Lateral Move Should Make Career Sense First, Economic Sense Second, Experts Say
Lawyers considering a career move shouldn’t jump to a new law firm simply because they are fed up with their current job or they want to make bigger bucks.
Instead, it’s important to consider whether the move will help achieve long-term career goals, according to legal search consultants Valerie Fontaine and Roberta Kass, writing for Law.com.
“Sometimes trading top dollar for other considerations can lead to higher earning power later on,” they write. “Ideally, a move should make career sense first and economic sense second.”
Fontaine and Kass give an example of a strategic career move. A lawyer who ultimately wants to move to an in-house career should consider whether a new job will help develop needed skills and whether it offers relationships with clients who may be future potential employers.
They identify these considerations: Does the move offer new challenges, training or exposure to a more sophisticated practice? Will it help you attract and better serve clients? Does it offer a more balanced lifestyle and a good fit with colleagues? “Can you live with these people?” they write. “Are they like family?
They also write that cross-selling can be an important career consideration. Moving to a firm with clients you can represent based on your separate legal expertise can help you increase revenues without finding new clients. And having colleagues with differing expertise can eliminate the need to refer business to another law firm. “Clients often like one-stop shopping,” they say.
