Job Seekers

This post is part of our recruiter series where we ask legal recruiters for their insider tips and job seeker advice.

In the first of our interview series with successful lawyers in the field, we’re delighted to bring you some great career advice from James Goodnow, one of the youngest lawyers to run a large American law firm.

This post is part of our recruiter series where we ask legal recruiters for their insider tips and job seeker advice.

This post is part of our recruiter series where we ask legal recruiters for their insider tips and job seeker advice.
This Q&A is with Chris Batz of The Lion Group– they place law partners, groups and corporate counsel around the United States.
What skills are most in demand in the legal industry right now?
Soft skills.
For law firms: sales. To be a good lawyer and trusted advisor is understood but the future of the law firm profession will continue to be determined by those with the ability to sell and retain client business. This is not a gift people are born with but a skill that is learned.
For in-house: team oriented longterm attorneys. Again, lawyering skills are a given. Then many corporate legal departments are inherently flat and looking for committed longterm team oriented attorneys who are content with increasing compensation but rarely titles.
Where are the biggest growth areas?
Corporate legal departments are growing right now and relying less on law firms for regular work.
If readers what to know how to land an in-house role, on my podcast I interviewed the general counsel of Toyota Material Handling on How she Landed an In-House Job. It’s very practical and encouraging.
For law firms, there’s always demand for litigation, corporate and IP patent attorneys. What’s also in demand is cybersecurity attorneys.
And always, if you learn to develop your own business at a law firm, it greatly increases your chances for being a free agent and lateraling to a law firm of choice.
I wrote a book about this called Lateral Moves: a Guide for Partners and Law Firms.
What traits are your clients looking for in candidates?
Dependable hard working attorneys – there is an opportunity for attorneys who are not afraid to put in the time and hard work to shine and stand out to law partners.
I can’t over emphasize this. The ability to sell and having a history will make you stand out to other candidates for law firm opportunities.
What’s the biggest mistake candidates make in the recruitment process?
The biggest mistake job hunters make are doing the same things all the other job hunters do which typically are submitting a resume via the employer website and sitting. I explain what you should do and much more in my step-by-step process called the Job Hunting System on my blog where I show attorneys how to land the job they want.
What’s the coolest job you ever recruited for?
I placed a law partner group of 20+ attorneys at a client where we opened 3 offices and added to existing offices. This group came from two different large law firms at the same time. It was a tremendous and exciting undertaking.
Do you have any career advice for our readers? 
Never stop learning and most importantly learn sales skills regardless of your age.
Don’t approach job hunting like everyone else. You have to approach an employer different to get a different result.
Don’t jump around. Get skills, experience and make rare strategic moves.
Be mindful of the rapidly changing legal industry landscape. Much will change in the next 10 years. (hoyoskitchen.com)
 
Start your job search with Lawjobs.com today.
 
Links to Chris’s work
The Law Firm Leadership Podcast Main Page & iTunes
The Lion Group website
LinkedIn
 

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