Partnership Moves & Lateral Hires

As the Legal and IP markets have become increasingly competitive, we have seen firms expect more from their Partners, and in turn, Partners (or those aspiring to Partnership), expect more from their careers. This has naturally led to Partnership moves, or Lateral Hires becoming more common, and is a field in which we have significant experience.

Lateral Hires can take several forms:

Equity Partner to Equity Partner

These moves are popular, although you need to be sure that your Consultant is capable of dealing with the increased level of due diligence required. Our experience tells us that the market is now comfortable with this type of move and we can ensure that the critical aspects of each individual 'deal' are identified early and addressed on both sides. 

Equity to Salaried, Salaried to Salaried and Associate to Partner

These moves are now the norm and are, on the face of it, less complex than Equity Partner moves as they require no capital buy-in and the relationship remains one of Employer and Employee rather than Self-Employed. However, in many cases, this will be viewed by both parties as a key appointment (often a final career move) and requires specialist, bespoke advice to ensure that the Partnership opportunity within that practice is tailor-made to suit that particular individual. Critical issues will include personalities, the ethos of both practice and prospective Partner, the short-term and long- term objectives for both, as well as financial considerations: i.e. how can that prospective Partner provide the necessary business case to justify the available budget? (Please see our article on Business Plan Advice) Only when these are right is the 'deal' likely to succeed, and succeed well.

Sacco Mann's expertise in this area allows us not only to bring the right two parties together but also to be that 'active ingredient' that helps to identify how value can be added, helps to isolate, address and remove obstacles; essentially we give each potential deal the chance to discover if it is 'right' and if so, to make it happen. Whilst we do advertise Partnership roles in our job search function, their tailor-made nature often means that these roles represent a starting point. Indeed, many of the Partnership moves we have facilitated have arisen from confidential ongoing discussions between our Consultants, our Clients, and aspiring Partners who have instructed us to advise them of opportunities as and when we see the beginnings of something appropriate to them. In such cases, there is rarely a need to advertise.

If you have Partnership aspirations, if you're already a Partner but you're looking for something different, or indeed you are thinking of recruiting into your existing Partnership, contact Rachael Mann, John Sacco, Catherine French, James Barker, Lisa Kelly or one of our experienced consultants. Each of us will be happy to elaborate on how these moves work and to discuss, in total confidence, the sort of opportunities that could fit each individual's circumstances.