THE LATERAL UNICORN: An Alternate Viewpoint on the Quest for Revenue.

• Author: Corcoran, Timothy B.

Lateral recruiting has always has been an important approach for growing law firm revenue. However, in too many firms, lateral recruiting has shifted from one of many growth tactics to a critical strategy pursued at all costs. Rather than identifying a specific need to complement or augment an existing practice, and then seeking a lateral to fill that need, some seek any lateral candidates so long as they bring a sizable book of business.

Keep in mind the usual economic formula for generating law firm revenue: rates times hours times timekeepers. When clients both resist rate increases and demand efficiency (i.e., fewer hours), all that's left is seemingly to add timekeepers if the firm is expected to grow. So law firm leaders breathlessly pursue a clever strategy of recruiting laterals whose books of business will take the firm to new levels of performance.

The challenge also lies in the wish list of characteristics that the target rainmaker must possess. It's a glorious dream filled with rainbows and unicorns:

Portability. We seek an established partner whose many clients are so loyal and whose current firm culture and resources are so immaterial to client satisfaction, that all clients will immediately transfer their matters to our firm. We expect these clients to quickly become enamored with our firm, however, and never leave.

Integration. We seek a lateral whose specialty perfectly matches our own practice offerings and resource mix. We expect that neither party will experience a learning curve, that there will be no material conflicts between existing clients and the laterals' clients, that our approach to case management will be in harmony, that our billing systems will seamlessly adapt to the new clients' billing guidelines, and our under-utilized lawyers can be immediately deployed on many new matters.

'Til Death Do Us Part. We seek a lateral with a proven track record of transferring a book of business from one firm to another, so laterals who have jumped around a bit are acceptable. However, upon arrival, we expect lateral recruits to finally settle down and never pursue greener grass elsewhere.

Culture. We seek a lateral whose working style is perfectly matched with our own. We're collegial and have a firm-first attitude, and we anticipate others to adopt our style. While we seek a lateral who is accomplished and ambitious, we don't anticipate any disruptions or conflict with our current management structure or succession...