LOVE AND NEW OPPORTUNITIES ARE IN THE AIR

Valentine’s Day is really the perfect holiday to reflect on your current work situation. Okay, maybe you don’t have to “love” your job or feel compelled to smooch your boss with appreciation every day (is it is still work after all), but you should at least like what you do since you spend most of your days doing it!

The year is still young, bonuses have been paid (or not) and opportunities in the legal market are abundant. Whether you’re an associate feeling the day-to-day grind of working with people you’d prefer not spend that much time with or a partner who feels stuck in a firm that does not allow you to reach your true potential – now is the perfect time to consider other opportunities. Don’t get stuck in the devil that you know cycle when there is the real possibility that things can get better with a move.

Give us a call or email to discuss how we can be assistance. Please know that anything discussed or shared will be completely confidential.

Happy New Year from Sand Search: A Promising Outlook for the Legal Market in 2025

Happy New Year from Sand Search: A Promising Outlook for the Legal Market in 2025

As we usher in 2025, we want to take a moment to wish all of our clients and candidates a very happy new year! The start of a new year is always a time for reflection and fresh perspectives, and we are excited to share our optimistic outlook for the legal market in the year ahead.

A Strong Legal Job Market for 2025

Despite the challenges of the past few years, the legal industry is poised for growth and innovation in 2025. Demand for top legal talent remains strong across a range of practice areas, from corporate and litigation to specialized fields like estate planning and intellectual property. Employers are increasingly looking for candidates who not only possess strong legal expertise but also bring adaptability, tech-savviness, and strategic thinking to the table.

As we look forward to 2025, we are excited to continue helping firms and legal professionals navigate the dynamic landscape. Whether you're seeking new talent or exploring your next career move, we're here to offer expert guidance and support. Here's to a successful, rewarding, and prosperous 2025! Let’s make it a year of growth, opportunity, and success in the legal profession.

Warm regards, Craig + Michael Sand Search Partners

Thankful

We have a lot to be thankful for here at Sand Search.

We’re thankful for a legal market that continues to show its resiliency and improving strength;

We’re thankful for our clients and our candidates throughout the nation;

We’re thankful for more and more attorneys finding the legal position that’s right for them;

We’re thankful for all of you who regularly read our blog and send thoughtful comments to us;

We’re thankful for having the opportunity to place a wide spectrum of attorneys: everything from associates to partners to General Counsel at public companies;

We’re thankful for being able to do what we love to do everyday – help connect top legal talent with the right employer;

We’re thankful that law schools are producing more entrepreneurial-minded attorneys than ever before;

We’re thankful for the opportunity to take this time to reflect on what’s important in life. We hope that you will take this holiday season and spend time with your family, friends and loved ones and assess if you are where you want to be in this stage in your career. If the answer is no, take comfort in knowing that there is something you can do about it. Commit to finding the right ‘fit’ in 2025.

And we’re excited for 2025. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

Partner-Level Attorneys: Are You Being Paid Your True Market Value?

As year-end approaches, many people start to consider new career opportunities. One obvious factor in determining if a job move makes sense is compensation. Compensation for attorneys can be determined by a number of objective and subjective factors including tenure, quality of work product, profitability, and information gathered from salary studies. You may know how your compensation stacks up to others at your firm or even what people make at other firms, but do know if it is comparable to what you would make in the open market?

A lot of attorneys have no idea if their compensation measures up to their true market value. By true market value, I am referring to how much you could expect to earn if you decided to explore other options in the legal market – not what a typical attorney makes after so many years of experience. Some people are actually making more than they would in the open market because they are currently being rewarded for factors that are not given the same consideration by prospective employers. Yes, loyalty and teamwork are valued by all employers, but it is often measurable attributes such as business generation and working receipts that carry the most weight in the open market.

If you are working hard to generate business and starting to see real revenue growth as a result, you should ask yourself how much of your potential income is going to others who are not as productive (especially those who make no effort). There may be other factors that make your current work experience so positive that the potential of lost income is okay, but if you could have a similar experience and make considerably more money elsewhere it might be worth your time to explore your true market value.

Navigating Legal Recruiting: A Guide to Finding Your Next Opportunity

In this competitive legal market, finding the right opportunity can be a daunting task. Whether you’re a seasoned attorney looking to make a strategic career move or a recent law school graduate eager to kickstart your professional journey, navigating the legal recruitment process requires a strategic approach. Here are some key insights to help you on your path to success:

1. Define Your Goals: Before diving into the job market, take the time to clarify your career objectives. Are you seeking a specific practice area, aiming for a particular firm size, or prioritizing work-life balance? Understanding your priorities will streamline your search and ensure you target opportunities that align with your professional aspirations.
2. Research Thoroughly: Knowledge is power when it comes to legal recruiting. Research potential employers, review their practice areas, client base, and company culture. Speaking to a legal recruiter can provide information that websites, legal publications, and professional networks cannot provide. Additionally, consider reaching out to contacts within your network for firsthand perspectives.
3. Tailor Your Resume: Stand out from the crowd by customizing your application materials for each opportunity. Craft a compelling resume that highlights relevant experience, skills, and achievements.
4. Leverage Networking: In the legal industry, networking can open doors to new opportunities. Attend industry events, conferences, and seminars to expand your professional network. Engage with peers, mentors, and industry professionals on platforms like LinkedIn to build meaningful connections and stay informed about potential job openings.
5. Prepare for Interviews: Success in legal recruiting often hinges on your performance during interviews. Research common interview questions, practice your responses, and prepare thoughtful questions to ask your interviewers. Demonstrating your knowledge of the firm and enthusiasm for the role can set you apart as a candidate.
6. Stay Persistent and Flexible: The legal recruiting process can be unpredictable, with timelines varying between firms. Stay patient and maintain a proactive approach to your job search. Be open to exploring different opportunities that may arise unexpectedly, as they could lead to valuable experiences and career growth.
7. Seek Professional Guidance: If you’re navigating legal recruiting for the first time or seeking specialized advice, consider consulting with legal recruiters. The recruiters at Sand Search possess industry expertise and can provide valuable insights into market trends, potential employers, and career strategies tailored to your goals. Navigating legal recruiting requires diligence, preparation, and a clear understanding of your career objectives. By working with a recruiter and taking a proactive approach to your job search, leveraging your network, and presenting yourself as a well-rounded candidate, you can position yourself for success in the competitive legal landscape.

A Checklist For Starting A Job Search

We are regularly asked by candidates for thoughts on what they should do to get started on their job search. Here is a quick list of things you should think about:

• Your resume. Get the resume polished up. Read it. Re-read it. Know it backwards and forwards. Think about what you did in each position and know how those skills apply to any future job. Understand how an employer will view your resume and be able to explain any gaps. If you are unsure about how your resume looks or how to present your skills, consider seeking advice from others in the industry or a professional resume reviewer.

• Your resume (again). Proofread your resume. Make sure your telephone number is correct. Make sure things are spelled correctly. Make sure the dates are right. I can’t stress enough how important it is that your resume s flawless.

• Your “online” presence. Make sure your LinkedIn profile tracks (exactly) with your resume. Clean up any online posts that are not appropriate for a job seeker. Try to limit the amount of “charged” content that can be easily found (political, religious, conspiracy theories, etc.). Additionally, this is a great time to check and make sure that you have a working personal email account that you will check regularly. Don’t use your work email for job searching.

• Your transcripts. It seems crazy, but employers still care about your law school grades. Get a copy of your transcript (even if it is an unofficial transcript downloaded from the school’s website). Having a copy of your undergraduate transcript isn’t a bad idea, either.

• Your references. Start talking to your references EARLY in the process. First off, make sure that they will serve as a reference for you and (and this is important) ASK THEM WHAT THEY WOULD SAY ABOUT YOU if they were asked by a potential employer. Don’t leave it to chance. Know what they are going to highlight. Ask if there was anything in your past that needed improvement that they would mention. The other reason you want to talk to your references early in the process is that they are your champions: they are the ones most likely to assist you if they hear of an opportunity. Letting them know you are looking can only help you.

• Your penmanship. Get ready to send a lot of thank you cards. Send one to anyone who helps you (in any way) with your job search. Go buy some thank you cards in bulk.

• Your caffeine tolerance. Once you have everything pulled together, it’s time to start networking and having coffees with those you trust. Get ready to use your spare time to network and plan on picking up the tab at the coffee shops!

Addressing What’s Important To The Other Side During An Interview

A common flaw in the interview process is focusing primarily on what you want, which applies to both the interviewer and the interviewee. Intuitively, you would expect the person interviewing for a job approach to “sell” the potential employer on why they should be hired, but the conversation can often center more on what can they do for me. Likewise, it is more common for an employer to focus almost entirely on whether this candidate is the right person for the position. Either way, you may miss an opportunity because you don’t address what’s important to the other side.

A critical component to a successful interview is to do your homework on the what the other party desires before-hand, if possible. This is undoubtedly easier for the interviewee if there is a job description, but both sides can and should explore what the other side desires in the interview and try to address those areas. For an interviewer, this may be simply asking why the person is interested in the opportunity and then specifically address the components of the job that would appeal to the interviewee. For the interviewee, there may be a template for the job in the form of a position description, but undoubtedly there are some areas that may matter more, and it often does not cover more subjective topics like working relationships, management style, etc.

The relatively simple step of addressing what is important to the other side can really payoff in landing the ideal candidate or the perfect job.

What Is Your Objective?

Can we talk for a minute about the objective statements that we are seeing on more and more legal resumes? Your resume is supposed to tell a potential employer how you can solve THEIR problems. The firm/company is hiring because they have a need or some other problem that needs to be solved. A resume, legal or otherwise, should be able to answer the question of how you can meet those needs.

An objective statement does the opposite and states what YOU want from the employer. By definition, it can’t effectively convey to an employer that you can help them, but can only tell an employer how they can help you. Sure, it can show that your interests are aligned with the firm, but that is what an interview is for. To put a finer point on this, in over 20 years of legal recruiting, we have not seen an effective objective statement.

To make matters worse, the objective statement is often placed at the very top of the first page of a resume. That’s valuable real estate and a spot where it can immediately frustrate a busy reader who is not going to spend much time reading your resume.

Telling a potential employer that you would like to be given an opportunity because it fits within your career goals is unnecessary and obvious. Instead, use the resume to demonstrate that you have the ability to do the work and your chances of landing that position will increase.

'Tis the Season

This time of year often calls for personal and professional reflection. It is a good time, and often beneficial exercise, to re-evaluate your employment situation. Of course, in this day and age, we should be grateful for gainful employment, but that does not mean you should not consider ways to advance your career.

Loyalty is certainly an admirable trait, but if you are not willing to at least consider other jobs, you might be missing a real chance for career advancement. Of course, the grass is not always greener elsewhere, but you will never know unless you are willing explore other options from time to time. And there may not be such thing as the absolute perfect job, but you might be able to improve certain aspects of your career that are particularly important to you. So go ahead and test the waters – maybe you will realize that you have it pretty darn good already or you might just find a better path to achieving your career objectives.

Forest vs. The Trees

Sometimes it is hard to see the forest for the trees. My family used to throw that phrase around a bit when I was younger, but I never fully understood what they meant (although that didn’t stop me from using the phrase, too). When searching for a better explanation of the phrase, I often was pointed to the parable about the three blind men being asked to describe an elephant based on the part that they could touch. This story was interesting and a little bit humorous, but our family never said “you can’t see the elephant by only looking at its tail”. Giving it more thought, there is no sense going beyond the reference to someone who gets lost in the details of a situation and who is unable to see the full situation that they are in.

Once place where this is evident is when I talk to attorneys seeking new jobs and they only focus on one portion of the compensation component of an offer they received. Yes, base compensation is important. There is no doubt that there should be some threshold number by which you won’t work for a firm/company if the base salary is below that number. But there are lots of other factors, too, all of which must be considered. Bonus opportunities, billable hours, retirement contributions, health insurance and other benefits, paid time off, stock options or equity are among a myriad of factors that should be considered as part of the package.

Many of these factors are negotiable. In addition to salary, bonuses, PTO and billable hours may be negotiable. On the contrary, when you are eligible to participate in the company retirement plan is governed by a plan document that is immovable and your request to be able to participate outside of the terms will fall on deaf ears.

When examining a compensation package, only you know what will work for you and your family. When making the calculus of what the opportunity is worth to you, it is a fatal flaw to not think about the package as a whole, but rather focus on only one piece of the package!

Ready...Fire....Aim.

Wow – that looks like a good opportunity….I’ll send my resume there. And there. And there. Oooh, and there, too.

What is happening above is potentially a bad strategy. Sending resumes out without giving thought about the opportunity can be a roadmap for failure. Too often we hear of attorneys who will blindly send their resume out to a list of firms without think about the potential fit and the possible consequences. It’s best to not only be aware of WHERE you send your resume, but WHY you are sending it.

What that means is that before you send out a resume – and I mean each and every time – take some time to think about the firm you are contacting. What are their strengths and weaknesses? Who are their clients? What is their reputation? How would you fit in? What can I contribute to their firm that they couldn’t get from another candidate? Now take this information and make the case as to why you are a good fit for the firm. If you can’t convince yourself (or your spouse…or your mom) then you aren’t going to convince the firm. And let’s face it – not everyone is right for every job.

How can you tell if you might fit in with a firm? Do your homework. Read the local legal blogs and trade publications, work with a legal recruiter, talk to your friends, read the firm’s NALP form, look at the firm’s website or see how they present themselves on social media. These are great resources that can help you decide whether you would be a fit.

If you graduated at the bottom of your class and your experience isn’t on point, don’t waste your time sending in a resume to an AmLaw 100 firm that requires a top-of-the-class academic pedigree and spot-on experience. They aren’t going to change their standards just for you.

On the other hand, if you are on the cusp with your experience and you can make a strong case about how you would slot into their firm culture/clients/etc. and that your experience or contacts would add to their practice then you should pursue that opportunity.

Choose your battles wisely, though. Another reason that blanketing a market with your resume could be a bad strategy is that you might be shooting yourself in the foot for future positions. Every rejection letter ever written by a law firm has the obligatory phrase “we will keep your resume on file for future opportunities….” While I think that might be true at some firms, it’s baloney at a great majority of the firms. If you are rejected for a position that you weren’t qualified for, you are now in their system as a candidate who was reviewed and rejected. You just made it very easy to overlook your resume if you send in your resume again in 6 months for a position that you are PREFECT for.

So remember to aim before you shoot. I’m sure you will hit your target with greater frequency.

The Best Part of Our Job

One of the most exciting parts of our job as recruiters is helping people move from a place of feeling “stuck” to a place where they can enjoy their career again. So many attorneys that we meet feel like something has stagnated in their career. Maybe they aren’t advancing in their current position as quickly as they had hoped (or at all). Maybe the current employer has changed to the point of being a toxic environment. Maybe a key client is no longer compatible with the firm. Maybe the attorney is just looking for a change.

No matter the reason, helping attorneys find the next step on their journey is truly the most satisfying part of our jobs. Obviously, we can’t help everyone; but it is so energizing to hear from attorneys that we have placed that their career trajectory has been restored. So often we hear how their career feels revitalized and they have a new enthusiasm for the practice of law again!

Are you feeling stuck? Is it time for a change? If so, we’d be happy to speak with you about the current legal market and see if we can help you, too!

Summertime Opportunities

It's a common job search myth that summertime is a bad time to search for a job. Sure, there are a lot of scheduling conflicts with interviews. The decision-makers are sure to be out of town or on vacation right when you are supposed to meet with them. These interview headaches are unavoidable in the warmer months (especially when you live here in Minnesota where we get so precious few nice days).

But I'd ask you to consider a few things:

1. The timing may be right. A job search in summer may make sense because the golden handcuffs of future-bonuses may not be too tight. The longer you wait, the more that the siren song of the potential bonus will dissuade you from exploring your options.

2. The market may be strong. Wit a couple of quarters under their belt, law firms and corporate in-house legal departments start to make assessments about their needs for the rest of the year and how they are going to spend their recruiting dollars. Many firms put off hiring in the first few quarters to focus on building a strong base of billable and really don't start to think about recruiting until they are deep in the second quarter.

3. The pool is smaller. Just because YOU know that the warmer months aren't a bad time to look for a new opportunity, doesn't mean that others aren't going to be dissuaded by season. That creates a smaller candidate pool which you can use to your advantage.

If you are interested in exploring your options this summer, please reach out to one of the knowledgeable attorney recruiters at Sand Search and let them help you make sense of the current legal market!

A New Age For Resumes? A Discussion.

I’ll be the first to admit it: I’m a dinosaur when it comes to technology. I’m rarely on any social media and when I think of “new technology” I actually think of using the brand new Apple IIe computer in my elementary school to play the DOS version of Oregon Trail (man, that was cool)!

I recently saw a social media post about the demise of resumes. The post argued that because Chat GPT and other artificial intelligence apps can draft resumes for you, no one should ever have to worry about drafting their own resume again. Not only are these computer generated documents specifically tailored to a position, they are drafted using the actual job description (which you feed into the computer algorithm).

After playing around a bit on one of the websites, I’m not sure what to think. The technology looks impressive, but the initial results are extremely raw and MUST be revised heavily by HUMAN eyes. Additionally, the results put the resume into a format that is better suited for the business community, NOT a legal resume. As we’ve discussed, legal resumes are nuanced and different from a traditional resume. The formats they suggest are far too flashy and contain sections in a resume that have no place in a legal resume (I’m looking at you, objective section and emojis in the headings). That said, it is just a matter of time before the AI learns about legal resumes and hones in on the appropriate format.

The other thing that is nagging at me is that the resume serves as your first writing sample to a potential legal employer. It is an example of your work. Sure, it can (and should,) be reviewed by others to get it as close to perfect as possible, but that dinosaur in me is uneasy with presenting a resume that was entirely drafted by someone else (or “something else” as it relates to artificial intelligence).

I can imagine a scenario where law firms are going to have to ask the question “was this resume drafted by you” as a gateway question. I wonder if the writing samples attorneys provide will be under the same scrutiny.

Certainly, not all employers will care about how the resume was generated. If it is accurate and is an honest reflection of an attorney’s work history and summary of their skills, it may not matter. Some employers may applaud the creativity of using AI to draft a legal resume, just as many firms are exploring how AI can be used to draft legal briefs.

But others will care. And this rift in the market will be one more area where communication between an employer, a candidate and a recruiter will be important.

We will be keeping a close eye on the trend to have resumes drafted by a computer. Will they stick, or will they go the way of the DOS-based computer game and fade from memory? Time will tell.

Are You Being Paid Your True Market Value?

Compensation for attorneys can be determined by a number of objective and subjective factors including tenure, quality of work product, profitability, and information gathered from salary studies. You may know how your compensation stacks up to others at your firm or even what people make at other firms, but do know if it is comparable to what you would make in the open market?

A lot of attorneys have no idea if their compensation measures up to their true market value. By true market value, I am referring to how much you could expect to earn if you decided to explore other options in the legal market – not what a typical attorney makes after so many years of experience. Some people are actually making more than they would in the open market because they are currently being rewarded for factors that are not given the same consideration by prospective employers. Yes, loyalty and teamwork is valued by all employers, but it is often measurable attributes such as business generation and working receipts that carry the most weight in the open market.

If you are working hard to generate business and starting to see real revenue growth as a result, you should ask yourself how much of your potential income is going to others who are not as productive (especially those who make no effort). There may be other factors that make your current work experience so positive that the potential of lost income is okay, but if you could have a similar experience and make considerably more money elsewhere it might be worth your time to explore your true market value.

Uncertainty

Wherever there is change, and wherever there is uncertainty, there is opportunity. -Mark Cuban

The market is shifting. You feel it in your current position. You hear it time and time again on the news. A looming recession. Inflation. Layoffs. Chilling business news. Political chaos. International standoffs. And yet, we get a booming jobs report and all is forgotten. The whiplash you feel is real. What can you do to prepare for (potentially) rough seas ahead?

The bottom line is this – no one knows what the legal market is going to look like tomorrow, several months, or a year down the road. The best thing you can do is prepare for a volatile market now.

1. Brush off your resume and be ready to make a move. With all change and uncertainty comes opportunity. Be ready for it. If your current firm is struggling, another firm may be booming. Be ready to make a move when the right opportunity is presented to you (or better yet, go seek it out).
2. Get as much experience as you can! If you have experience gaps in your resume, work hard to fill them now. If you haven’t taken a deposition, work to get that skill. If you haven’t been client-facing in your practice, work to get in front of clients!
3. Start networking. You shouldn’t wait until you need your network to start networking. Use your lunches, coffees and cocktails wisely to stay top-of-mind with your peers.
4. Stay calm. This too shall pass. We are coming off one of the biggest boom cycles in the legal market. Any market correction will quickly pass.

Holidays Are Great Times to Prepare for A Job Search

As 2022 draws to a close, our thoughts turn to the upcoming year. If a new position is in your future, now is a great time to lay the groundwork for that search. The best thing you can do is work on your resume (note I didn’t say CV – in the legal arena we use resumes).

Think about all the things you accomplished in the past year and jot them down. You won’t necessarily use all of those things in your resume, but those notes will help you remember things when it comes time to draft a resume that is tailored to each and every position you apply.

Think about the things that made you stand out in your current position. Having a cookie-cutter resume that simply recites the position description from when you were hired is not a great way to get noticed. If you resume just screams “yeah, I did that” without also saying “I did that thing well and here is where I stood out doing that thing” then you are missing an opportunity to rise to the top of the resume pile.

Once the new year starts, you will notice a strong uptick in open positions, so thinking about your accomplishments and how you will tweak your resume NOW will pay dividends LATER!

Happy holidays from Sand Search!

The Market Is Shifting

While we still believe that the legal market is strong, we are no longer in the hiring boom that we saw for the past year or so. This has the potential to be good for those who are looking to make a move. As counterintuitive as that is, now may be a good time to look for your next opportunity.

For much of 2021 and 2022, the demand for corporate, M&A and real estate transactional attorneys put a lot of strain on the legal job market. Firms and corporations alike used an all-hands-on-deck method of recruiting these attorneys. To a great degree, those efforts were at the expense of making efforts to shore up other practice groups. Now that the hiring has become less frenzied, firms have more time to focus on their needs in other areas. We are seeing a fair amount of movement in the non-transactional disciplines and law firms have started to shift to hiring across their other practice groups.

For a lot of attorneys who either held on to their current position because they were too busy to move or because they weren’t in the “hot” practice groups, NOW is a great time to make a move. Most firms understand that attorneys may need to wait until the end of year for their bonuses, but interviews for those 2023 moves are happening now!

If now is a good time for you to make a move, then exploring your options sooner rather than later is best. Make sure your resume is up to date and talk to an experienced legal recruiter to see if they can help you!

The Dog Days of Summer

The dog days of summer are a perfect time of year to assess your current employment situation. For many, late summer offers a chance to take a breathe from a hectic work year - whether you find yourself with some free time in the office or are out vacationing. Yes, loyalty is an admirable trait but if you are not willing to at least consider other jobs, you might be missing a real chance for career advancement.

Of course the grass is not always greener elsewhere, but you will never know unless you are willing explore other options from time to time. There may not be such thing as the absolute perfect job, but you might be able to improve certain aspects of your career that are particularly important to you.

So after some self-reflection, ask yourself if you are content with your current job or is it less than what you had hoped at this point in your career? If you hoped for more, now is an excellent time to consider a change because you may actually have time to update your resume, start networking, and perhaps test the market. Even if you are waiting for a year-end bonus, it is not too soon to start the process.