order books at a special rate.
May 27, 2010 - New York City Bar Association presenting The 6Ps of the BIG 3™
| |
|
SXSWi: Lawyers' Creative Spring Break
by Amanda C. Ellis, Esq. |
March is Spring Break month for students but what about
lawyers? What about a spring break that is both entertaining and beneficial to your career ... but NOT a traditional CLE? This month, I'm
taking a "creative spring break" by attending South by Southwest Interactive
(SXSWi) in Austin, March 12-16. Perhaps
SXSWi has something to offer to you as well?
What is South by
Southwest?
South by Southwest (SXSW) is a set of interactive, film and
music festivals and conferences that take place every spring in Austin,
Texas. SXSW began as a music festival
in 1987 and added the film and interactive conferences in 1994. In 2009, SXSW attracted over 30,000 people and
injected $99 million into the Austin economy.
What is South by
Southwest Interactive?
The interactive festival, known as SXSWi, attracted more
than 11,000 people in 2009 and 2010 pre-registrations are up by a solid 50%. According to the SXSW website, the
registrants for SXSWi consist of the following industries or professions:
Notice that lawyers are absent
from the 10 most popular types of registrants for SXSWi.
So, you are probably wondering why a legal recruiter like me is
attending a conference for web developers, graphic artists, and electronic
media professionals. I'm not attending to meet potential clients
or to obtain CLE credit. SXSWi is my
creative spring break.
What is a Creative
Spring Break?
My best ideas arise when I step aside from my business and
allow myself to think - on a daily basis, this
thinking often occurs while working out, drying my hair, or reading
(anything). SXSWi offers an opportunity to step away from business for five days and learn
from professionals outside the legal field.
Thus, my goal for my creative spring break: listen, think, create. I'm confident I will return refreshed,
energized and exploding with ideas and information to help me in recruiting,
speaking and sharing with clients.
Creative Spring Break
for Lawyers
Can legal professionals enjoy a creative spring break at
SXSWi? Absolutely! And, very few lawyers attend SXSWi so
there's an opportunity for you to gain a competitive advantage over
others in your field.
In scanning the SXSWi Schedule, I found a sampling of programs
that appear to offer something different, yet beneficial, for lawyers - lawyers
looking to grow their practices, lawyers looking to advance in their current careers, lawyers looking for insight about the industries they represent, lawyers looking to identify emerging issues in their practice areas, and lawyers looking to transition into new
careers or hire new employees. I grouped select programs into the following categories:
Business Development
There are several panels on the SXSWi schedule that address
issues related to business development such as marketing, networking and
blogging. Moreover, face-to-face networking
opportunities for lawyers abound. For
example, panelists often include in-house counsel. And, many of the attendees own
start-ups or high tech companies that will likely retain legal counsel at some point in the future.
Job seekers, too, can take advantage of the business
development focused panels. After all,
job seekers must market themselves to potential employers. And, networking with the attendees can't
hurt; it's often the mid-sized and smaller tech companies that don't have
in-house counsel. Perhaps some of the
attendees have reached a point where they now have a need?
Whether your goal is to develop business or find a job, here
are five panels that might be worth attending:
"Shameless Self Promotion Without Looking Like
an @#$%^&!" covers how to market yourself without looking like an obnoxious
self-promoter.
"Networking at a Multi-Day Conference" covers how
to make meaningful connections at multi-day conferences.
"Measuring Blogger
Credibility: FTC Regulation v.
Crowdsourced Solutions" examines The Federal Trade Commission's new guidelines,
effective December 1, 2009, that govern endorsements and testimonials in your
blog.
"Don't Get Sued! A Guide for Content Creators" is a panel
comprised primarily of legal counsel from corporate legal departments,
including Josh Sussman, VP General Counsel Programming at IAC; Koethi Zan,
Senior Vice President Business and Legal Affairs & Deputy General Counsel
at MTV; Lucas Paglia, Associate General Counsel American Eagle Outfitters; and Robert
Strent, Entertainment Lawyer at Grubman Indursky & Shire.
"Can You Copyright a Tweet?"
is another interesting panel because it covers a legal issue but not a single
presenter practices law in a firm - again, I note this because of the
opportunities for firm lawyers to interact with both the panelists and audience. The panelists include Fred Benenson of
Kickstarter; Wendy Seltzer of Berkman Center/Silicon Flatirons; and Jon
Phillips of rejon.org.
Career Advancement
In addition to the networking
opportunities available for job seekers mentioned above, there are also panels
covering career advancement issues, including the following:
"Jacks of All Trades or
Masters of One?" discusses the strengths
of being specialists and generalists for web professionals but perhaps there's
some insight for associates who are often concerned about becoming pigeon-holed
in a particular practice area?
"Bumpin' Up: Has The Glass
Ceiling Ever Smacked You in the Butt?" covers the advancement of women, an
issue that is not unique to women in the legal profession. The technology profession is also dominated
by boys and presents problems for women like venture capitalists who don't fund
enough women start-ups. Perhaps the
following panel offers some ideas for women in the legal profession as
well?
"The Happiness
Project" is a presentation by a lawyer who left the practice of law for another
career - writing. The Happiness Project
is a #1 New York Times bestseller
written by Gretchen Rubin who realized she wanted to be a writer after clerking
for Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
"Be Your Own Boss: Create a Life You Love" sounds like it could be helpful for lawyers contemplating a solo practice.
Industry Insight
SXSWi also presents
opportunities for lawyers to learn about the industries they represent. For example, one growing industry that will
be in attendance at SXSWi is the video game industry. According to adigitaldreamer.com, this is the
fastest growing industry across all sectors and revenue from computer games now
exceeds that from the Hollywood box office.
Thus, it's probably no
surprise that the legal profession has noticed this growing industry. The SMU Dedman School of Law, the Guildhall
at SMU and the Center for American and International Law recently hosted the
International Summit on the Law and Business of Video Games.
SXSWi offers an opportunity
for lawyers representing this industry to learn more about the industry such
as:
"Game On: Funding
Gaming Start-Ups in a Recession"
"Power-Ups & Press: How the Game Media Impacts the Gaming Industry"
"How Austin Can Help Your Gaming Career"
Emerging Practice Area Issues
As social or interactive
media invades every area of our life, it's probably no surprise that new legal
issues arise in niche areas. One such
area is estate planning and what happens to a social networker's profile upon
death. SXSWi has several panels covering
this emerging issue such as:
"People Die, Profiles Don't"
"Your Online Identity After Death and Digital Wills"
The Job Search
I mentioned several panels
related to career advancement issues.
There are also a few panels covering the job search process from both
the employer's perspective and the candidate's perspective. The
topics of these panels are also the subjects of my forthcoming books about social recruiting in the legal industry.
"Using Social Media to Score ...
a Job (Obviously)"
"Hiring and Recruitment Goes Social"
Keep Austin Weird
If you know anything about
Austin, you are probably familiar with the slogan: "Keep Austin Weird." It's only fitting that some of the panels
just seem random and weird ... but, probably fun and worth exploring.
"I Can See Russia From My iPhone!"
"How To Not Be a Douchebag at SXSW"
"Facebook Status: 'It's Complicated'"
"Booze Blogging: Liquid Conversation"
Conclusion Perhaps it's too late for you to make plans to attend SXSWi this year? There's always next year. Perhaps you'll be presenting at a panel next year? Or, perhaps you'll find a similar conference to attend that's not CLE but offers enriching, creative programs? You deserve a creative spring break ... and, your clients will benefit from your creative spring break.
|
Working with a Legal Recruiter by Amanda C. Ellis, Esq.
|
1.
Understand
the terminology.
-
Recruiter/Headhunter/Legal
Search Consultant/Placement Director: work for law firms; help law firms fill attorney
openings/positions. The law firm is the
client and pays the recruiter.
-
Career
Counselor/Consultant/Coach: work
for individual attorneys; help attorneys find jobs. The individual attorney is the client and
pays the career counselor.
-
Client: the law firm with an open attorney position
the recruiter is trying to fill.
-
Candidate: the individual attorney the recruiter
recruits to fill positions at law firms.
2.
How
do I find a legal recruiter?
The National Association of Legal Search Consultants (NALSC) is the only national
organization for legal recruiters; all recruiters who join NALSC agree to abide
by the NALSC Code of Ethics®.
There is a searchable directory on the NALSC website where you can find
a NALSC recruiter in your geographical area.
Another group you might find interesting is
the Attorney Recruiter Consortium Group on LinkedIn. The group is
comprised of attorney recruiters and individual attorneys and is a great forum
where candidates can interact with recruiters and learn from them about the
industry and recruiting trends.
Finally, talk to friends and colleagues who
obtained their positions through a recruiter and find out which recruiter they
used.
3.
What
qualities should I look for when working with a recruiter?
Transparency/Honesty: A legal recruiter should provide you with the
name
of a law firm and obtain your approval before
submitting your resume to any firm. A
recruiter should also be able to tell you whether the firm has an actual
opening for which he/she is submitting you or whether he/she is simply
marketing you to the firm.
Knowledge: You want a recruiter who understands the
legal industry and, preferably, your practice area. How can a recruiter "sell" your background to
a firm if the recruiter doesn't understand the key points in a particular
practice area? For example, a good
recruiter submitting a candidate for a commercial bankruptcy attorney
position would know that "Chapter 13" is not appropriate to discuss with the
candidate or firm since Chapter 13 is the Code's section for consumer
bankruptcies.
Connections: If a recruiter placed other attorneys at the
firm you are interested in joining, it is likely the firm has strong
connections/working relationship with the firm.
4.
Can
legal recruiters help any attorney?
No - remember, the recruiter works for the
law firm so it depends on what the law firm is seeking. Typically large firms will only look at
candidates with strong academic backgrounds (i.e., top law school, high GPA and
class rank). And, both large and small
firms typically look for candidates with at least two years of
experience (meaning two years of experience working as an attorney since
becoming licensed - clerkships and clinical experience do not count toward this
experience).
NEW Development - Recruiters may not be the
best resource of laid-off associates:
Because of the large number of attorneys laid off during the 2009
economic recession and, thus, the large number of attorneys available for open
positions, many large firms no longer accept resumes from recruiters if the
candidate is unemployed, including laid-off.
In this case the supply of attorneys exceeds the demand and, therefore,
firms don't have to pay a recruiter's fee to find the talent.
Recent law school graduates: Most recruiters aren't able to place
entry-level attorneys, including recent graduates, attorneys coming out of
clerkships and attorneys who have not worked for at least one year as an
associate in a law firm or as counsel in a corporation. Again, most firms can't justify paying a
recruiter's fee for someone inexperienced.
5.
What
is this "recruiter's fee" that sometimes prohibits firms from hiring candidates
submitted by recruiters?
The law firm (client) compensates recruiters by
paying them a placement fee for each successful placement. Fees are typically calculated as a percentage
of the candidate's starting base salary.
In some situations (as outlined above), paying a recruiter's fee is cost
prohibitive.
6. Can I
work with multiple recruiters?
Nothing prohibits you from working with multiple recruiters.
However, you should note that candidates who work with one recruiter typically
have the most success and the least chance of getting "bounced" as a result of
dual submissions.
The general rule in the legal industry is that law firms keep a
candidate's resume active for a 6 month to 1 year period. The person who first
submitted your resume to the firm during this period is the person who has
priority. Thus, if you are working with multiple recruiters, it is imperative
to keep detailed notes outlining which firms you or another recruiter has
contacted; moreover, you should share this information with each recruiter
working on your search.
7.
What
if I don't hear back from a recruiter?
If you submit a resume to a recruiter and
don't hear back, you should follow up at least once. Keep in mind, however, that recruiters can't
help every candidate. They may have
decided based on your resume that you are not qualified for the position. It's often time-consuming for recruiters to
notify everyone who submitted a resume so many don't call candidates unless
they have a need for the candidate.
Remember, the recruiter isn't working for the candidate and has no
obligation to find the candidate a job.
8.
Why
should I authorize a legal recruiter to submit my resume to a firm rather than
submitting my resume myself?
Go
Solo:
You should submit your resume directly to
the firm if the firm is not accepting resumes from recruiters for the particular
position. Law firms typically indicate
on their website whether they are accepting resumes from recruiters for the
particular position.
Additionally, if you have strong
connections to a firm, you may want to go through your connections to get
introduced to the appropriate hiring authority.
Go
with Recruiter:
If you are relocating to a different legal
market, a legal recruiter can be instrumental in your job search, especially if
you do not know much about the new market and do not have time to perform the
requisite research.
A recruiter can also help if
confidentiality is a concern for you.
For example, if a partner at your current firm is married to a partner
at the firm you're interested in joining, a recruiter can bypass the partner's
spouse and make sure your resume does not land on that partner's desk.
Recruiters are also helpful when a
candidate is looking to move from a large firm to a small firm because the
candidate might not know as much about small firms.
9.
But,
do small firms even work with recruiters?
YES!
Many small firms rely on recruiters to fill positions because the small
firms don't have internal recruiters to handle the firm's hiring needs. Additionally, small firms don't receive as
many unsolicited resumes from candidates and, therefore, don't always have a
pile of candidates on hand like many large firms do.
10.
Why
should I even bother reading a recruiter's email or talking to a recruiter on
the phone if I know I'm not interested in leaving my current firm or if I know
I'm going to conduct my own job search?
Recruiters know a lot of attorneys and,
therefore, are people you want to know and with whom you should develop strong
relationships. A good recruiter will
often tell other attorneys about open positions even if the recruiter isn't
working to fill the position.
Additionally, recruiters can be an incredible referral source. Frequently, lawyers and law firms turn to
recruiters when they need a recommendation for local counsel in a particular
market because they know that recruiters know a lot of attorneys. If you have a good relationship with the
recruiter, the recruiter might refer the business to you which will help your
client development.
|
New Job Openings
|
Litigation Partner to Lead Section - Dallas
- Boutique firm seeks litigation partner with $1M in business to lead the firm's litigation practice
Oil & Gas Association - (2-4 years) Dallas
- National law firm seeks oil/gas associate with 2-5 years large firm experience.
Bankruptcy Associate - (3-4 years) Dallas
- National law firm seeks bankruptcy associate with 3-4 years of experience; strong academics required
Bankruptcy Associate - (2-4 years) Dallas
- Regional firm seeks bankruptcy associate with 2-4 years of experience; heavy focus on creditors' rights
Bankruptcy Associate - (3-5 years) Dallas
- Regional firm with strong creditor and committee practice seeks associate with 3-5 years of experience
Bankruptcy Counsel - (7+ years) New York City
- Top International firm seeks bankruptcy counsel for prominent practice
Litigation Associate - (3-4 years) Dallas
- Regional firm seeks commercial litigation associate with 3-4 years experience; courtroom experience required
Litigation Associate - (1-3 years) Dallas
- Prominent boutique firm seeks commercial litigation associate with 1-3 years experience; top academics required
Litigation Partner - (8+ years) Dallas
- Prominent boutique firm comprised of former big firm partners seeks litigation partner with sustainable book of portable business ($500K minimum) and experience with real estate disputes, lender liability claims,
creditors rights and bankruptcy litigation
|
ABOUT US |
Amanda Ellis Legal Search was founded by Amanda C. Ellis, a former practicing bankruptcy attorney and an accomplished attorney recruiter. Amanda was previously with Special Counsel, the largest provider of legal staffing services to corporate legal departments and law firms nationwide, where she was the top producer for direct hire attorney placements. Amanda formed Amanda Ellis Legal Search to implement a focused approach to legal recruiting. Amanda Ellis Legal Search focuses on the placement of bankruptcy attorneys in law firms nationwide and, as of January 2010, on the placement of all attorneys in Dallas, Texas.
Inspired by the idea of doing something different or new each month in 2009, Amanda Ellis Legal Search launched Something Different in January 2009. The monthly newsletter outlines a new or different service or resource available to legal professionals in each issue. The newsletter often covers topics on social networking (still new and different to many attorneys) and how attorneys can incorporate social networking in their job searches or business development. In addition to writing about social networking in Something Different, Amanda frequently speaks to law schools and law firms about incorporating social networking in job searches and business development. In 2009, Amanda created The 6Ps of the Big 3™: Using Social Networking Sites in Your Job Search
and presented the program to lawyers, law firm recruiters and law students in
California, Texas, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey and New York. Amanda is finalizing two books based on The 6Ps of the Big 3™and scheduled for release in 2010.
Contact Amanda: www.aellislegal.com
214.361.0070 |
© 2009 Amanda Ellis Legal Search. This material may not be reproduced, republished or redistributed in whole or in part without the expressed written permission of Amanda Ellis Legal Search.
| |
|
|
|
|