Lateral Associate Recruiting
Questions Laterals Ask About the Recruitment Process
What’s the best way for me to apply for a lateral position that is listed on your website?
You should e-mail your resume, cover letter and transcript to the local recruiting contact listed on the website.
What if I’m working with a recruiter but I have a friend or acquaintance who is a lawyer at McDermott?
You should tell the recruiter (in writing) that you don’t want him/her to submit your resume to McDermott because you already have a contact at the firm. Then you should send your resume to your contact who will then forward your resume to the recruiting department. The benefit of this is two-fold – you have a personal reference and your friend would receive a $10,000 referral bonus if you are hired!
What material will I need to provide during the recruitment process?
Initially, you should submit a resume, transcript and a cover letter that identifies your area of interest. As the process progresses, you will be asked to submit a list of all clients with whom you have worked for the prior three years and any parties adverse to those clients. This is an incredibly important step in our due diligence process because we must ensure there are not any conflicts that would prohibit us from hiring you. This is a rare situation but it does happen. More commonly, however, is that we may need to establish screening measures if any conflicts are identified. We would also ask you to complete our Professional Liability Insurance Questionnaire and to sign a background check waiver form so that we can conduct a standard background check on you. The due diligence measures identified above are standard among most large law firms.
What should I expect from the interview process?
The process may vary a bit depending on the department but typically, a lateral candidate is invited to meet one or two attorneys to ensure that preliminarily, your interests and experience are a good fit for the position. If both you and the attorneys with whom you met agree the fit appears to be right, you would be invited to return to meet five or six additional partners and associates in that department. Again, each situation may vary slightly, but the department is usually able to make a decision about an offer at this point.
How is the offer extended?
First, before an offer can be extended, the due diligence process must be completed. Thus, the conflicts review, Professional Liability Insurance Questionnaire and background check all must be completed, reviewed and approved before an offer can be extended. Once that process is complete, you will receive the offer verbally from a partner in that department and then you will receive an offer letter.
What does the Firm do to help new lateral attorneys become quickly integrated into the Firm?
McDermott is a firm that has been very successful in hiring a number of lateral attorneys at all levels so it is very ingrained in the firm’s culture to be supportive of new lateral attorneys. The firm is known for having an extremely collegial environment which helps to make newcomers feel comfortable and welcome immediately.
In addition, each office provides an orientation on a new attorney’s first day on the Firm’s technology, support resources, processes and procedures to help make the transition as seamless as possible.
This local orientation is supplemented by a Firmwide Lateral Orientation conducted by our Professional Development Department every two months for all lateral attorneys hired in the prior two months. Also, the over 250 training programs offered through McDermott University and the monthly departmental meetings are excellent ways for laterals to meet their colleagues and learn what areas of practice and expertise exist within the firm. The firm encourages new attorneys to participate in firm committees such as the recruiting committee and pro bono committee which will help them become integrated quickly. These various programs are supplemented by the efforts of each individual department or office which vary but include happy hours, welcome breakfasts, etc. to help laterals meet their new colleagues immediately.