Jeffrey Adler and Jessica Gangjee of Burns White.
Lateral hiring continues to boom, and although it’s a crowded market, the appetite to utilize lateral hiring as a means to increase revenue and achieve strategic goals is strong. According to the recent ALM Intelligence-Decipher Lateral Partner Hiring Survey, 9,000 lateral partner moves occurred between 2014 through 2018 in Am Law 200 firms. Another recent survey revealed that nearly all firms surveyed said they would continue to pursue lateral hiring as a growth strategy, with two-thirds noting further that they would also seek to acquire lateral groups.
Burns White is no exception. As a first-generation law firm, our growth and success relies, in part, on lateral recruiting as a central strategy. In the past four plus years, Burns White has grown approximately 5% through lateral partner acquisitions. While we don’t presume to have the perfect process, we have learned a few things over the years. History has taught us to focus on strategy, transparency and support.
