In-House IP Law To Sizzle in 2011
Intellectual Property Law Will Be a "Hot" In-House Practice for 2011.
IP attorneys around the country can rejoice, as intellectual property promises to be sizzling in the New Year. Intellectual property is an organization’s most valuable asset, and securing that asset has made intellectual property a recession-proof practice. When the economy declines, it usually forces companies to think “outside the box” and look for new products, inventions, or ideas.
This usually translates into an increase in services to help protect the intellectual capital of these companies. Invention and innovation is what keeps companies competitive, and intellectual property lawyers, paralegals, and other professionals very busy. High tech companies are in the business of invention and innovation, and they are the main consumers of intellectual property services.
What Kind of In-House IP Attorneys are Companies Looking For?
As is the case with most in-house counsel hires these days, legal departments increasingly need lawyers who not only possess the requisite IP skills, but who are able to work across a lot of boundaries in the corporation. Today, to succeed as an in-house IP counsel, you not only need to be an accomplished IP attorney, but fully understand the business, and be able to provide business advice as well.
The new in-house IP counsel is one that can as easily handle a trademark application, but also be able to provide strategic advice to business executives on areas such as mergers and acquisitions and divestitures. Today's IP counsel needs to be business savvy, and have the people skills to effectively counsel senior executives on a wider array of matters.
What can IP counsels, or soon to be in-house IP counsel, do to succeed in this new environment? Get plenty of corporate business experience. The straight road from engineering to law school may not be the most effective route to becoming the type of IP counsel legal departments are looking for. Take the time to smell the "corporate roses" first. Getting good business experience is the key to making yourself attractive and succeed in this new in-house environment.
Are You Ready to Go In-House?
If I had a dollar for every time I heard a law firm attorney tell me “I want to go in-house,” I would be enjoying my retirement on a tropical island in the South Pacific. The allure of taking one’s practice in-house is understandable, and in many cases, quite appropriate.
The opportunity to take an active role in a client's business decisions, to focus on the growth of one client and one industry, to part with billable hour requirements and business development responsibilities, and operate within a more predictable and sometimes less taxing schedule, are all very compelling reasons to make that transition. But how do you know whether you are ready to make the move in-house?
There is a notable difference in wanting to go in-house and being ready to go in-house. No matter how enticing the opportunity might turn out to be; unless you are truly ready for it, it might not be the successful transition you were hoping for. How do you know whether you are ready? Here are some questions to consider in determining whether you are ready to make that leap in-house:
Do You Have the Experience?
When you consider that 80% of associates leave private practice by their fifth year of practice (NALP), it is not surprising to see a number of junior associates banging on corporate doors to transition in-house. Obviously most in-house job postings will include the minimum level of experience required for the position – but is meeting the minimum requirement enough? Not necessarily.
Companies that hire in-house counsels are looking for attorneys who are self-sufficient, who can work independently, with little support, and almost no supervision. Sounds like an ideal proposition? Yes, but consider the following: this also means that corporate legal departments are not good training grounds either. This is not a place where you will be taught skills, or have much of an opportunity to learn from more senior counsel. It will be assumed that you are already skilled in your practice area, can handle all of the documentation and processes that come with it, can provide strategic advice to your company, and can oversee the legal work of potentially more experienced outside counsels.
In light of what companies expect from their attorneys, it is recommended that you stay in private practice for at least five (5) years before you consider making a transition in-house. While the level of responsibility and training tends to vary on an individual basis, and from firm to firm; this minimum threshold can at least ensure that you have had the opportunity to be exposed to the various documentation and processes of your practice area.
While law firms continue to have a dubious reputation in terms of the quality of their training, they remain the best place for junior attorneys to acquire experience and develop legal skills. Corporate legal departments for the most parts are thinly staffed, and therefore provide you with more limited access to experienced counsels (and sometimes no access whatsoever) to whom you could go for support or advice. And remember, if you are thinking about picking up the phone to call an outside counsel to get advice, it will cost you and your company. Corporate legal departments operate under strict budgets – they do not provide for this type of on-the-job training. Corporate legal departments also tend to work with fewer resources, in terms of libraries, software programs, continuing legal education programs etc. Finally, the work you will be required to handle in-house, will demand that you not only be able to draft, revise, and negotiate or explain the various documents associated with the transaction or litigation matter, but that you take it a step further and advise your client on what strategy and steps they need to take to meet their business objectives.
The longer you stay in private practice, the more valuable you will become to a company, and the more likely you will be able to succeed in-house. The best time to transition your practice in-house is generally between your fifth year and tenth year of practice, or right before partnership. Why before partnership? Because by the time you make it to partnership, you may have become either too expensive, or too dependent on your high compensation package, to be able or ready to absorb the salary cut you will need to take when moving in-house.
Are You Ready for a Salary Cut ?
When speaking with attorneys who are ready to make that in-house transition, I invariably hear the same message, “I am ready to take a salary cut for the right opportunity.” They seem candid and honest about their willingness to give up a portion of their law firm compensation to move in-house, and they generally are. However, very few tend to understand just how much of it they will have to give up to make that move. That’s understandable; where law firms make their compensation public knowledge and generally align themselves in terms of their size and geographical locations, corporate legal departments are not only more guarded about their figures, but are also much more unpredictable – as compensation can vary greatly depending on a company’s size, industry, location, and financial situation.
The only in-house figures that seem to gather the attention of the press, and therefore those that are readily available to the general public are the compensation figures of Fortune 500 general counsels. In fact, those figures are typically those of the 100 highest-paid general counsels at Fortune 500 companies, which runs into the millions. While not everyone has the grandiose ambition or the profile to become a Fortune 500 general counsel – these figures have a tendency to skew the expectations of attorneys wanting to make the jump from law firms to corporate legal departments. Most law firm attorneys expect to take a 20-30% cut from their law firm compensation, while the reality is that most law firm attorneys transitioning in-house experience compensation reductions ranging between 50%-70%. The median base salaries for in-house attorneys with 5-10 years of experience ranges between $100,000-$150,000 per year, with bonuses averaging 20%-30% of base. Most attorneys who hear these figures gripe, “It’s not market.” It’s easy to understand why. The salary wars waged by large law firms around the country increasing first-year associate salaries to $145,000 and $160,000, as well as incremental increases of other classes by as much as $15,000 have done little to provide law firm attorneys with a realistic understanding of their worth in the corporate legal market.
They forget one crucial distinction between the law firm and in-house environment. While associates and partners are an integral part of the law firm’s “profit centers” and help generate millions of dollars in revenues on behalf of the firm, when they transition in-house, they become “part of the overhead.” In-house counsels, with very few exceptions in the licensing area, do not generate revenues. At best, they protect a company from liability. Unlike a law firm that sees the hiring of associates and partners as a means to increase productivity and revenues, companies must determine whether hiring an attorney in-house is cost effective, in both the short and long run. The value proposition changes drastically, and therefore, so does the compensation.
The question that each attorney must resolve in his mind, is whether he or she can absorb the cost of transitioning in-house – as for most of them, there will be a significant monetary tradeoff.
Can You Handle The Limited Career Path?
By now, some of those left with the experience and the willingness to make the financial sacrifices may think that it’s just a matter of time before they make their way to a more senior-level position or take the general counsel position. Well, not so fast. According to a Survey conducted by Corporate Counsel, nearly seventy-five percent (75%) of in-house counsels polled described overall opportunities for advancement in their departments as either "limited" or nonexistent. Although many of the 1,278 respondents reported that they had been promoted since going in-house, they said that they were unlikely to get much further. Nineteen percent (19%) said there were no opportunities for advancement whatsoever for them in their department, while fifty-six percent (56%) percent said opportunities were limited.
What does it mean for you? If you think that with time you will enjoy promotions including a better title or a significant increase in pay, you may be going in with unrealistic expectations. Most corporate legal departments are small or flat in terms of structure; therefore, title promotions or elevation to other roles tend to be rare. Unlike law firms where you move up class levels every year, and enjoy significant pay raises, when transitioning in-house you may find yourself in the same position for many years to come, with pay raises that average 3-5% a year.
Most in-house counsels bid their times and move up only when a more senior counsel decides to retire or to transition to another company. In fact, the best chance for advancement may be jumping to the legal department of another company. Companies with larger legal departments of fifty or more attorneys, usually have more avenues for advancement. They may have a more hierarchical structure to enable its attorneys to move up to more senior roles with more responsibilities and greater levels of compensation. That said, in-house attorneys don’t have the same clear and linear career path as their law firm counterparts, and opportunities for advancement for the most part are limited. Before you make any decisions, you need to ask yourself whether you are ready to bid your time and live with fewer opportunities for advancement.
Conclusion
Before you start polishing your resume and look for in-house positions, make sure you’ve gained the experience you will need to succeed in-house, that you are able to let go of your attractive law firm compensation package, and can work in an environment where your career path will not be a straight line.
The trade-offs are far from perfect; however, most lawyers who made that transition with open eyes insist that going in-house was a decision they would make again. Gripes and all, in-house lawyers are nearly unanimous in preferring the more complex path they've chosen. How do we know? Only 1 percent of in-house lawyers say they'd like to be at a law firm.
What Are The Hot In-House Practice Areas for 2011?
Hot In-House Legal Practices
Corporate Governance – What has increased the demand in this practice area is the result of the recent legislative and regulatory proposals generated by Washington as a response to the financial crisis of 2007–2010. This led to widespread calls for changes in the regulatory system that plunged the country and the rest of the world into an unprecedented recession. The result was the adoption of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, which contains new governance obligations for all public companies. Companies are trying to respond to what has been termed to be “the most sweeping change to financial regulation in the United States since the Great Depression.” As a result, this has increased their reliance on legal counsels, who in turn have had to further focus their attention on new provisions and requirements guiding corporate governance matters.
Regulatory – This era of heightened scrutiny has made regulatory demands and requirements increasingly more intrusive, and the practice more defensive. Companies are gearing up accordingly, which has resulted in a demand boost in this practice area.
Labor and Employment – The combination of an ailing economy, business downsizing, a declining job market, and increased government enforcement is dramatically increasing employment lawsuits. Companies are on the defensive as they are sorting out differences with employees in a continuing downsizing marketplace. The EEOC has announced several regulatory initiatives from President Obama, which we are also now starting to see come into play. If there is a rise in litigation, labor and employment disputes will account for a significant number of those lawsuits.
Healthcare – With health care reform a reality, health care law is hotter than ever. As part of the newly enacted health care reform package, Congress tightened rules and statutes relating to the prosecution of health care fraud offenses. There were also modifications to the Anti-Kickback Statute under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the new requirements for compliance under Physician Payments Sunshine Act. In preparation for addressing these legislative changes and reporting requirements, healthcare organizations are turning to healthcare lawyers to help them comply with these reforms, making the practice a very hot one. If the new Obama healthcare plan has boosted the need for healthcare lawyers, the aging of America’s population, has also increased the market for healthcare organizations. With a booming business on the horizon, healthcare organizations are likely to be growing in areas with high popularity densities such as Arizona, Florida and parts of the Midwest, which in turn are expected to enjoy a rise in the healthcare practice area.
Intellectual Property – Intellectual property is an organization’s most valuable asset, and securing that asset has made intellectual property a recession-proof practice. When the economy declines, it usually forces companies to think “outside the box” and look for new products, inventions, or ideas. This usually translates into an increase in services to help protect the intellectual capital of these companies. Invention and innovation is what keeps companies competitive, and intellectual property lawyers, paralegals, and other professionals very busy. High tech companies are in the business of invention and innovation, and they are the main consumers of intellectual property services. Primarily, concentrated in California, Silicon Valley and Lost Angeles County have become intellectual property litigation and patent prosecution hotbeds. Other states with a strong high tech industry presence that are enjoying a surge of intellectual property activity include Texas, New York, Florida, and Virginia.
In-House Practices that Will Heat Up in 2011
Mergers and Acquisitions – M&A activity has been on a “wait and see” path for some time as the system remains vulnerable and fear lingers. However, the good news is that the fundamentals are in place for M&A to start picking-up again. In 2010, the U.S. economy has found some stability and returned to growth, and consumer confidence strengthened. Companies who have weathered the worst of the storm will be looking for a new growth engine, and may be returning to the M&A market. Companies will most likely go in “toe first” and will likely stay away from very large, multi-billion dollar deals, in favor of “smaller acquisitions” to complement and strengthen their existing business, rather than enduring the burden and risk after a large M&A deal. As a result, we will most likely see an uptick in M&A activity over the next year or two. Some of the bigger deals will most likely occur in consolidating industries, such as energy and healthcare. As usual, technology companies also are expected to be on the prowl. We may also see some increase M&A activity with the real estate market and the financial industry, which is finally recovering. In terms of geography, emerging markets will lead the M&A surge in 2011, with Asia in the lead.
International – As companies look to focus on expanding their core businesses and increase their market share, they are likely to look outside of the U.S. as part of their competitive strategy. This will drive the international law practice. U.S. companies will continue to look opportunities in the three most popular emerging markets—Brazil, India and China. Some other markets that may generate some new and renewed interest may include Mexico, Vietnam, Korea and the Middle East, with Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates as attracting most of the attention. This boost in international transactions will come primarily from companies in the consumer and infrastructure sector seeking to expand into new markets.
Good New for In-House Job Seekers: Law Departments Plan on Hiring
As companies continue to slowly emerge from the recession, many are looking for ways to save money on their expensive legal bills. Corporate legal department, according to a recent Altman Weil's Chief Legal Officer Survey, are increasingly telling firms to just forget it, and taking more work in-house.
Altman Weil's Chief Legal Officer Survey, released Wednesday, showed that sixty-three percent of the officers surveyed reported that they had increased their internal budgets from 2009 to 2010, and 29% claimed that they would decrease their use of outside firms in the coming year.
That’s great news for attorneys and paralegals looking to go in-house. The survey showed that 41% of chief legal officers indicated that they plan to hire new in-house lawyers in the next 12 months, and 32% said they would increase the number of paralegals on staff over the same period.
The survey, conducted in September and October, is based on responses from 174 officers from law departments. 28% of respondents run law departments in corporations with over $10 billion in revenues.
Of course, the great majority of companies taking on more work in-house will do so with its existing legal staff, placing increasing pressure on an already overworked staff. However, this mark s a shift from companies simply trying to negotiate law firm fees, to looking at alternatives, including bolstering their own internal capabilities. That’s great news for attorneys who are already in-house, in terms of increased job security, and for those looking to break into the in-house world in terms of opportunity.
Five Rules To Landing an In-House Job
The desire to move in-house has not been dampened by the economic downturn. Perhaps, it’s as strong as it’s ever been. More lawyers have had to evaluate their options and career paths in light of the recent economic collapse. The same can be said of lawyers already practicing in-house. Despite greater pressures to do more with less, in-house lawyers are just as eager to remain in their current practice or seek their next in-house job as they have ever been. What does it take to make it in-house? Candidates who succeed are not only excellent lawyers; they are savvy strategists who know how to market themselves successfully. Here are some tips to help you put your best foot forward and land that in-house position:
Not everyone fits the mold or is cut out to be an in-house lawyer. Before you start your job search, you need to evaluate whether you have the right background and motivation to make the transition. Most lawyers who want to go in-house are young law firm associates who are either tired of the law firm grind or who are seeking greener pastures. The vast majority of these associates tend to be too junior to have any realistic shot at landing an in-house position. What is the right level of experience?
The ideal in-house candidate is an experienced lawyer with at least five years of professional practice experience. That tends to be the bar set for the majority of in-house law departments. The “five year rule” is not completely arbitrary. Law departments seek experienced attorneys who can operate fairly independently, and lawyers with five year of private law practice have often been exposed to the type of depth and breath or work to provide them with some independence in their practice. Because in-house legal departments tend to work with fewer resources, they are not considered good training grounds for recent law graduates and junior-level attorneys. Moreover, in-house attorneys, unlike their law firm counterparts, are viewed as part of overhead. Therefore, while attorneys are a necessity, they do not contribute to the financial bottom line of the companies they serve. Therefore, in-house legal departments have every incentive to want to hire experienced attorneys who require little training or supervision.
Rule 2: Be Strategic
If you have visions of practicing in-house, you need to make sure that your ducks are lined up accordingly. In other words, you have to plan ahead. The vast majority of in-house positions, well over ninety percent, are transactional positions. Since this is very much a numbers game, to improve your odds of moving in-house you should consider pursuing a general corporate practice that offers exposure to a lot of different areas. In other words, when it comes to in-house opportunities, not all practice areas are created equal. While corporate law departments do hire attorneys in a variety of specialized practice areas, including litigation, labor and employment, intellectual property, real estate, and tax – to name a few, these positions are few and far in between. In other words, there are very few in-house legal opportunities available for these practice areas. Moreover, because of the type of competition that is generated for these few position, outstanding candidates are often kept from ever making the final cut.
While having a transactional background will allow you to be eligible for more in-house position, to be more competitive you also need to develop “industry” experience. Companies overwhelmingly favor hiring lawyers who know and understand their business. Lawyers that are invested in a particular industry tend to be more competitive than those who do not have any industry experience, or those that have simply jumped from job-to-job irrespective of the industry. The fear that many lawyers have in specializing in an industry is to become pigeonholed into that industry and to have fewer opportunities available. While this is a legitimate concern, this needs to be balanced against the significant edge it provides them from having that specialization. A strategic lawyer will choose an industry that is poised for growth, and more likely to offer opportunities in the future. For instance, in-house lawyers that are specialized in healthcare and pharmaceuticals tend to be better insulated from market pressures and have more opportunities available.
Rule 3: Be Flexible
As recruiters that specialize in in-house attorney placement, we regularly speak to lawyers who want to make that transition in-house. They are often eager and want to appear flexible by being willing to make compromises for the “right” in-house position. That said there is a notable difference between wanting to go in-house and being ready to go in-house. These discussions inevitably turn to matters relating to money and type of positions, and all of the talk regarding flexibility and compromise appears to be a distant memory.
If you are looking to go in-house, be prepared to take a salary cut. While all potential candidates usually start by saying “I am willing to take a salary cut,” the question really turns to how deep are you willing to take this cut? Most law firm attorneys expect to take a 20-30% cut from their law firm compensation, while the reality is that most law firm attorneys transitioning in-house experience compensation reductions ranging between 50%-70%. The median base salaries for in-house attorneys with 5-10 years of experience ranges between $100,000-$150,000 per year. These are not easy to digest figures, with many law firm lawyers looking to make less than the first-year associates they are training.
To circumvent this sharp salary drop, many attorneys, most of whom have much more than the minimum five-years of required experience to go in-house, hold out for “general counsel positions only.” Those who like to show some flexibility will even consider “deputy general counsel” positions. That’s akin to a first-year associates saying that he/she only wants to consider partner positions. The hard truth is that general counsel positions are very few, and incredibly competitive. To give you an idea, a single general counsel position can generate as many as five hundred applications in less than ninety days. The top ten candidates selected to interview are most likely accomplished general counsels with more than twenty years of experience, who possess extensive industry-specific experience, and are ivy-league educated – at least. The vast majority of general counsel positions are never available to the greater public. They are often filled from within by succession plans, or candidates are handpicked by the CEO and/or Board of Directors from a pool of people they already know. In other words, through networking and relationships. Therefore, if you are looking to go in-house or transition in-house, you have to be willing to work your way up the ladder, and set your sights a little lower.
Rule 4: Be Visible
What does it take to land an in-house position? A good dose of luck, the right connections, and perfect timing. The first step is to make yourself visible. With so few positions available and one of the deepest and most competitive candidate pool seen in recent history, you need to be at the right time, in the right place, and know the right people. In other words, you have to network. There is no getting around it. The best way to land an in-house job is through connections. You have to make yourself visible to those who know about in-house positions before they hit the general candidate pool. The best way to cut through the long stack of resumes is to have someone vouch for you, or tell you about a position before it becomes available to the general public. To do that, you have to get the word out, mine the contacts you already have, and start meeting with people outside your current network.
You can work with a legal search firm as well, but it is by no means a shortcut. It is no substitute for networking. Networking is still the best method for identifying positions and making yourself available to them. If you are going to work with recruiters, be sure to contact search firms that either specialize in or have a significant part of their practice dedicated to in-house search. You should also try to contact several search firms. Unlike law firm searches, in-house searches tend to be handled on an exclusive basis – one search firm for one particular position and company. As a result, every search firm has its own select list of clients and positions, which may not be representative of all the opportunities available in the marketplace. Therefore, registering with several specialized search firms will allow you to be available to a good cross-section of in-house positions.
Rule 5: Be Patient
The saying “good things come to those who wait” has never been truer than for those who are seeking to go in-house. How long does it take to land an in-house job? Well, it depends on your qualifications, experience, flexibility, and the market in general. That said, for the most part, it takes about six months to a year, for most applicants to land a position. This is not for the faint of heart or impatient. You will have to endure a lot of rejection, often silent, before landing that coveted in-house position. The type of position you are seeking will also determine the length of time it will take for you to land an in-house job. The higher the level, the fewer jobs there are available. Most of the senior-level positions tend to be filled from within, by in-house counsels who have bid their time and are ready to get promoted. So if you are holding off for a more senior-level position within a company, you may have to wait that much longer for the opportunity to become available. The key is to be patient, to continue honing your skills, network, and when presented with an opportunity, grab it.
Happy CLOs Are Poised to Hire More in 2010
According to the results of the Association of Corporate Counsel's 10th Annual Chief Legal Officer Survey, CLOs are not only happy with their job, but want to share that happiness by hiring more in-house counsels in 2010. More than 90 percent of CLOs that responded to the Survey indicated that they were happy with their jobs (up 2% from last year’s Survey). Even with the recession and a heavier workload, chief legal officers said they still like their jobs. It’s still good to be in-house. And, it looks like that happiness is going to spread.While these are positive news in an otherwise still gloomy market, this does not mean that the in-house legal market has turned the corner.
In-house legal are still operating under tough budget constraints, and while a 5% increase over last year is good news, it will not serve to make much of a dent in this saturated market
Who Will They Be Hiring?
In particular, over one-fourth (28%) of respondents plan to hire lawyers to do commoditized work, and 21% of these respondents plan to hire specialists.
In addition to the increase in hiring plans, the survey found that the number of law department attorneys based outside the U.S grew this year. This increase can be seen in Western Europe and Canada, where the number of in-house attorneys rose from 1% in 2008 to 7% in 2009; and also in Asia/Pacific, where there was an increase from 1% in 2008 to 2% in 2009.
Why Are CLOs Looking to Hire More?
The recession has forced companies to take a critical view of how they operate. While CLOs will be increasing in-house hiring, they will also be decreasing spending on outside counsel. More than a third (34 percent) said they've cut spending on outside counsel. At the end of the day, they have figured out that they can operate more efficiently by bringing more work in-house, spending less on outside counsel, and boosting spending on alternative fee arrangements, the survey shows.
Could This Be a Long-Term Trend?
That remains to be seen. While this is not a significant increase in hiring, this may be a sign of more positive news to come. Moreover, the recession has forced companies to try on a new model, and they may like what they see.
A Gen Y Guide to Getting—and Keeping—a Legal Job
With top tier firms shedding associates and in-house legal departments tightening their belts, it’s a tough time for young attorneys to enter the workforce. But there are ways to stand out from the pack. Here, experts offer their tips for making an impression and snagging—and keeping—your dream legal job.- Be a yes man: Especially in a rough economy, it’s critical for young attorneys to fulfill their bosses’ requests with enthusiasm, says Ann-Marie Neville, a managing director in MLA’s New York office. “You have to step up in this market, because guess what—if you don’t, [your manager] is going to turn to somebody else,” she says.
- Keep your eyes open: It’s important for young lawyers not only to complete assigned tasks but also anticipate what clients and co-workers need from them, says Neda Khatamee, a managing director in Major Lindsey & Africa’s New York office. “Be available, but also really be able to dance to everyone’s tune, from your partners to associates in your own class,” she says. Adds Neville, “Always be prepared to be the best possible associate who’s ready to be in front of the partner’s best client.”
- Network: Your law school drinking buddies may one day turn out to be your best asset, Khatamee says. Building your network of both colleagues and clients early is one of the keys to growing and advancing as an attorney.
- Respect your elders: While it’s great to bring new ideas to the work place, pause to learn why tradition dictates certain practices in your office, says Cam Marston, president and founder of the consulting firm Generational Insights. “No one’s going to care how you want to change it until you prove you know why it’s there in the first place,” he says.
- Stick it out: “Patience is a virtue you can never have too much of,” says Vanessa Vidal, president of ESQ Recruiting. Though it may be tempting to bolt for another firm with flashier perks, she says a resumé dotted with too many jobs in too few years is a red flag to future employers. Though career moves may eventually be necessary to advance, make a commitment to the firm or department you start with until you encounter an opportunity too good to pass up. When your ideal job appears, a track record of loyalty will position you well to sail through the hiring process.
JD/MBA: Make Your Business Degree Work For You
In today’s world, in-house counsels are increasingly required to display a wide array of legal skills, as well as business expertise. In the last two decades, in-house counsels have evolved from acting as legal administrators to acting as both legal counsel and strategic business partners. As a result, the number of lawyers pursuing dual degrees or business degrees after earning their J.D.’s has increased.Start By Updating Your Resume
Of course, the first thing one does after earning a new degree is to include it under the “Education” section of the resume. While this may be an obvious step, it's the "where" and "how" that makes the difference. First, consider adding the degree to the header or profile of your resume. The majority of J.D./M.B.A. candidates are generally experienced lawyers who have their education at the bottom or on page 2 of their resume. By placing it front and center on the first page of your resume, your degree will get you more easily noticed by potential employers.
Next, work though the entire substance of your resume, and make sure to incorporate the business-related skills you’ve acquired. You need to be able to demonstrate the value you bring to your current and previous positions with respect to your business acumen, skills, and experience. Focus on how you were able to effectively and seamlessly combine legal counsel with business concerns. Sometimes simple changes to a resume change can have a remarkable impact on employers.
Update Your Profiles and Contact Information
While you may want to refrain from including your J.D./M.B.A. reference everywhere, there are certain places where it should appear. You law firm’s website biography should clearly include this information, as should your business cards, and your email footer. You should also consider updating your profile on social media and networking sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and MySpace. Again, making individuals in your network, or those that could potentially become part of your network, aware of your M.B.A. degree is a step in the right direction.
Don’t Be Afraid of Using a Little Publicity
While no one expects you to shout it from the rooftop or advertise it in a flying banner, using a little publicity when done tastefully doesn’t hurt. If your company already publicizes this sort of thing for internal dissemination, to its customer-base, or to the general public, be sure to take advantage of it. This type of publicity can come in the form of a press release, website update, newsletter etc. Also, be sure to provide your own list of contacts, from your outlook or other contact list, to the department responsible for disseminating the information.
Be Sure to Put Your Degree to Work
While you may have it framed in your office; don’t forget the practical value associated with your M.B.A. degree. It’s not enough to have gone through the theory, it is now your responsibility to re-assess your current responsibilities and determine ways that you can apply what you have learned to create additional value for your organization. This means bridging your legal advice with your newly acquired business skills. Look for ways where you can add value to a transaction or project applying your M.B.A. knowledge and skills. Of course, you do not want to overstep your role, but to the extent this is part of your responsibilities, step up and provide a business perspective to your legal advice. The manner in which you use your M.B.A. will determine its full value. So, start putting those wonderful skills to work.
2010 Predictions for In-House Legal Departments
It’s safe to say that few in the legal profession were sorry to see 2009 end. This was a year that was marked by one of the worst recessions in recent history, also dubbed the “Great Recession.” According to the blog LawShucks, 12,196 people were laid off at 138 large law firms tracked last year. In all, 4,633 lawyers and 7,563 staffers lost their jobs.While there is always a certain level of enthusiasm along with bringing in a new year, that excitement is not simply seasonal, but based on a historically busier quarter for hiring. The first quarter of the year tends to set the tone. While some recruiters seem to be optimistic about the lateral partner market at law firms picking up, and the thawing of salary freezes, that effervescence may be cooled by some harsh realities.
The dip in unemployment numbers may be a sign that the hemorrhaging has stopped, but if 2010 is slated to be a “better” year than 2009, better is relative. Many predict that we won't get back to full employment – or to about a 5% unemployment rate prior to the recession – until 2013 or 2014. This really speaks to the severity of the job losses that have been absorbed by the economy. They are massive. The economy lost over 7.2 million jobs since the recession began in December 2007.
Law firm partners with a book of business have always been considered a hot commodity, no matter what the state of the economy. So now that more of them may be willing to make a move does not indicate an improved market. Only the creation of new positions and an uptick in associate hiring would signify a real improvement of the market, and no one is seeing or predicting anything like it in the coming months.
We expect to see a slow return to hiring over the next six months. How slow? It will be highly conservative, with departments looking to hire replacement positions first, followed by critical needs second.
We predict that about 15-20% of corporate legal departments will be selectively hiring over the next six months of 2010. If the economy is to stall again, we will start seeing sign of a slow down in the 3rd quarter.
What might this look like over the course of the year?
• Quarter 1> 5-10%
• Quarter 2> 15-20%
• Quarter 3> 20%
• Quarter 4> 20-25+%
Companies this quarter (Q1) are re-evaluating their needs and considering staffing requirements. Many legal departments have affected cost-cutting measures, and most are now working at or above capacity. As a result, some replacement positions will become available, a small number of companies will hire to re-balance their legal departments, and some companies will look to hire their first in-house counsel. That said, unless we see a determinative change in the economy, the hiring market for in-house counsels will not be markedly different from the market we experienced in 2009. While there will be fewer layoffs, positions will continue to be few and highly competitive.
Who Will Be Hiring in 2010?
We expect few changes in the types of companies that will likely hire in-house counsels in 2010. Companies who will be hiring at a greater rate than others will most likely be in the following industry sectors:
• Health care
• Education
• Government
• Energy (alternative)
• Manufacturing (possible)
• Services (possible)
If the economy does show some signs of a recovery, we could see companies in manufacturing and service enter the hiring circle, albeit conservatively.
• Regulatory/Compliance
• Litigation
• M&A
We can also expect smaller companies to take advantage of the market and hire their first in-house counsels. We have seen an uptick in hiring in the areas of regulation/compliance, litigation, and employment, although the boost in the number of hires was not necessarily significant. We are looking for a re-emergence of deals for 2010, with a conservative uptick in mergers and acquisitions.
What Will Salaries Look Like?
In-house attorney compensation always depends on several factors, including:
• Industry
• Geography
• Size of the Company
• Size of the Legal Department
• Position Level/Responsibilities
• Position Requirements
• Company Finances
• Economic Market
We expect compensation to remain flat for 2010. Salary freezes for current staff, small bonuses, and a reduction in base pay for new hires. Of those companies not cutting lawyer compensation, we can expect the majority of salaries to remain at status quo, and a minority to increase by a lower margin (expected 3%-5% increase in 2010, over 8% in 2008, and 10% in 2007).
Large Company In-House Lawyers (2010): Average of $200,000 in pay and bonuses.
Large Company In-House Lawyers (2009): Average of $206,000 in pay and bonuses.
Large Company In-House Lawyers (2008): Average of $236,000 in pay and bonuses.
Large Company In-House Lawyers (2007): Average of $226,000 in pay and bonuses.
What Should Lawyers Expect In-House?
For most attorneys practicing with law firms, 2010 will not be the year for them to transition in-house. Why? Because they will see few open positions, together with a plethora of highly qualified in-house counsels fighting for every available job.
For counsels practicing in-house, most will end up having to work more for less money. They will also work with less support – both in terms of outside counsels and internal administrative assistants and paralegals. Resources will be stretched thin. However, legal departments may be more open to selective hiring to handle the increased workload. 75% of the General Counsels we polled said they wanted to bring more legal work in-house for 2010, and 45% said they were actively planning to hire additional staff to handle the increased workload.
What’s “hot” for 2010? Compliance/regulatory is the new in-demand practice area for in-house counsels. Companies will be hiring selectively to fill in the gaps. Those looking for job security should look to develop skills in these areas to demonstrate their value and cost-saving effectiveness.
What are your predictions for 2010? Share your thoughts with us.
Can Your Name Impact Your Job Search?
In today’s digital age, job hunting is usually reduced to a resume that includes a printed name. First impressions are everything, and often these impressions are formed according to the name that appears on the resume. Can your name impact your job search? Unfortunately, the answer is yes. Especially, if your name is on the exotic side of the spectrum. In other words, if your resume does not include a familiar Anglo-sounding name, chances are you may be getting short-changed when it comes to landing an interview.One study by researchers at MIT and the University of Chicago found that job applicants with names that sounded African-American got short shrift when it came to the hiring process. The researchers sent out 5,000 fake resumes, and it turned out that resumes with names such as Tyrone and Tamika were less likely to get calls from prospective employers than their Anglo-sounding counterparts, and qualifications seemed to have little impact.
Since 9/11, there seems to be more of a bias against Muslim/Arab sounding names. Job seekers from the Middle East and India sometimes complain that their job searches are taking longer than their Anglo Saxon named counterparts. Could the reverse also be true? Some job seekers with Asian sounding names sometimes claim that employers select them based on stereotypes that includes being ‘smart,’ ‘hardworking,’ and ‘committed.’”
Are potential employers discriminating? Possibly, and this sort of bias might not even be deliberate. When all things are equal, individuals tend to gravitate towards the ‘known’ rather than the ‘unknown,’ and name recognition and familiarity is no exception. Whether or not it is deliberate, or the employer has some legitimate business reason for preferring certain names to others, this practice is very much alive, especially in a market where there are more qualified applicants per position than ever before.
Should You Change Your Name?
To change or not to change your name is the real question. If you have an ‘exotic’ sounding name or one that reflects your ethnicity, should you change it to a name that will strike most people as ‘familiar’ or ‘mainstream’ rather than ‘foreign’ or ‘confusing?’” That’s a deeply personal question. If you chose to change your name, you may be catering to the ignorance and discrimination that prompted you to make the change in the first place. On the other hand, changing your name could have a positive impact on your resume selection and job search.
Whether you chose to change your name to an American-sounding or ‘neutral’ sounding name, you may want to simply consider following the national trend: name abbreviation. How many people do you know today who go by Alexander, Christopher, or Elizabeth? Whenever a name is more than two syllables, you can be sure that someone will try and find a short nickname to replace it. Adopting an abbreviated version of your names could allow you to retain part of your identity, but provide an easier or more memorable option for your colleagues to remember. While changing your names is a deeply personal choice, it may be worth exploring, especially if you’ve been hitting the pavement unsuccessfully.
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