Tips for Making the Correct Lateral Move
Dissatisfied with your current attorney position? If you’re ready to take the plunge and move on to greener pastures with a different organization, great – you’ve come to the right place!
Making a lateral move is understandably difficult for many attorneys from a psychological perspective. You may have a tightknit social circle at your current organization, or you may have carved out a comfortable niche for yourself in terms of the projects you’re assigned (and the resources you’re given access to). Lateral moves are inherently risky, in many cases, given that the new position may ultimately be worse for you than the old one was: career stagnation, firm culture conflict, and more.
Thus, the key to making a successful lateral move is in minimizing the potential costs – your lateral move should not leave you stagnant, nor should it be a step backwards. In fact, the best lateral moves accelerate your career growth.
So, what steps can you take to ensure that your lateral move is the correct one?
Confirm That The New Organization is a Cultural Fit
Making sure that the organizational culture is a good fit is fundamental to the success of your lateral move.
For example, if you are interested in working with highly-motivated, aggressive attorneys on cutting edge projects, you’ll likely suffer if you orchestrate a lateral move to a mid-sized lifestyle firm.
The culture of the organization – whether it is the in-house legal department of a company, or a law firm – to a large extent predicts (though it does not determine) the type of colleagues and work you’ll be exposed to over the course of your career with said organization.
Though there are a diverse array of personality types represented in most modern legal workplaces, certain personality traits are encouraged depending on the organizational culture. As such, think carefully about the personalities that you’d like to work with, and be honest with yourself – the colleagues that you are surrounded by will have a significant impact on your workplace satisfaction.
Figuring out the true workplace culture of an organization can be an exceedingly difficult task for attorney applicants without a connection at the organization in question. Well-connected legal recruiters like Garb Jaffe & Associates can provide you with an insider’s perspective that could save you from years of frustration.
Identify Your Compromises
If you’re like most applicants, you probably have a list of ideal requirements for your lateral move: salary, hours, assignments, career trajectory, etc. Though it’s good to use these ideal requirements as a baseline for determining the firms that are “best fit,” it’s also important to assess your priorities and understand what you’re willing to compromise on.
In other words: in the job hunting context, what is a need and what is a want?
For example, suppose that you are looking to improve your work-life balance somewhat. You currently bill 2,300+ hours, and you’d like to reduce that to l,800 or so. This is a need – it is the primary reason why you are making a lateral move to a different firm. On the other hand, you’d also like to retain the same salary as you’re earning right now. This may be a want – perhaps you are willing to accept a slightly lower salary (or a lower annual salary increase) in order to work less.
By identifying your wants and needs, you can better assess which firms meet your career profile best.
Assess Your Growth Potential And That of The Organization
Stagnant career growth is one of the main reasons why attorneys look to make a lateral move. It is unfortunately common for attorneys to run into career roadblocks at their current organization. For numerous and varied reasons, growth can stagnate: office politics, team conflicts, project failure, and more.
A lateral move can be an excellent way to jumpstart your career trajectory again, but you should make sure to do some due diligence on the organization to confirm that the type of career growth you’re looking for is actually possible.
For example, if a firm has been steadily downsizing over the past 5 years, you may want to steer clear. Partnership positions will be hard-fought and meaningful career growth may be much more difficult than at a different firm.
Similarly, though organizations with flat management hierarchies (forward looking tech companies, for example) can be good for employee quality-of-life, a position with such an organization may interfere with your career ambitions. Growth opportunities can be limited in flat hierarchies.
Speak with your legal recruiter about various organizations you’re interested in joining. They’ll have information about the firm, from the growth trajectory of the firm itself (losses, job cuts, etc.) to prospects for individual career growth at the firm for a lateral hire.
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Making a lateral move can be a confusing, even anxiety-causing event for some attorneys. For professional guidance on making a lateral move, speak with a Los Angeles legal recruiter at Garb Jaffe & Associates. We have extensive experience placing attorneys with law firms located across California, and will advise throughout the recruitment process to ensure that you secure an ideal lateral placement.
Call us today at (310) 207-0727 for a free consultation.