Our team of Texas legal recruiters recently attended the annual conference of the National Association of Legal Search Consultants (NALSC), the professional organization that promulgates ethical standards and best practices in the legal recruiting profession. The key note speech was presented by James Merklinger, Vice President and General Counsel of the Association of Corporate Counsel. His talk about in-house legal department trends was insightful and we thought would be of interest to many of our readers. Below is a brief summary of our annotations:
Articles under In-House Law Jobs
Essential Traits of an Effective In-House Counsel
Every day at Momentum Search Partners, law firm attorneys call our recruiters seeking in-house positions because they want to work closer to the business team, be more involved in a company’s business decisions and be part of the overall “big picture” strategy that corporate legal work typically provides. Part of our job as legal recruiters is to dig deeper to determine which candidates really understand what being part of the business team means – and whether they can successfully make the transition. A critical factor is communication and the ability to connect with the business team. But what does that mean, exactly?
How In-House Counsel Candidates Can Shine in Interviews
Just a few years ago, the Texas energy industry was thriving and candidates were driving the hiring process. Candidates could sit back and let the client sell them on why they should move from a job that is stable and fulfilling to an even better opportunity. But our legal headhunters saw a dramatic shift at the end of 2009 and through much of 2011. Corporations suddenly held the bargaining chip – a job. Sometimes, the job was pulled before an offer went out to the selected finalist due to other corporate constraints.