Thinking about making a lateral move to a small, boutique law firm? Recruiting successful laterals is critical to any firm’s success, regardless of size, and firms consider many factors in making a lateral hire. But for a small, boutique firm, a lateral hire will have an immediate impact. While big law firms can hire in large numbers and count on the laws of attrition to weed out the good from the bad hires, it is critical that small, boutique firms make the right calls—for the sake of both the law firm and the lateral.
Having a specific area of expertise for the practice area of the new firm is a must. But, a successful candidate should have more to offer than just the requisite legal skill set. Being a successful lawyer is about much more than just “winning” cases. The best lawyers can still fail as a result of a poor business decision. A successful candidate should bring her business acumen to the firm and show that she has a good grasp of the business of law.
