JULY 2003
What's New

1. The World of Laterals
2. Which Practice is Most Popular
3. Broadcasts on Rainmaking Obstacles
4. More about Emotional Intelligence
5. Making Rain. Chapters 1,2,3

LATERALS provides 11,743 law firm partners with monthly information on recruiting and rainmaking issues. We are attorney recruiters who have lateraled and/or merged over 1,000 attorneys since 1979. As a result, LATERALS is about the real world of lateraling and rainmaking.

Visit the Sears & Associates web site at www.mentoringpros.com. Visit our Media Center to learn more about our pre-recorded broadcasts and publications. Learn what the New York Law Journal had to say about my book, "Making Rain", download its first three chapters or purchase it online.

RECRUITING LATERALS
A WORLD OF LATERALS

Who would have guessed that before 1986 there were so few laterals that the verb "to lateral" didn't exist? But in the last three years almost 7,000 partners have lateraled to or from the AmLaw 200. What happened to cause such a change? We think it was due to the publication of our much beloved American Lawyer. They started publicly counting the numbers. It was mostly the numbers that made partners dissatisfied since they began to see how their firm's management was doing relative to other firms. That information comes from a recent talk by Aric Press, the Editor in Chief of American Lawyer.

So at the present volume of laterals, which has a current AmLaw 200 average "run rate" of about 2,000 per year, and a growth rate of about 15% per year, we are looking at a major market. As a result there are firms which are composed mainly of laterals. You may want to compare your firm's lateral results. You might want to see how you stack up against the anonymous survey we're about to take. Just answer these four quick questions and within 30 days we'll send you an anonymous compiled report on the results. Sorry, we can't send it to non-participants.

SURVEY: COMPARE YOUR FIRM'S LATERAL WORLD

1. What percent of your current partners are laterals?

2. What percent of incoming laterals left within the last 5 years?

3. What percent of incoming laterals were hired for management positions? (i.e. practice group leader?)

4. What percent of laterals were hired in a formerly non-existant, dormant, or inactive practice area?

RECRUITING LATERALS
WHICH PRACTICE IS MOST POPULAR?

Having access to inside speeches at private conferences is a wonderful way to get important information that might not be otherwise available. For example, of the about 7,000 laterals, what would you guess is the practice specialty that has the largest single number of laterals? What do you think the second largest is? Do you want to try for the third or fourth? Don't read on. Just jot down a quick message to yourself - what you think the five most popular lateraling practice specialties are.

To give you a chance to jot down your own thoughts without sneaking a peak, after you've written a note to yourself with your list, follow this link to find our what actually happened.

Now that you know which these practice specialties are, how would you rank them in order to importance from 1 to 5. We're going to show the actual order of importance. Just follow this link.

ONLINE PROGRAMMING
IMPROVING YOUR RAINMAKING SKILLS

At this point more than half of our readers have downloaded two or more of my broadcasts - and according to our Webmaster we're delievering more than three times that number of programs, so you must be recommending these short talks to colleagues. Thank you. And thank you for the warm and open emails that you're sending. So, here is the fourth pre-recorded program on Overcoming Your Personal Rainmaking Obstatcles.

Last year we published a Survey, "Are Rainmakers Born or Made." Over the years, I've personally discussed this issue with more than 20,000 partners as they were in the process of lateraling - a time when they were open about their fears and aspirations. Our Study included 1,000 attorneys and the results were conclusive.

THE RAINMAKING COACH
RAINMAKERS HAVE EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

We've been beating this emotional intelligence (EQ) drum for the last two months. In both May and June we had an EQ self-test which many of you used. In each of these months we had five links to EQ web sites. This all pointed to three clear conclusions:

EQ (not IQ) is what makers rainmakers. IQ doesn't hurt and the combination of EQ and IQ produces the best rainmakers. IQ without EQ is like being a college professor without the ability to relate to students.
It's difficult to fake IQ, but you can, at least temporarily, fake EQ.
In fact, faking EQ is one of the best ways to learn it.

Now in July we're going to show you some compelling reasons why EQ should dominate your thinking if you want to increase the size of your practice. First, remember what the relationship components of EQ are - they are: being adept, empathetic and self-aware. These EQ skills make one over 20 times more successful in the workplace than IQ.

So, in spite of what you may think to the contrary, most tests show that lawyers tend to have an IQ of at least 130. Assuming that lawyers are in the highest quadrant of IQ scores, studies show that they are in the lowest quadrant of EQ scores, so it's like having a high powered yacht which collides with everything in the harbor because of a lack of navigation systems.

People who study this say that 75% to 96% of workplace success is determined by EQ.

During the last two years more than 7,500 attorneys, worldwide, have read "Making Rain." The book is about Brad Talbot. Brad is bright, presentable, hard working and loyal. He just can't seem to attract clients and, as a result, he's a service partner... a good one, but without clients of his own. Throughout the book Brad faces the challanges of seeing himself through his own eyes and those of his wife and partners. By understanding how Brad resolves his problems, many lawyers have been themselves more clearly.

Download the first chapter of "Making Rain" together with its questions. Download the second chapter. Download the third chapter together with its questions. Download the NEW YORK LAW JOURNAL's Book Review. Purchase "Making Rain," online.

Laterals is published monthly by Sears & Associates, a national attorney search firm since 1979.

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Sears & Associates
RECRUITING AND DEVELOPING RAINMAKERS SINCE 1979
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