Carrie Heller, president of legal recruitment firm the Heller Group, says associates at firms of all sizes are feeling the pressure to bring money into the firm. “Most firms, even larger ones, are zoning in on the ability to generate business earlier and earlier,” she says. “Maybe not in the first year, but certainly by the fifth year, they’re trying to teach mid-level associates how to market themselves and think about what they have to do to be viewed as someone who can generate business.” According to our survey, the only people causing managing partners as much grief in the compensation department as their associates are their co-owners. “Partner inequities” and “partner percentages” were common headaches cited by respondents. Heller says the profit allocation problem has been around as long as there have been law firms. “I’ve been hearing that forever, and I think always will,” she says. “In good times when everyone is making money, it’s less of an issue. Even then, you might think you deserve a bit more of the pie. In bad times, you become very aware of what everyone else is making.” Luckily, this year was a good one for most partners according to the survey, with 51 per cent of firms reporting an increase in partners’ earnings in the last year. However, reminders of the delicacy of the market recovery are never too far away. Around nine per cent of firms de-equitized partners in the last year, while the Heenan Blaikie LLP collapse (read more in this month’s cover story) is fresh in everyone’s minds. “That really hit home for so many people. A lot of people have taken a step back, and had a good look at their own firms. There’s a recognition that if it could happen to such a well-regarded and well-established firm, it could happen to anyone,” says Heller. Click here to read the entire article.

Andrew Blair, Author at Leading Legal Recruiters | Lawyer Recruitment Agency Toronto

Q: Focused job hunt takes time, flexibility

Louise Woollcombe remembers once meeting a job candidate at 6 a.m. Even though the workday technically only began at 9, the candidate was typically in the office by 7, and Woollcombe said, “they didn’t feel it was appropriate to meet during business hours.” So an early-morning meeting was the best option. “In a perfect world, every aspect of your [job] search would be done outside of business hours. Realistically, that doesn’t always happen,” said Woollcombe, a senior consultant with The Heller Group, which specializes in the recruitment and placement of lawyers. “If it’s something that can’t be helped…don’t feel guilty, but make sure you get your job done,” she said, about the difficulties lawyers have in finding a job, when they still have a job. With their schedules packed with meetings and hearings, and long and sometimes erratic work hours, lawyers face several challenges when it comes to searching for a new job or career opportunity. Click here to view the entire article.

Q: Legal Jobs in Finance

“National and multinational financial institutions can have between 100- and 300-member legal departments,” says Carrie Heller, founder of the Heller Group, a Toronto-based recruitment agency. ... What may be more surprising is that large financial institutions can be attractive for junior lawyers who want to concentrate on a practice. “Financial institutions have become very specialized, offering everything from careers in general corporate commercial law and securities to IT, wealth management and insurance,” says Heller. But the institutions also offer non-traditional legal roles. “Lawyers at financial institutions are moving into roles as diverse as regulatory compliance, risk management, policy, governance, employee relations and derivative document preparation,” Heller says. “There's a great deal of mobility there.” In a job market where articling positions are hard to come by, Heller says that there is a “real need” for junior-level associates, both in traditional and non-traditional roles. Large financial institutions, especially banks, often take on articling students, some of whom are retained. ... That being said, law firm experience isn't always a precondition for hiring junior lawyers. “Some of the banks prefer candidates who have industry experience in-house,” Heller says. “Many like to see candidates with a combination of in-house and law firm experience, but they're hard to come by at the junior level.” Click here to view the entire article (or magazine version ).

Q: Battle for talent pits small against big

Carrie Heller, president and founder of The Heller Group in Toronto, which specializes in recruiting partners and senior lawyers for major law firms, says small firms can be attractive, especially to junior lawyers, because they can give new recruits more experience. “In many smaller firms you’re going to gain more hands-on experience in client contact than you would in a larger firm, and with that hands-on experience goes greater responsibility.” It can often be easier for lawyers to build a client base at a smaller firm because they’ll be going after mid-market and smaller-type clients and can charge lower rates, says Heller. Often, when partners are looking to move, she says, they welcome the prospect of going to a smaller firm because they have companies they deal with that are trying to cut costs. Companies, especially those in the insurance field, are in a very competitive space and looking to save money on their legal bills, says Heller, so lawyers have a better chance of picking up business from those companies if they’re at a smaller firm that charges lower rates. Click here to view the entire article.

Q: A return to firm life

Generally, the longer a person remains in-house, the more challenging it can be to return to private practice, says Carrie Heller of The Heller Group Legal and Executive Search Inc. “At the more senior levels, when a lawyer is attempting to return to private practice, firms will often look for a portable book of business, which is difficult to have if you have been in-house,” says Heller. There are, of course, exceptions. In some cases, firms want the expertise, knowledge, and connections gained while in-house. “For example, in-house experience gained at the [Ontario Securities Commission] is often desirable for law firms. As well, in certain cases the corporate work of their former employer may follow the candidate once he/she moves in-house which is also attractive to firms,” she says. Click here to read the entire article.

Q: Current and future challenges

Lawyer and legal recruiter Carrie Heller says that corporations are increasingly hiring “top-tier trained” in-house counsel and viewing their role as important to both the management and business sides of the organization. “Corporate lawyers are advising not just on legal matters, but on strategic and corporate matters as well, and are becoming more sophisticated and specialized,” says Heller, president and founder of Toronto-based The Heller Group Legal and Executive Search Inc. “We have clients wanting to bring more of the work in-house and developing specialized practice areas internally, such as IP and employment law, and outsourcing less work, and are looking for the talent required to accomplish that.” Heller notes that in-house lawyers are sometimes surprised by the heavy workload. “Some have said they’re run off their feet and making less money, and want to move back to private practice. On the flip side, others have said they’re working as hard as they ever did in private practice, but absolutely love what they’re doing because they’re part of a business and not just a hired gun — and may not have taken a cut in compensation.” She sees that “open-minded” companies that appreciate their lawyers’ skills will involve them on the business side, resulting in happier lawyers feeling more a part of the organization. Click here to read the entire article.

Q: A Lateral move can help cure ills

Carrie Heller of The Heller Group says lawyers should think about a lateral move when they’re no longer excited by the job. “As a colleague of mine said, it’s when you wake up every day and say, ‘Do I want to fight this battle again today?’ It’s just as simple as that. You wake up and you’re not excited to go to work or you’re anxious about going to work or you start not winning certain pitches.” Lawyers might also be wise to think about a lateral change of scenery if the work environment doesn’t feel right or their practice is stagnant, says Heller. “I can’t claim that every lateral move will be the right lateral move,” says Heller. “Some can be very positive and others don’t turn out to be what you expected.” Partners who make a lateral move could end up losing clients, she says, as those clients may want to stay, and lawyers will also have to prove themselves again if they move. “You’ll have a new group of colleagues and you’ll no longer have the goodwill that you may have had in the other firm. It’s a new landscape so you’ll have to figure out the new environment and how you maneuver within it, how you get things done, and who’s important.” Heller says that when lawyers do decide to leave a firm they should refrain from advertising their plans. Click here to read the entire article.

Focused job hunt takes time, flexibility

Louise Woollcombe is quoted in the December 2, 2016 edition of The Lawyers Weekly on tips for managing your job search.

By Andrew Blair|2017-05-17T13:56:11-04:00November 30th, 2016|Archives, Press|Comments Off

End better than you started: 5 things you should do at the end of every workday

By following our easy end of workday routine you can check the stress at the elevator doors, feel confident that you are prepared for whatever tomorrow brings, and are able to go head out of the office a little happier than yesterday.

By Andrew Blair|2017-05-17T15:23:05-04:00September 3rd, 2014|Archives|0 Comments

Legal Jobs in Finance

Carrie Heller was quoted in the September 2014 issue of Lexpert regarding the expansion of legal departments in Canadian financial institutions and the diversity of legal roles available at these institutions.

By Andrew Blair|2017-04-08T19:03:17-04:00September 1st, 2014|Archives, Press|0 Comments

It’s all about timing: Social media and Marketing

Timing is everything when it comes to social media marketing, find out the ideal times to post across various social media platforms.

By Andrew Blair|2017-05-17T15:23:05-04:00August 1st, 2014|Archives|0 Comments

Battle for talent pits small against big

In the February 28, 2014 issue of The Lawyers Weekly, Carrie Heller was quoted on the advantages of working at smaller firms.

By Andrew Blair|2017-04-08T19:03:18-04:00July 15th, 2014|Archives, Press|0 Comments

On the upswing

Carrie Heller was quoted in the Canadian Lawyer Magazine on the results of the 2014 Canadian Lawyer Legal Fees Survey.

By Andrew Blair|2017-04-08T19:03:18-04:00July 7th, 2014|Archives, Press|0 Comments

A return to firm life

The August 2014 edition of Canadian Lawyer In-House magazine quoted Carrie Heller on recent examples of experienced in-house lawyers returning to private practice.

By Andrew Blair|2017-04-08T19:03:18-04:00June 30th, 2014|Archives, Press|0 Comments

Current and future challenges

In-House Counsel Magazine quoted Carrie Heller in its article on the current and future challenges of moving to an in-house position.

By Andrew Blair|2017-04-08T19:03:19-04:00April 15th, 2014|Archives, Press|0 Comments

A Lateral move can help cure ills

The March 21, 2014 issue of The Lawyers Weekly quotes Carrie Heller on the right time for lawyers to make a lateral move.

By Andrew Blair|2017-04-08T19:03:19-04:00March 31st, 2014|Archives, Press|0 Comments

Heenan partners to vote on firm’s future tonight: source

Carrie Heller is interviewed in LegalFeeds Blog regarding the movement of partners and associates when major firms wind-down.

By Andrew Blair|2017-04-08T19:03:19-04:00February 15th, 2014|Archives, Press|0 Comments

ablair

About Andrew Blair