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Attorney Search Firm Showcase Career Profile of Major, Hagen & Africa Who? Major, Hagen & Africa www.mhaglobal.com What? About Our Firm: Major, Hagen & Africa (MHA) places attorneys in law firms, corporations, and other organizations, and is the largest of the attorney search firms. Areas of Expertise Include: Consumer, Hardware, Technology, Diversified, Health, Telecommunications, Financial, IP, General Counsel Placements, Media, and Partner Placements. When? Years in Attorney Placement: Since 1982. Where? Office Locations: Atlanta Houston Palo Alto San Francisco Chicago Los Angeles Philadelphia Seattle Hong Kong New York San Diego Washington, D.C. Why? A collective group of lawyers serving as Attorney Search Consultants at MHA provided the answers for this profile. Employers: Click here. Lawyers interested in being placed by an attorney search firm: Click here. Lawyers interested in becoming recruiters: Click here. How? Our Recruiters Include Graduates of the Following Law Schools: Columbia Law School George Washington University Georgetown University Law Center Harvard Law School New York University School of Law Northwestern University School of Law Pennsylvania State University, Dickinson School of Law Rutgers University Law School Tulane University Law School UCLA School of Law University of California, Hastings College of Law University of Chicago Law School University of Michigan Law School University of New South Wales, Sydney University of Pennsylvania Law School University of Texas School of Law Vermont Law School Villanova University School of Law Wake Forest University School of Law William & Mary, Marshall-Wythe School of Law Our Recruiters Include Former Associates and Partners from the Following Firms: Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld Bell, Boyd & Lloyd Bracewell & Patterson Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison Chaffe, McCall, Phillips, Toler & Sarpy Coblentz, Patch, Duffy & Bass Coffield Ungaretti Harris & Slavin Culp Dwyer Guterson & Grader Cushman & Wakefield, Hong Kong D'Ancona & Pflaum Debevoise & Plimpton Drinker Biddle Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson Gibson Dunn Gordon & Rees Gordon Altman Butowsky Weitzen Shalov & Wein Hogan & Hartson - Partner Holleb & Coff Howard Rice KMZ Rosenman Kennedy Covington Kirkland & Ellis Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Leland, Parachini, Steinberg, Matzger & Melnick Littler Mendelson McDermott, Will & Emery Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe Paul Hastings Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch Riker, Danzig, Scherer, Hyland & Perretti Saul Ewing - Partner Schiff, Hardin & Waite Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom Swartz, Campbell & Detweiler Troutman Sanders Weil, Gotshal & Manges Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Our Recruiters Include Former In-House Counsel from the Following Companies and Universities: Alcon Laboratories, Inc. - Assistant General Counsel American Hospital Supply Corporation Bala Cynwyd-based InterNetEx, Inc - General Counsel and President of the Legal Division Citicorp Real Estate, Inc - Assistant General Counsel Colgate-Palmolive Company - Senior Benefits Attorney Heller Financial, Inc. KV Pharmaceutical Company - General Counsel Saga Corporation - General Counsel University of California, Boalt Hall School of Law Our Recruiters Include Former Attorneys and Clerks from the Judiciary and Government: Clerk for the Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit Clerk for the United States District Court of the Southern District of California Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals Department of City Planning- Deputy Counsel Department of Justice of California- Deputy Attorney General Judicial Law Clerk for Honorable Harold R. DeMoss, Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Judicial Law Clerk for the Honorable Mary Lou Robinson of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas New York City's Planning Commission - Counsel to the Chairman Southern District of New York - Assistant U.S. Attorney Supreme Court of England & Wales - Solicitor Supreme Court of Hong Kong United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston United States District Court for the District of New Jersey Bar Affiliations and Activities Our Recruiters are Involved in Include: American Bar Association Associate Board of the San Diego Youth & Community Services Board of Directors of the National Association of Legal Search Consultants (NALSC) Chicago Board of Roosevelt University Chicago Network, a group of the metropolitan area's most influential female business leaders Executive Committee member of the University of Texas Law Alumni Association Executive Committee of the Australian Corporate Lawyers' Association Founder, Women Rainmakers Hong Kong Football Club Law Marketing Association Lawyers Club of San Diego Long Range Planning National Association of Legal Search Consultants San Diego Software and Internet Council San Diego Venture Group Texas Special Olympics The Hong Kong Federation of Women Lawyers The Law Society of England & Wales The Law Society of Hong Kong The Telecomm Council Various State and County Bar Associations Placements That Have Stood Out to Our Recruiters During Their Careers Include: If the search is successful, everyone wins - the client gets a good feel for the market and hires someone they know will be great; the candidate is thrilled to get the job; and the recruiter enjoys the rewards of a job well done, plus has two new friends - the client and the candidate! The ones where a candidate gets their dream job - one where they are challenged, appreciated, and can stretch and grow. Any placement where I feel like I have really helped the client and candidate out. I enjoy working with associates who are looking for a firm that is a better fit for them. The ones that have a real and lasting impact on the life of the organization, as well as the lives of the individuals involved - e.g. multiple placements in a given law department or the company's first General Counsel. Recent MHA Publications: The Global Legal Market: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. A Great Time to Hire a Lawyer: The Current State of the Market for Attorneys. Records Fabrications Can Come Back to Haunt You. Negotiating General Counsel Compensation in the Post-Bubble Era. The Road to Becoming a General Counsel. Snapshot: Legal Market. Don't Like your Job? Try Staying Put. The views expressed in this Showcase have not been approved by the House of Delegates or the Board of Governors of the American Bar Association and, accordingly, should not be construed as representing the policy of the American Bar Association.       For Lawyers Interested in Placement via a Search Firm: Advice and Tips for Lawyers Interested in Being Placed by a Search Firm: If there is strong demand for your background, and therefore significant incentive for a recruiter to work hard on your behalf (i.e., if they do, they will almost certainly earn a fee), be sure to take advantage of that leverage. Choose the recruiting firm and recruiter you want to represent you, rather than letting your recruiter choose you via a cold call. Can you imagine an actor or sports figure that is in high demand choosing his or her agent by responding to a cold call? View your recruiter as your agent. Pick the person who you think will best represent you in the marketplace. Be completely honest with your recruiter. If you do work with multiple search firms, tell each recruiter, and stay in control of your own process by keeping complete lists of where you are being submitted. Tell your recruiter the truth, even if it is negative. What we know, we can deal with, what we don't will come back to haunt both the recruiter and the candidate. Be very picky about who you work with - do some homework. Also, be prepared to do some of your own leg work in deciding whether a particular law firm, corporation is right for you - a recruiter is a good way to make an introduction and to get some basic information, but only you as a candidate can decide what is best for you. Be clear about why you want to leave your present employment and what you are looking for in a new employer; otherwise, you will repeat the same experience that led you to move in the first place! Pick one search firm and stay with that recruiter. Return phone calls and take the recruiter's advice when given. The recruiter knows how to best present you and knows how to best get you the job. Develop a good relationship and seek advice from a recruiter early in your career. Work closely with your recruiter. Be selective and work with someone with whom you are comfortable and in whom you have confidence. Meet the recruiter with whom you are working if at all possible. Take responsibility for your own job search - don't expect the recruiter to do it for you. Be responsive. Be forthcoming. Be serious. Continue profile...       For Lawyers Interested in Becoming Recruiters: Our Recruiters Chose to Work for a Search Firm Because: I wanted a change from practicing law, both because I wasn't enjoying the practice and because I wanted a job where I could also have time and flexibility to be a mother. I thought recruiting would make good use of the skills I had missed using as a litigator - interpersonal skills, and an interest in counseling and helping others find a better fit for their own skills. By getting into attorney search, I could capitalize on the market knowledge and practical knowledge I had gained about life as a practicing attorney. Attorney search is a very social occupation, which I felt would be a good fit with my outgoing personality. Law practice can be isolating. Most interaction in our business is positive. We get to know people, their story, their goals, and we help them achieve their goals. Meeting new candidates can be like making new friends and sometimes, real friendships can result. Being an attorney, I wanted to use my degree and experience in a more personal profession. I had worked in a large firm prior to becoming a recruiter, and found the practice to be very impersonal. I love working with people, so this seemed like a natural fit. I felt that my background in both business and law would allow me to help people making career decisions, and I enjoy helping people in this area. It is exciting to be involved at the crossroads of someone's career. I wanted to utilize the skills and contacts that I had built up over my years of education and legal practice in a profession that would make better use of my interpersonal and other "softer" skills. I was in a financial position at the time to take the risk of having little or no income while learning this new profession. Our Recruiters Chose to Work for Major, Hagen & Africa Because: Major, Hagen & Africa had recruiters and partners with backgrounds and views of the business world, including ethics, that were similar to my own. In addition, the firm had a steady flow of high-quality work, and provided the opportunity to do significant searches for both in-house and law firm clients. I really liked the people and the ethical approach everyone takes to attorney search. There is a real effort made at Major, Hagen & Africa to place people in the right positions, not just any position to make a dollar, and to give the best and most objective advice possible. I think we also do a better job at client service. I felt that Major, Hagen & Africa (MHA) had the best reputation in the business. The people here are honorable, and most of the recruiters are former lawyers who really cherish the "fun" of recruiting. MHA also has many well-established client and candidate relationships, and all recruiters here benefit from the firm's relationships and stature. MHA has earned the trust of lawyers in this community, and that makes our job much easier, and more enjoyable. It was more ethical than any other search firm I talked to. I had heard good things about Major, Hagen & Africa from partners at my law firm, and when I researched the company, I liked what I saw. I was impressed with the firm's national and international scope. I wanted to work for an ethical firm with a strong reputation, that has a national and international presence. Advice and Tips for Lawyers Interested in Working in a Search Firm: Don't do it simply to run away from practicing law - you have to really love this business to get through the ups and downs. Don't get into it simply because "the upside is great," because you really need to be ethical, honest and trustworthy to get ahead in the long term, both with candidates and clients. That means sometimes foregoing the big placement, if you know that over the long term, the fit won't be right. Do get into it if you enjoy meeting people and matchmaking! As with any career change, seek out people who are in the business and talk to them about what they like, how it compares to practicing law, and how they got started. Also, this is a very challenging economy for all recruiters, so try to have your finances under control when you start. It is a commission business that can really make it more stressful, and harder to weather the inevitable ups and downs. Learn your craft, get a sense of what it is like to practice in a law firm and/or corporation (preferably both), and make lots of contacts in the legal community. Be selective. There is tremendous variation among search firms; your reputation is your most valuable asset as a search professional, so be careful to go to a firm where your colleagues will enhance, not harm it. Job Search Techniques Our Recruiters Used to Find Their Positions Include: Family and friends Attorney Search Consultant University career center On-campus recruiting Met as many search firm leaders as possible and also asked law firms who they respected and why Lateral move through a Major, Hagen & Africa Attorney Search Consultant The Internet Wall Street Journal Ad Investigated on my own by talking to a number of recruiting firms, then interviewed successfully at my first choice, MHA. 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