 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Legal recruiting services |
| Founded | New York City, New York, 2005 |
Key people | Michael Allen, Principal and T.J. Duane, Principal |
| Website | www.laterallink.com |
Lateral Link is a legal recruiting firm and networking forum of "elite" attorneys founded in December 2005 by several Harvard Law Schoolalumni. The company combines the traditional personal services of a legal recruiter with the features of an online job database. The company assists only a small subset of attorneys worldwide based on very stringent experience and academic standards. If an attorney meets the company’s admittance standards (Lateral Link generally limits access to its job postings to graduates of top-tier law schools with a minimum of two years of work experience), the attorney may register as “Member” with the company via its website to gain free access to standard benefits, such as personalized search consultant assistance, daily job updates, career counseling, guaranteed signing bonuses, Online Career Library, and market information. That makes the company’s service exclusive to Members based on their credentials instead of gaining access by paying subscription fees. However, the company receives a fee from an employer only if an attorney hires one of its Members through the personalized assistance of one of the company’s Search Consultants through traditional executive search services. Lateral Link works with both law firms and in-house legal employers in the United States, Asia, Western Europe, and Middle East. One of its major competitors is Major, Lindsey & Africa (MLA).
HISTORY
editFounded in 2005 by Harvard Law School graduates, Lateral Link introduced to the legal recruiting market a new concept of paying its Members $10,000 guaranteed signing bonus if placed with one of its law firm employer clients. It initially focused on the California and New York legal markets. By mid-2008, demand for Lateral Link's services enabled it to grow to include legal placement services covering most major metropolitan areas in United States, Asia, Western Europe and Middle East. Lateral Link also distinguished itself from other lateral placement companies by accepting for "Membership" only those attorneys deemed to be "top-tier" candidates. Its “Members”, who initially register for the company’s services via its online registration process, have access to a suite of online and offline tools, such personalized search consultant assistance, daily job updates, career counseling, guaranteed signing bonuses, online Career Library, and market information.
COMPANY OVERVIEW
editThe company’s website allows an attorney who is interested in making a career transition to become a "Member" by submitting his/her resume and job preference information. The Member may then browse the online job listings, which include associate attorney positions at all levels with both law firms and in-house employers. The identities of the employers are not initially disclosed; they are revealed to the Member once a match is determined, either automatically or after review by a Lateral Link search consultant, if necessary. The Member also has the option of bypassing the online job database and contacting a Lateral Link search consultant directly for immediate assistance in the recruiting process. When a Member contacts a Lateral Link search consultant, the Lateral Link search consultant will guide the applicant through the process of setting up interviews, meeting with potential employers, and negotiating salaries. Lateral Link offers any Member whom it places in a law firm associate position a $10,000 guaranteed signing bonus. Lateral Link also collects and analyzes market data about the legal recruiting market. Major publications including Business Week, National Law Journal, ABA Journal, and Lawyer have relied on Lateral Link for this information to support editorial content.
FOUNDING
editThe company was founded by Harvard Law School alumni, including its current Principal - Michael Allen – and Advisory Board member - David Dorfman. Michael Allen holds a B.A. in Political Science, summa cum laude, with a concentration in Economics, from the University of California, San Diego and a J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School. David Dorfman holds a B.A. in Anthropology from Cornell University, where he also completed the Program in Human Biology, a J.D. from Harvard Law School, and an M.B.A from New York University with concentrations in Finance and Strategy.
TIMELINE
editDecember 2005: Initial Business Plan Development and Secured Financing (Michael Allen & David Dorfman)
January – April 2006: Technological Development
April 2006: Beta Launch of Website
July 2006: Hired First Employee (Brian Sawers)
October 2006: Launch Business Operations Nationwide (Michael Allen & David Dorfman)
January 2007: Recapitalization; Company Shows Net Profit; and TJ Duane Joins Lateral Link
March 2007: Partnership with Cypress Recruiting for Asia-based Business
January 2008: Western Europe Based Business Established
June 2008: First Legal Placement Firm to Offer Free Career Counseling
July 2008: Partnership with Cornell's BR Legal
April 1-4, 2009: Michael Allen, Co-Founder and Principal of Lateral Link will be attending the NALP 2009 Annual Education ConferencePlenary Session on how the web influences the decision making of law students and attorneys in the legal market with one of Vault.com's Founders; David Lat, Editor of AbovetheLaw.com; and Mark Weber, Harvard Law School Dean of Career Services.
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
editAlthough the company is privately held by Michael Allen and TJ Duane, the company utilizes a Board of Advisors for guidance without imposing fiduciary duties. According to their website, selection for the Board of Advisors is highly selective, by invitation only, and primarily based on prominent or outstanding career achievements. Below are the company’s Board of Advisors:
Business Development Committee
Dr. Daniel Cohen - Professor of Entrepreneurship, Cornell University
David Dorfman - Co-Founder, Lateral Link Group, LLC
Mike Ghaffary - Vice President of Business Development, Stitcher
Andre Vanier - Principal, Rondee.com
Corporate Counsel Committee
Danielle Bernthal - Assistant General Counsel, Six Flags,Inc.
Tanya Jaeger - Senior Counsel, Pfizer, Inc.
Rayan Joshi - Corporate Counsel, Plainfield Asset Management LLC
Josh Kreinberg - General Counsel, Spark Networks
Arash Mostafavipour - Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Mortgage Services, LLC
Justin Newman - Counsel, Oliver Wyman Group
Wendy Perlmutter - Deputy Family Services Coordinator, Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services
Renee Soto - Associate, Sard & Verbinnen & Co.
Doug Ulene - General Counsel, The Paramount Group
Charles Appiah - Counsel, Koch Entertainment
Diversity Committee
Michele Jackson - Senior Recruiter, Bank of New York Mellon
Voltaire Sterling - Actor, Attorney
Maricar Tinio - Lateral Link Group, LLC, Chief Diversity Officer
Ethics Committee
Mike Guttentag - Associate Professor of Law, William S. Boyd School of Law (UNLV)
David Yosifon - Assistant Professor of Law, Santa Clara Law School
Law Firm Associate Committee
Wade Ackerman - Litigation Associate, Kirkland & Ellis
Khalisha Banks - Corporate Associate, Shearman & Sterling
Justin Dillion - Attorney, Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis LLP
Mark Getachew - Corporate Associate, Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP
David Herzog - Litigation Associate, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
Harold McDougall IV - Corporate Associate, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP
Tenlay Naliboff - Corporate Associate, Latham & Watkins LLP
Katherine Todd - Trademark Associate, Winston & Strawn LLP
Recruiting Committee
Michele Canny - Attorney Recruiting Manager, Winston & Strawn LLP
Raquel DeMaio - Lateral Hiring & Projects Manager, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
Demetria Johnson - Associate Recruitment Manager, Hogan & Hartson
Ana Lesce - Associate Director of Recruiting , King & Spalding LLP
Jamie Morikawa - Career Services, UCLA Law School
Kara Powell - Recruitment and Integration Manager, Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal LLP
Robyn Steele - Director of Recruiting, Irell & Manella
Laura Sticksel - Director of Recruiting, Jackson Lewis LLP
Technology Committee
Raj Selvadurai - Senior Executive, Vault Inc.
REFERENCES
edit1. Cassens Weiss, Debra. $10K Bonus Offered to Lawyers Landing Jobs Via New Services <http://www.abajournal.com/weekly/10k_bonus_offered_to_lawyers_landing_jobs_via_new_service> ABA Journal (Retrieved February 13, 2008)
2. Corporate Legal Times.
2. Fortado, Lindsay. Lehman, Merrill Will Damage Lawyer's Careers, Survey Says. <http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aTEWMTF.ROao>. Bloomberg.com (Retrieved September 18, 2008).
3. Iafolla, Robert. Web-based Recruiting Firm Shuns Cold Calls. The Daily Journal (Retrieved June 25, 2006) <http://www.laterallink.com/about/press#q6>
4. Lowe, Zach. Will New Legal Recruiters Succeed With Pay-to-Place Business Model? <http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202422383197&rss=newswire> . The American Lawyer. (Retrieved August 2008).
5. Needleman, Sarah E. Careers: Members Only <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119998551341381221.html?mod=Careers> . The Wall Street Journal (Retrieved May 15, 2008).
6. Orey, Michael. Lawyers in the Lurch. <http://images.businessweek.com/ss/08/07/0717_btw/4.htm?chan=search> . Business Week (Retrieved August 2008).
7. Sandler, Betsy. Finding Top Talent. How Lateral Link helps corporate legal departments get the best people. 8-K. (Retrieved Spring 2008)