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Intellectual Property Successfully Recruiting Attorneys in All Specialty Areas

Message To Prospective Candidates Contact Us

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Job Opportunities

A MESSAGE TO PROSPECTIVE CANDIDATES

If you are a potential candidate seeking a new position, the best way for you to utilize our resources is for you to send us your resume and describe to us by faxed letter or e-mail what kinds of new opportunities you would consider. (Written communication assists us in inputting your information into our database.) In the alternative, you may leave us a detailed voice mail message with a verbal description of your general profile (e.g., fields of expertise, years since graduation from law school, and who your present and/or recent employers are). If you have done this, then you will be in our database of candidates, and we will try to contact you as soon as an appropriate opportunity develops. Unfortunately, the volume of calls and written communication that we receive makes it impossible to respond personally to each candidate who expresses an interest in working with us. If you do not hear from us, it almost invariably means that we are not presently conducting searches for any positions that fit your current interests and qualifications.

Not infrequently we deal with the situation where a client has an opening for which a candidate would like to be considered, but the client has given us strict parameters as to the type of candidate it will consider, and the interested candidate does not fall within those parameters. For example, we often receive resumes from candidates who have no intellectual property experience but want to gain such experience in a new position. Although we may have intellectual property positions for intellectual property attorneys, nine times out of ten the clients seeking such candidates will only accept resumes from us where the candidate already has such experience. This selectivity is solely a function of the marketplace and is no reflection on any candidate's intrinsic worth or ability. The reality is that, if a client pays us for finding it a candidate, it wants a candidate with the skills to begin work immediately in the position being filled, and not someone who will need extensive and costly training.

We also have found that many candidates are under the misimpression that search consultants are like real estate agents, in that they work as often with the buyer as they do with the seller. Fortunately or unfortunately, in the legal search business it is the client who pays the consultant's fee, and accordingly it is the client for whom the consultant works. In addition, there are far fewer positions open than there are candidates who are interested in finding new positions. In other words, although we often "find jobs" for candidates, this is not the primary function of a search consultant. The search consultant can only find jobs for candidates for which the consultant's clients are looking and/or in which they are interested. This statement does not mean that we do not sometimes "market" candidates and "knock on doors", but we employ this process only for types of candidates that we have found are historically marketable to our clients. The reality is that the majority of our clients, whether they be established corporations, start-up companies, or large or small law firms, usually seek one of the following three types of candidates: (1) Associate level candidates with at least 2 years of experience, large or well-regarded law firm training, and a degree from a top 20 law school or a very high class standing at a lesser-ranked school; (2) Partner-level candidates with a portable client base; or (3) In the case of corporation clients, specialized transactional candidates, such as software licensing, securities, real estate or intellectual property experts who also have at least 3 years of large or well-regarded law firm training. We wish that all of our clients would consider all types of candidates for all of their positions, as our job would be a lot easier, we would be even more successful, and more candidates would be happier. Unfortunately, such a rosy scenario is not presently realistic.

There have been numerous exceptions to these general rules: We have placed dozens of candidates who don't fit the above criteria, so we encourage everybody to apply; we just can't be overly optimistic about any one candidate's chances who doesn't fit the exact specifications of the position for which he or she is applying. However, it is useful to keep in mind that, just because nothing materializes this week doesn't mean the perfect position won't develop next week, next month or next year. We have worked with some law firm candidates, for example, who are looking for that perfect in-house job, and we've remained in consistent contact with them for years, often sending them on interviews until we place them in the ideal job years later.

We thank you for your understanding, and we look forward to working with you.

© 1999 Kamisar Legal Search, Inc.
Gordon A. Kamisar, Esq.


Home Page			About Gordon Kamisar
Previous Placements			Our Clients
Intellectual Property			Successfully Recruiting Attorneys in All Specialty Areas
Message To Prospective Candidates			Contact Us
Non-Legal Executive Recruiter Expertise
Job Opportunities
A MESSAGE TO PROSPECTIVE CANDIDATES If you are a potential candidate seeking a new position, the best way for you to utilize our resources is for you to send us your resume and describe to us by faxed letter or e-mail what kinds of new opportunities you would consider. (Written communication assists us in inputting your information into our database.) In the alternative, you may leave us a detailed voice mail message with a verbal description of your general profile (e.g., fields of expertise, years since graduation from law school, and who your present and/or recent employers are). If you have done this, then you will be in our database of candidates, and we will try to contact you as soon as an appropriate opportunity develops. Unfortunately, the volume of calls and written communication that we receive makes it impossible to respond personally to each candidate who expresses an interest in working with us. If you do not hear from us, it almost invariably means that we are not presently conducting searches for any positions that fit your current interests and qualifications. Not infrequently we deal with the situation where a client has an opening for which a candidate would like to be considered, but the client has given us strict parameters as to the type of candidate it will consider, and the interested candidate does not fall within those parameters. For example, we often receive resumes from candidates who have no intellectual property experience but want to gain such experience in a new position. Although we may have intellectual property positions for intellectual property attorneys, nine times out of ten the clients seeking such candidates will only accept resumes from us where the candidate already has such experience. This selectivity is solely a function of the marketplace and is no reflection on any candidate's intrinsic worth or ability. The reality is that, if a client pays us for finding it a candidate, it wants a candidate with the skills to begin work immediately in the position being filled, and not someone who will need extensive and costly training. We also have found that many candidates are under the misimpression that search consultants are like real estate agents, in that they work as often with the buyer as they do with the seller. Fortunately or unfortunately, in the legal search business it is the client who pays the consultant's fee, and accordingly it is the client for whom the consultant works. In addition, there are far fewer positions open than there are candidates who are interested in finding new positions. In other words, although we often "find jobs" for candidates, this is not the primary function of a search consultant. The search consultant can only find jobs for candidates for which the consultant's clients are looking and/or in which they are interested. This statement does not mean that we do not sometimes "market" candidates and "knock on doors", but we employ this process only for types of candidates that we have found are historically marketable to our clients. The reality is that the majority of our clients, whether they be established corporations, start-up companies, or large or small law firms, usually seek one of the following three types of candidates: (1) Associate level candidates with at least 2 years of experience, large or well-regarded law firm training, and a degree from a top 20 law school or a very high class standing at a lesser-ranked school; (2) Partner-level candidates with a portable client base; or (3) In the case of corporation clients, specialized transactional candidates, such as software licensing, securities, real estate or intellectual property experts who also have at least 3 years of large or well-regarded law firm training. We wish that all of our clients would consider all types of candidates for all of their positions, as our job would be a lot easier, we would be even more successful, and more candidates would be happier. Unfortunately, such a rosy scenario is not presently realistic. There have been numerous exceptions to these general rules: We have placed dozens of candidates who don't fit the above criteria, so we encourage everybody to apply; we just can't be overly optimistic about any one candidate's chances who doesn't fit the exact specifications of the position for which he or she is applying. However, it is useful to keep in mind that, just because nothing materializes this week doesn't mean the perfect position won't develop next week, next month or next year. We have worked with some law firm candidates, for example, who are looking for that perfect in-house job, and we've remained in consistent contact with them for years, often sending them on interviews until we place them in the ideal job years later. We thank you for your understanding, and we look forward to working with you. © 1999 Kamisar Legal Search, Inc. Gordon A. Kamisar, Esq.