Princeton Legal Search Group Principal David Garber was interviewed by the New Jersey Law Journal and discussed compensation trends for General Counsel and the current in house hiring market:
The hiring market has been “just on fire,” said David Garber, president of Princeton Legal Search Group, in an interview, noting that a few of his firm’s searches paused in spring of 2020, but quickly recommenced. ”There has been robust hiring throughout the entire pandemic.”
One difference, said Garber, whose firm handles mostly in-house placements, is that “we’ve got many companies that have bought in” to work arrangement flexibility during the pandemic. Some corporations have broadened their searches geographically, opening up to candidates who live further away and might be able to come to offices periodically rather than regularly, he said.
Also, competition is stiff, and there are new considerations when cultivating law firm-to-legal department moves, it appears. Garber said that law firm life during the pandemic—with more flexibility and less time spent commuting or on the “cocktail circuit” trying to win new business—has made some firm-side lawyers less intent to make a move.
“It’s gotten harder to move some folks from the law firm world,” Garber said. “Companies have had to work harder to get their hires. … The best people have multiple options.”
One way to lure sought-after candidates, he said, is through “pretty compelling equity packages,” including both sign-on and annual equity awards.
The full article can be read on the NJ Law Journal website:
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