We just completed a Senior Counsel search for a terrific client. Congratulations to Jennifer Hua, the winning candidate.
For almost 20 years, searches like these, from Counsel level to Deputy General Counsel level, have served as the “bread and butter” of our practice. We have recruited the right in-house counsel for companies throughout the Midwest and from coast to coast.
However, we all know that more and more staff level openings of this kind are being handled directly by your HR teams without engaging a search firm. That is why order-growth is coming increasingly from our Adjunct Counsel service line. We always adapt to what our clients want from us. Our current line-up of Adjunct Counsel is exceptional. Contact us to see resumes.
But with every new traditional direct hire search order, we (re)-prove the value proposition of using a search firm. Meaningfully important positions in your law department are filled faster, you spend less time with off-point candidates, diversity is proactively prioritized, and you are not limited to posting replies or word-of-mouth options. And so, I am stubbornly on the war path to make sure our firm maintains its share of this market.
This gives you a lot of leverage. The competition for your order is fierce and you have several excellent search firms from which to choose. Our selling points include niche expertise, high touch personal service, an extensive track record and flexibility on certain engagement terms (i.e., we don’t require a full retainer).
If you have a current opening that you are struggling to fill, or if you are prepared to start a new search, let me add an extra incentive for considering Evers Legal. On any search with a base salary above $170,000, we will give $10,000 in your company’s name to the charity of your choice. Invite your internal HR decision-makers and me to a meeting and let’s see how we can all work together. I am respectful of HR’s role, and we work well with HR once a search is authorized. In my experience, however, it is usually you (the General Counsel) who must first advocate for search firm use.
This offer expires at the end of 2016. Although, if it gains traction, I may extend the practice as a regular benefit of doing business with our firm. I don’t think companies engage search firms based on cost. It’s usually an all-or-nothing proposition, and the selection is based on quality and reputation once the company authorizes search-firm use. That’s why I don’t dabble in discounts as a means of attracting business. But the approach of giving to charity appeals to me. I hope it appeals to you as well, and generates some conversation. Enjoy the rest of your summer!