Articles From the Team

Is it better to grow organically or through lateral hires?

As the legal market continues to pick up and teams are getting increasingly busy in terms of work flow, firms are facing the challenge of not being able to grow quick enough to meet the hike in demand. The question as to whether it is better to nurture home grown talent or bolster the team with lateral hires is very pertinent. A well known bank refuses to hire candidates who have worked for competitors, preferring to nurture their own talent. In this way its staff are trained and developed in line with the bank’s ideals and best practices and have a clear picture of what is expected of them.

The clear benefit of organic growth is that you have a team that intrinsically understands the firm’s ethos and culture. The team, having grown together, also have a good understanding of the personalities within a team, and can play to each individual’s strengths. Lawyers that have trained with the firm also recognise the investment that the firm has made in them, which in turn breeds loyalty. This commitment to the firm is a paramount consideration and rewarding staff who have stayed with the business through changes in market conditions should never be overlooked.

However, lateral hires are fundamental to any business. By recruiting a lawyer from a competitor you gain invaluable knowledge about the market, clients and rival working practices. A team may have worked in the same way for years but have failed to implement a change in a working system to make the team more efficient, which is something a competition may already have done and is inching them ahead. An introduction of a new team member from a rival can be a positive shake up within a team and provoke existing team members to up their game.

In the current competitive market you cannot compete purely with home grown talents and a good mix of lateral hires can be the ticket to give your team the edge.

For more information please contact Sharan Kokri or visit our website BCL Legal.