BUSINESS WEEK HIGHLIGHTS LATERAL LINK SURVEY FINDINGS

    NEW YORK, July 16, 2008 - Business Week magazine highlights Lateral Link survey findings showing that associates are concerned about their job security. Click here to view the article

~ PR Manager,  info@lateralink.com

ABA JOURNAL DISCUSSES LATERAL LINK ASSOCIATE EXPERIENCE SURVEYS

    NEW YORK, June 26, 2008 - The ABA Journal discusses job security concerns revealed in Lateral Link's associate experience surveys. Click here to view the article

~ PR Manager,  info@lateralink.com

THE NATIONAL LAW JOURNAL DISCUSSES LATERAL LINK ASSOCIATE EXPERIENCE SURVEYS

    NEW YORK, June 27, 2008 - The National Law Journal discusses interesting trends in how associates are perceiving their job security revealed in Lateral Link's associate experience surveys. Click here to view the article

~ PR Manager,  info@lateralink.com

WALL STREET JOURNAL PROFILES LATERAL LINK AS A TREND SETTER IN LEGAL RECRUITING

    Wall Street Journal has recognized Lateral Link's innovative model as one of the trendsetters in web-based recruiting. 

Click here to view the full article. 

According to the article: 

Lateral Link generally limits access to its job postings to graduates of top-tier law schools with a minimum of two years of work experience. About 5,000 applicants have been approved to date. Unlike most job sites, Lateral Link's recruiters get in direct contact with members who apply for the positions it lists. Another distinction: Lateral Link pays a $10,000 bonus to members who land positions at law firms, though not corporations. "Through our Web-based platform, we're able to operate much more efficiently than a traditional recruiting firm, and therefore are able to pass along our cost savings to the job hunter," says T.J. Duane, a principal at Lateral Link, which was founded by three Harvard Law School graduates. The reward is also consistent with the referral bonus that many law firms pay associates, he adds.

WALL STREET JOURNAL QUOTES LATERAL LINK FOR CAREER TIP OF THE WEEK - June 12, 2008

To boost your odds of turning an internship into a full-time job, treat it like an extended interview, says Michael Allen, principal at Lateral Link Group LLC, a legal recruiting firm... . 

Click here to view the full article. 

THE AMERICAN LAWYER DISCUSSES LATERAL LINK'S INNOVATIVE BUSINESS MODEL

    The American Lawyer acknowledges that Lateral Link's innovative business model is making waves in the legal recruiting world and has spawned competition. 

Click here to view the full article. 

THE DAILY JOURNAL PROFILE'S LATERAL LINK

    The Daily Journal's General Counsel magazine, 8K, has profiled Lateral Link in its Spring 2008 issue.  

Click here to view the full article.

~ PR Manager,  info@lateralink.com

AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION RECOGNIZES LATERAL LINK'S SERVICES

    NEW YORK, February 15, 2008 - The ABA recognizes Lateral Link's services - Click here to view the article

~ PR Manager,  info@lateralink.com

LATERAL LINK ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH VAULT, INC.

    NEW YORK, July 5, 2007 - Lateral Link is very excited to announce our new partnership with Vault, Inc.  Through our partnership all Lateral Link members now have free access to our exclusive "Online Career Library," powered by Vault, which includes:

    * Industry and firm research materials
    * Complete firm surveys
    * A Career Advice center
    * Free down-loadable versions of all Vault Guides

This subscription normally costs $125 per year, but as a Lateral Link member, you can access these materials free through your Lateral Link account.  Please log-in to your candidate account and access our "Online Career Library" today!

~ PR Manager,  info@lateralink.com

Careers Now

Negotiating in a Recession: Should You?

By Joyce Lain Kennedy

DEAR JOYCE: An attorney, I'm in the third round of interviewing for a job I want. Problem: My research warns me that the position's salary barely meets my low-water mark. Question: Is negotiating appropriate in a recession? - D.E.

Yours is a question without absolutes. For an answer, I turn to two experts: Michael Allen, a principal at Lateral Link (laterallink.com), an elite, full-service legal recruitment firm ; and Jack Chapman, a principal of Lucrative Careers (salarynegotiations.com), a salary consulting firm, and the author of "Negotiating Your Salary: How to Make $1,000 a Minute."

Allen's comments are directed to those in the legal field, while Chapman's are aimed at professionals in all industries. They agree that a recession is not a negotiation killer, but they differ on some aspects of your question.

Does recession mean don't negotiate?

Allen: "The fact that we are in a recession does not mean candidates should avoid salary negotiations - just be more tactful. The worse-case scenario is the status quo; applicants won't know what they can get if they don't ask for it."

Chapman: "Good times or bad, it's never wrong to ask. If you ask for the moon, in good times you might get it; in tough times, you probably won't, but unless you ask, you won't get anything at all.

"Ultimately, your compensation is a proportion of the total value you make for the company. If your contribution is $100,000, your salary is a part of that; if you make the company $1,000,000, your share is all the larger. You're not negotiating with "the economy," you're negotiating with a human being who's trying to make a buck.

"Curiously, you might be able to negotiate higher compensation in tough times. In profitable times, a company may be content with average talent with the thought that, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." But in harder times, the attitude may be, "We've gotta get more expensive talent if we're going to make it."

What if base salaries are fixed?

Chapman: "To find out if parity (paying everyone the same starting rate) is an issue, probe. 'Is there a parity concern here, or is the company agreeable to paying differently for different sets of skills and talents?' Whichever way the answer flows, you'll know better how to negotiate."

Allen: "For those working in a lockstep industry where companies pay the same salary to every employee at the same level, it would be ill-advised to negotiate base salary in any case, but candidates can consider negotiating their total compensation by focusing on bonuses and reimbursements. These can be disguised in the form of relocation reimbursements, signing bonuses, full-year-end bonuses and reimbursements for money left on the table at a previous employer."

Is sharing competing offers a good idea?

Allen: "An offer in hand gives a candidate leverage, so he or she should inform future employers of competing offers so that there's an incentive to match. Additionally, consider future compensation and articulate expectations clearly so there are no surprises down the road whether times get better or worse. Finally, know when enough is enough; you do not want to start off on the wrong foot or appear insensitive."

Chapman: "I usually suggest that candidates use the phrase 'compass points.' While not entirely accurate, it seems to work when you say, "I have two or three compass points I use to point to a competitive salary." Name them: current offers, hearsay from recruiters, objective research (Salary.com, Payscale.com, Indeed.com), projected income/value I'll generate, urgency of filling the position, and so forth. In 30 years of coaching, I've only experienced a bidding war once; it worked, but I'm not comfortable with it in general. So disclosing other offers is just part of a bigger compensation-fixing strategy."

Thanks to compensation experts Jack Chapman and Michael Allen for their wise and battle-tested advice.

LATERAL LINK PARTNERS WITH ABOVETHELAW

    NEW YORK, June 6, 2007  Today AboveTheLaw announced Lateral Link as its new Career Partner.  AboveTheLaw takes a behind-the-scenes look at the world of law. The site provides news and gossip about the profession's most colorful personalities and powerful institutions, as well as original commentary on breaking legal developments.

~ PR Manager,  info@lateralink.com

WEB BASED LEGAL PLACEMENT SERVICE REWARDS ATTORNEYS WITH A SHARE OF ITS REVENUES

    NEW YORK, March 15, 2007 – Founded by former practicing attorneys and Harvard Law School alumni, Lateral Link has turned the legal recruiting industry on its head by establishing an elite online network of attorneys that pays to remain loyal.  Through its easy-to-use, innovative Web site, www.LateralLink.com, the firm delivers sophisticated Internet tools and a unique methodology designed to connect today’s top legal talent with leading legal employers across the nation.  Because of the efficiencies built into Lateral Link's online system, the firm is able to pass along cost savings to its candidates in the form of a $10,000 placement bonus for law firm placements.
    Lateral Link optimizes the legal recruiting process by eliminating the inefficiencies common to the industry.  “Today’s legal recruiting industry is bogged down by time-consuming practices such as cold calls and decentralized job listings,” said T.J. Duane, Lateral Link’s co-founder. “Our approach enables employers to instantly communicate job opportunities to a relevant subset of attorney candidates. At the same time, attorney candidates have up-to-date market information from law firms and in-house employers at the click of a mouse.”
    Lateral Link is providing a one-stop source for candidates looking for new positions.  The catch is that the service is only available to “elite” attorneys.  In order to become a member of the Lateral Link network, attorneys must have graduated from a top law school, or have exceptional professional credentials.  As a result, only the most accomplished attorneys have access to Lateral Link’s exclusive online network, which presently consists of approximately 1,000 attorneys.
     “Our mission is to capitalize on the opportunity created by the Internet to quickly and efficiently aggregate and distribute information to move the legal recruiting industry into the 21st century.” continued Duane. "Attorneys are accustomed to using the Internet to more efficiently perform their legal work, now we have given elite attorneys the opportunity to use the Internet to more efficiently find their next legal job.”  With over 1300 law firm and in-house jobs in Lateral Link’s continually growing database, these attorneys have many opportunities to choose from.

~ PR Manager,  info@lateralink.com

WEB-BASED RECRUITING FIRM SHUNS COLD CALLS

LOS ANGELES, June 25, 2006 - Michael Allen had few dealings with legal search companies as a practicing attorney, but they were enough to convince him that he could do it better.
      First, there were recruiters' cold calls, usually two or three a day, which he grew to loathe. When Allen used a reputable Los Angeles recruiter during his own lateral move from Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher to Irell & Manella, the experience left him underwhelmed.
      "At the end of the day, it wasn't really clear that the headhunter knew what he was selling or that he understood the different industries I was looking at," Allen said. "Yeah, he got me an interview, but it wasn't really him. It was my resume that did it."
      In June, Allen launched his own legal search firm. Called Lateral Link, it's a Web-based business staffed by former practicing attorneys who've sworn off the recruiter's traditional staple, cold-calling candidates.
      "This is a very unusual model," said Marina Sirras, the president of the National Association of Legal Search Consultants. "I've never heard of anything like it."
      To use Lateral Link, candidates create a profile with basic information, including their practice area, law school, years of experience and geographical location, as well as a resume with identifying information redacted to maintain confidentiality. The candidates can search Lateral Link's job bank, but company names are also redacted from the listings.
      Law firms or businesses looking for in-house attorneys can submit queries based on whatever criteria they choose. Lateral Link then performs a database search, and if any candidates' profiles fulfill these criteria, the company sends a message telling them that an anonymous firm might be interested, and asking whether they'd like to send a redacted resume.
      If the candidates choose to send their resume, one of Lateral Link's six consultants makes sure the people are qualified before forwarding them. The parties reveal their identities only after serious, mutual interest.
      Although posting an Internet profile and waiting for responses seem to define passivity, some candidates seek additional services from Allen, who provides advice and promotes them to firms.
      "We've centralized the process" on the Web, he said, "but we're not out of the process."
      So far, Lateral Link has a roster of 190 candidates and relationships with "a handful" of firms and is "in the process of placing four people," Allen said.
      Lateral Link charges the industry-standard recruiting fee, 25 percent of a candidate's first-year salary. The company, at this point, focuses on placing associates.
      But because Lateral Link eschews cold calls to practicing attorneys, some legal recruiters think the company may be at a disadvantage.
      Amber Handman, a recruiter at Seltzer Fontaine Beckwith, said the types of candidates law firms are willing to pay the recruiting fee for are the ones who aren't looking for a job. Often, a phone call out of the blue is the only way to reach them.
      "Recruiting companies have to sell their product to firms' recruiting coordinators, and that will only work if the quality of resume is high," Solutus recruiter Karen Kupetz said. "So one issue that [Lateral Link] will have to deal with is attracting and retaining top talent, and there's a question whether it has a means for doing that."
      Rather than cold-calling or sending spam e-mails, Lateral Link is using referrals. By trading on connections from elite law schools and firms, Allen sees Lateral Link as a home for top-notch talent.
      The company's unorthodox business model features one more wrinkle, paying a $10,000 bonus to candidates whom it places.
      "Wow. That is definitely against our code of ethics," Sirras said. "That is a no-no, and I consider it very unethical."
      Sirras claimed that the recruiting-fee agreements of most major law firms stipulate the expectation that search firms will abide by the national association's code of ethics.
      "No employer has suggested that I need to belong to that organization to work with them, and a number of employers have said they'd never heard of the National Association of Legal Search Firms," Allen said. "At the end of the day, employers want talent, and I'm taking a hit on my profits to provide talent in a more efficient way."
      Allen got the idea for the bonus by looking at how the mutual-funds business operates. The fee also acts as an incentive for associates who otherwise might stay around for their January bonuses.
      And although Lateral Link has consultants in six locations nationwide, it doesn't rent office space, which means low overhead costs. Allen said the company could afford to "pass the savings on" in the form of the bonus.
      The bonus was one of the reasons an associate at a major Orange County law firm decided to use Lateral Link, which she heard about from a friend. She met Allen and received personalized service, and although she's put her job search on hold, she intends to use the company when she resumes her search.
      Although the company is only a month old, some firms are intrigued by its unusual model.
      "We would consider this one of the many emerging tools to start a conversation with good candidates, but we'll still use existing methods to both evaluate candidates and attract the best people," said Peter Kennedy, the managing partner of Reed Smith's L.A. office. "We try to use personal referrals from trusted colleagues."
      Lateral Link's business model is unusual and unproven, but recruiters indicated today's robust legal job market is a welcoming place.
      "I have no problem with one more means of people finding a job," Handman said. "There are certainly plenty of jobs out there."

~ Robert Iafolla,  Daily Journal

WEB-BASED LEGAL RECRUITING SERVICE MAKES CASE FOR LINKING HIGHLY QUALIFIED ATTORNEYS WITH LEADING EMPLOYERS

    NEW YORK, June 20, 2006 Former practicing attorneys and Harvard Law School alumni launched Lateral Link, a premier legal search firm servicing the high-end legal market. Through its easy-to-use, innovative Web site, www.LateralLink.com, the firm delivers sophisticated tools and a unique methodology designed to connect today's top legal talent with leading legal employers across the nation.
    Lateral Link's search consultants utilize a specially tailored, four-phase placement methodology that allows them to maintain the highest standards of confidentiality, efficiency and commitment at every stage of the process.  This unique methodology, coupled with Lateral Link's Web tools, allows information to flow between employers and candidates as quickly and confidentially as possible.
    "Todays legal recruiting industry is bogged down by inefficient practices such as cold calls and decentralized job listings", said Michael Allen, Lateral Link co-founder and president.  "Our approach enables employers to instantly communicate job opportunities to a relevant subset of attorney candidates. At the same time, attorney candidates have up-to-date market information from law firms, in-house groups, government entities and public interest employers at the click of a mouse."
    In addition to providing an efficient forum for employers and candidates, Lateral Link focuses on customer service, convenience and privacy.  Lateral Link provides career counseling, resume critiques and other services to help candidates prepare for a successful job search.  This customer-centric approach enables Lateral Link to pay personalized and dedicated attention to its clients and ensure that the right talent is matched with the right opportunity.   
    "Our mission is to build and maintain lasting relationships with candidate and employer clients, and to offer attorney placement services beyond those of our competitors", continued Allen. "To achieve this, we are dedicated to delivering the highest quality service possible through our unique placement methodology."

~ PR Manager,  info@lateralink.com