There has been a significant disruption to legal hiring due to the impacts of COVID-19, but this will not last forever. The hiring market is seeing what I would call "a heavy pause." Many employers are waiting to fill most positions until there is more certainty about the economy, office openings and the types of demand for legal services (*though not all employers, see point #5 below). That being said, if you are a BigLaw associate that has been thinking about making a change, there are some specific actions and strategies that you can do now to set up to make a move later on:

1. Review your list of matters and deals to create an up-to-date summary sheet. Now is a good time to reflect specifically on the work that you have done at your firm thus far. Whether you are a junior associate or more senior associate, take some time to download a sheet of all the matters and deals that you have worked on. This will help in many ways with your future job search. It will help you (and any recruiter with whom you work) understand what openings make the most sense for you. It will also help with application submissions and even interview preparations, as most interviewers will want to hear about specific work experiences.

2. Work with a recruiter or career advisor on updating your resume. Your resume is the foundational document for the legal job search. Legal resumes need to get a lot of information in a tight amount of space (a single page for BigLaw associates, when possible). A good recruiter and career advisor will help you decide which details should stay and which details should go, all in order to make room for a full description of your current legal work experience. What educational honors are important to keep? What prior non-legal work experience makes sense to preserve? What skills and qualifications are most marketable? (I'm happy to offer tailored advice like this if you are a BigLaw associate considering a move. Schedule a time to speak or videochat.)

3. Look around at posted openings to see what interests you. Employers still have a lot of legal positions posted up on their websites. If these positions are more than a few weeks old, there is a strong chance that the opening is closed or at least on-pause due to the pandemic. However, these older job postings will give you a sense of the type of legal hiring that was active until the world came to a halt. If you see an older posting that's of interest, copy and paste the description into a spreadsheet or Word document. This exercise will help you keep focus on opportunities that make sense for you personally, as well as opportunities that do not.

4. Seek opportunities at your current firm to expand or shift your areas of expertise. Maybe you are considering a move in order to expand or shift your legal specialty. And maybe you have not been able to do that at your current firm because of internal politics, no time, lack of work in that area or some other reason. If that is the case, see if you can use some of your work time now to get exposure to a practice area of interest to you. Offer to write a client alert or take on a research project. Schedule an internal informational interview with a partner or senior associate that does that kind of work. Take a CLE course to learn more about that type of work.

5. Discuss strategies and timing with a legal recruiter that you trust and will work for you. When it comes to actively searching for a new legal job, timing is everything. For some BigLaw associates, it might make sense to work with a legal recruiter and get some applications out now. There are firms that are at least doing phone interviews with strong candidates for urgent-need openings. The hiring timeline will be extended, but for these positions, it makes sense to get into the candidate pool now. Otherwise, a candidate risks being left out when an urgent-need opening quickly becomes an essential opening. For other associates, it will make sense to start with the first four steps and lay some groundwork for applications later on down the line. If an associate is submitted for a stale position or to a group or firm that does not have an active need, you can risk signalling to the potential employer that you are desperate to leave your current employer. This is not an ideal position to be in.

When Lehman Brothers collapsed in September of 2008, I was at work at Dewey & LeBouef's London office. I had just become a 2nd year associate, working for attorneys in both the capital markets and insurance regulatory groups. Since I was junior and I was a first generation attorney, I did not know what the news meant for my career or the economy at large. Our practice at Dewey had a lot of interaction with the U.S. and the New York office, so broadly speaking, I knew that the news was not good. As everything turned into a full-blown economic crisis, I started to see deals stop cold and my billable hours drop. Like many BigLaw associates, my 1st year was not a high-billing year, so I was not sure how much to worry. More started to happen that got me worried. My cost of living adjustment was cut off. The firm announced a program called "DL Pursuits," which encouraged associates to leave the firm to pursue public interest work in return for 1/3 of your salary for one year. I thought: "Do I look into this for myself?" "Should I look into this?"

Ultimately, I stayed at the firm another 3 years and left on my own accord.

Much has already been written about how these times differ from 2008. Nevertheless, as we start to see BigLaw paycuts and layoffs (AmLaw is keeping a running list), I wanted to share my experience and tips for making it through:

1. Relax (honestly!), as you have time to figure this all out. Earning a living is important, but being healthy is paramount. We are in the middle of an unprecedented pandemic. Taking care of you and your family is most important. At the same time, when it comes to your BigLaw associate job, it's very unlikely that it will be gone tomorrow. Up until a couple weeks ago, large law firms were doing very well economically. Additionally, since the financial crisis, firms have been smarter about their finances. As a result, most BigLaw firms are in a position to make careful decisions regarding talent management. In fact, even the harshest talent announcements from AmLaw 200 law firms have provided some form of a timeline for furloughs and layoffs.

2. Communicate by phone and video when you are able. If you are well and actively able to work from home, make sure you are in communication with your team. Check in with your fellow associates, senior associates and partners. Call when you are able. Take advantage of the increased use in video conferencing to connect. Don't just send and respond to emails. Right now, your check-ins might simply say "How are you and your family feeling?" During the financial crisis, informal communication with my peers and supervisors was paramount. It helped affirm that I saw myself as "part of the team" and would be ready to chip in when the time came.

3. Offer succinct suggestions and updates by email. Across the board, clients are looking for quick and succinct responses from their lawyers right now. The U.S. just passed a very large, complicated and evolving piece of legislation with the stimulus bill. If you read something about the stimulus bill (or something else new) that you think clients should be informed on, consider sending a short email memo to a senior associate or partner. Make sure it is well-considered and well-edited. And don't be alarmed if there isn't a response. Attorneys in my capital markets group appreciated this when it came to the bailout bills and, later on, with respect to the Dodd-Frank Act.

4. Make sure clients are getting timely responses. When I was a junior associate, I would often get cc'd on emails from clients to whom I would not draft the response. Either the partner would respond directly or he/she would affirmatively ask me to draft a response. When the financial crisis hit, partners became more distracted by other things: firm management issues, business development, etc. As a result, there was more implicit reliance on associates to be proactive in drafting responses to clients and making sure they were taken care of.

5. Identify new opportunities for getting billable hours. Right now, nearly everything may be on hold at your firm in terms of billable work. But work will come back. Your firm's clients will have more questions. The courts will reopen. Business will finance, buy and sell again. Identify cases, deals, projects and assignments where you know that you can be helpful, even if you haven't worked in that area before. Go beyond saying "Do you have any work for me to do?" and be more specific: "I heard from [fellow associate] that [x] deal may be coming back soon and you might need additional assistance on the diligence review. I have some experience doing this for [x type] deals and I'd appreciate the opportunity to help out." When deals stopped completely at Dewey around the financial crisis, I looked for opportunities to provide securities and regulatory advice to our clients. I took it upon myself to identify and follow the demands for work in order to make sure that I kept billing time.

These are my tips for making it through the economic crisis, but I admit they come from the benefit of hindsight. Working at a BigLaw firm during a time of global uncertainty is stressful. But, if nothing else, keep these two things in mind:

• Nobody has experienced what is going on before and everyone is still trying to figure it all out.

• If you show that you are there to work and be a part of the team, partners will remember it.

If you're in the middle of the interview process at a law firm at this particular moment, it is very likely that all or most of your interviewing is being conducted by phone and video. Interviewing by video conference is not new. When I was a first year associate 14 years ago, I interviewed by video while in NYC with attorneys in the London office concerning a possible relocation. It was more practical than being flown over. And it worked! They got a good understanding of me and my reasons for moving to London and I was able to ask questions and learn about their needs abroad.

Preparing for a videoconference law firm interview is generally the same as preparing for an in-person interview with a law firm. First and foremost, it is important to anticipate and prepare for typical questions. My interview preparation worksheet can be helpful for fully organizing your thoughts.

However, there are certainly some practical and substantive differences when it comes to videoconference interviews. Here are my tips and suggestions:

1. Keep things conversational by asking questions back to your interviewer. The most difficult part of conducting a video interview is the lag time and connection issues that often occur. At the same time, law firm interviews are known for being highly conversational in nature. You will want to anticipate the possible lag, knowing that awkward pauses on both sides of the line will happen. But once your interviewer has completed a line of questioning and/or you are comfortable with the cadence and flow, ask a question back to the interviewer. Don't wait until the end to be prompted. This will confirm to the interviewer that you are fully engaged and interested in the interviewer, the opportunity and the firm itself. (Here are my tips for asking questions in a law firm interview.)

2. Connect your computer directly to your WiFi router for the video call (if you are able). Typically, video interviews with law firms are hosted in offices on both ends. The interviewer is located in their office's conference room and you are setup to come into a local office's conference room. All the technical details are handled by the potential employer's staff. In the current situation, that is unlikely. Both the interviewer and the interviewee will be located at home. Your interview may be arranged by the firm's technical staff using a remote version of their high end videoconference software (e.g., Citrix Webpresence). But for the ease of everyone involved, it's more likely that the interview will be conducted over an off-the-shelf program that is built for one-to-one video chats like Zoom, GoToMeeting, Skype or Google Hangout. If this is the case, the best thing that you can do to help ensure a smooth technical interview is to directly connect your laptop or desktop to your WiFi router (or modem) by ethernet cord. This will ensure that your Internet signal is hard-wired to the incoming connection. You won't have to worry about competing devices that are on the WiFi network, so it will be less likely that your connection will drop. (Note: If your laptop is relatively new, it's unlikely it will have an ethernet cord connection; but you can buy a USB-to-ethernet adapter online.)

3. Get in a short version of your "pitch" before the interview ends. In a law firm interview, you may or may not get a chance to directly answer the question "Why should we hire you for this position?" For a videoconference interview, it is even more important to answer this question if you aren't prompted. Technical glitches, awkward pauses and cross-talk may take up a large chunk of your interview time. But if the interviewer leaves with nothing else, it should be a short 2-3 sentence explanation of why you are the right person for the position and how you will hit the ground running. Make sure to get this in before you disconnect the conference, even if it's quickly.

4. Make sure your videoconference program profile is professional. If your video interview is by Zoom, Skype, Google Hangout, etc., you will need to have an account and profile set up. For some of these, you may have an existing profile through Microsoft or Google. Make sure to go to your "account details" and ensure that you have a professional photo (or no photo) and that any other details are professional or removed. (For Google especially, it can be easy to forget about that funny photo and profile name that you attached to your Google+ account a few years ago.)

5. Be mindful of your appearance, clothes and video backdrop. Most people will be thoughtful about wearing professional clothes during a video conference, but it's also important to make sure you have brushed hair, trimmed facial hair, etc. When you are working from home, a video interview may be the only thing that you do all day where you need to look as professional as possible. Also, don't forget that when it comes to video interviews, all the interviewer will be looking at is your face and the backdrop. To that end, make sure there is no clutter, mess or anything you wouldn't want a future coworker to see in the background and throughout the room (anticipating that it may be necessary for you to move your laptop around.)

6. Test, test, test. Depending on the videoconference appointment and software, you may or may not be able to test the videoconference using the software that the potential employer is using. However, you should still test your computer's microphone and video screen for clarity. Your computer might have a way to do this built-in. If not, Skype is free and has an easy and free testing. The picture is as important as the sound, so if there is cloudiness in the picture, make sure to wipe your camera clean.

7. Keep your table clear of papers and notes. You want to be as engaged in a videoconference interview as you would be in an in-person interview. Although it might be tempting to have your resume or notes in front of you but off-camera, you risk looking distracted. Additionally, you don't want to be caught reading from something. You want to ensure that you are having a natural conversation and that you are staying present.

8. Most importantly, be patient! There will be noises. There will be dogs barking. There will be kids talking. There will be connection issues. Everyone understands this is going to happen in the current situation. Be understanding and graceful. Make sure to remember to smile and laugh along. How you handle stressful or unexpected situations is an important part of being a lawyer. So it's natural for your interviewer to make your response part of their evaluation.

As a BigLaw associate, every year you have a major event in terms of your advancement: moving from 1st Year Associate to 2nd Year Associate, and so on. Each year is formally marked by a numerical increase in your experience, as well as an almost-certain increase in your base pay. Especially associates that have found work and colleagues that they enjoy, this may feel like you're on the right track. However, some recent discussions with generally satisfied BigLaw associates has revealed something interesting:

You may like your work and you may like your practice group. But there isn't room for you to "move forward."

By "moving forward," I don't only mean making partner. I'm also talking about:

• getting more responsibility and independence;

• getting more direct client contact;

• getting to manage a team of associates; and

• getting good exit and in-house opportunities

Take this common scenario:

You're a third year associate in a private equity M&A practice group at a very reputable firm for this type of work. At this point, you've started to take the lead on the due diligence process with little oversight and input from more senior associates. You've also been given primary responsibility on ancillary agreements. And closing binders and checklists? There's a first year associate to do that now. However, you've found that when it comes to major client calls and running the primary deal documents, you're not included. There are enough senior associates and other senior attorneys involved in the deal. Most of these senior associates, though, are only a couple years ahead of you. Maybe they are working towards making partner. Maybe they are looking to go in-house to a client at some point. Either way, for now, and the foreseeable future, they have the responsibilities and contacts to work towards these goals. You do not.

For junior/midlevel associates in the above situation, there is a good reason to consider a lateral move to another law firm. If you remain in your current situation, you risk getting stuck in more ways than one.

If you consider a lateral move for this reason, it's important to work with your legal recruiter to understand the structure of the group at the potential new law firm:

• Is there a real need for attorneys at your experience level?

• How many attorneys are there at your year level, as well as a couple years before and after your level?

• If midlevel associates have left recently, where have they gone? Other firms? Or to clients and in-house opportunities?

• What is the target firm's reputation and culture for mentorship and advancement?

Ultimately, the grass can be greener on the other side. You just want to do your best to make sure that is the case.

It's the start of the New Year. You've had your end-of-year review with your law firm. You've received your bonus(es) for your hard work in 2019. You may be thinking, "Is it time for me to seriously consider my long-term plan to relocate?" If you are working at a BigLaw firm, now is definitely a good time to consider a relocation plan.

In my discussions with BigLaw associates over the years, I've found that the decision itself to make a move can take some time. You might realize that you need a change for personal reasons, advancement, training, type of work, etc., but like anyone considering a job change you are concerned that the "grass may not be greener on the other side." (As you go through this process, take a look at my article called "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" that I wrote for Chambers Associate's Career Moves Guide.)

But if geographic relocation is also on the table in 2020 (in addition to a general job change), here are some important things to think about:

If you are considering law firms, start the search sooner than later given the "bonus clock". Most BigLaw firms use the annual year for counting billable hours for the purpose of your annual bonus and any special bonus. If you are at a law firm now where you just received your bonus for last year, it makes sense financially to consider your move sooner than later as the clock for 2020 billable hour has likely also begun at your potential new employer. NOTE: When you move later in the year, there are some law firms that will pay a signing bonus to a new candidate to help make them whole for any lost bonus at their departing firm. But this is not guaranteed and there is wide variation in the firms that will offer this incentive.

If your priority is an in-house position, consider relocating to another law firm as a bridge. When you are a mid-level associate, you might have already started to think about in-house positions at your next step. "Why make a move to another law firm if my ultimate goal is to work as an internal corporate lawyer?" The answer is simple: Most in-house positions go to lawyers that are already in the local market. (Using data from Firm Prospects, I did a deeper analysis on this last year which you can see here.) Take the Boston market for example. The largest company employers in that market for in-house legal positions are in financial services and life sciences. Think Fidelity, Bain Capital, State Street Bank and numerous small and large biopharm companies (Vertex, Novartis, etc.). For their outside counsel, these companies almost exclusively rely on attorneys in the BigLaw firm offices that are local: Ropes & Gray, Goodwin, WilmerHale, Kirkland, etc. While most of these law firms are national (or international) in scope, it is still largely the case that the local office services the local company. As a result, many in-house positions don't even get posted (or, if they do, get posted with a strong front runner in mind) because there is a locally-based outside counsel attorney that is interested and proves to be the perfect fit.

Relocation packages can vary quite a bit between employers (and even for openings within employers). Moving expenses. Bar expenses. Special housing assistance. There is a good amount of variety in how a law firm employer will pay for relocation if you are extended an offer. (This variation is even greater among in-house employers, including the possibility of no relocation assistance at all.) Most of the time, you won't get full details until you get an offer, so it will be up to you and your recruiter to work with the potential employer on what is possible.

Start researching bar admission requirements for your new market. With the growth of the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) and the ability to be admitted by motion for experienced attorneys, there are some good options for getting admitted to the state bar in your new location without having to retake a bar examination. But these options vary considerably state-by-state, particularly when it comes to years. "How many years is the UBE valid for a new state?" "How many years from date of admission of your current bar do you need to be considered for admission by motion in a new state?" The National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBEX) website offers very good information on this. But this should not be relied on exclusively. If something is unclear on a website about bar admission, you must call the individual state board of bar examiners office directly to clarify. Most legal employers will want you to be admitted in their state, even if they are not explicit about it. And some employers and positions will provide you with time and money to take it (particularly busy practices at BigLaw firms). Ultimately, it will be important to talk with your recruiter on strategy.

I have written a few articles here about preparing for a law firm interview. I started with an article on “the essentials” and have added specific guidance notes on how to structure your storytelling, how to enter and exit and how to develop good questions.

Below I have created a fillable PDF worksheet that associates can use ahead of each individual interview in their process with a potential new law firm employer.

Reach out to me for a free call or appointment to discuss further.

Download a fillable PDF worksheet.

Associates make lateral moves to other firms for personal and professional reasons at all different times of the year. But why would an associate make a move at the end of the calendar year? With many firms providing their associates with their year-end bonuses at the start of the new year, wouldn't it make sense to wait before you leave your current firm?

Not necessarily.

First, let's look at the actual numbers. As you can see from the chart above, according to data collected by Firm Prospects, there were more lateral BigLaw associate moves across the U.S. in the last three months of 2018 (approximately 1,396) then there were in any of the previous three quarters of the year. This marked almost a 100% increase in the number of lateral associate moves compared to the third quarter of 2017.

So what accounts for this bump in lateral movements in last year's fourth quarter? A few things:

1. An overall strong market for lateral associate moves. Generally speaking the market for making a lateral associate move has been incredibly strong in the last year or so. Firms across the country have a high need for experienced mid-level and senior-level associates, especially in practices like cybersecurity & data privacy, real estate, intellectual property and all types of corporate work. As of the date of this article, there are over 2,700 open lateral associate positions at the top 200 U.S. law firms alone.

2. Better compensation and relocation packages for lateral associates. Because of the fierce competition in the lateral associate market in the last year, more law firms are offering stronger compensation packages to lateral associates that they hire. This includes relocation expenses for geographic moves, covering time and cost for taking a new state bar exam, signing bonuses and/or (most relevant to moves in the final quarter of the year) covering the associate's lost year-end bonus amount from the departing firm. Of course, no firm is offering all of these incentives and even the ones that do make such decisions on the basis of individual candidates and positions. But certainly more firms are offering them for their lateral associate positions that are particularly difficult to fill.

3. Law firms playing "catch-up" on filling lateral associate positions at the year end. The recruiting staff at law firms are pulled in lots of different directions. Oftentimes, the start of the calendar year is used to focus on and fulfill the most important strategic recruiting goals set by the management of the firm and the particular office. This often means a focus on strategic partner acquisitions for specific practice ares. Once partner acquisitions are made, there is often a lag to see if associates that used to work with the partner at their previous firm are interested in making a move. When it gets into to the summertime, law firm recruiters often shift their focus away from lateral recruiting altogether to summer associate programs and on-campus interviewing instead. (The legal recruiting industry often calls the relatively brief period in July & August when law firms do their entry level recruiting as "the compression.") As a result of the above, the fall and winter become a good time for recruiters and the firm as a whole to focus on lateral associate hiring.

4. Associates evaluating short-term and long-term career goals as the end of the year approaches. It is cliche, but the approach of the start of a new calendar year causes people to critically self-evaluate their personal and professional situations. Lawyers are no different. And increasingly I've found that law firm associates have become more keen to frequently check in on their professional careers and see if a move makes sense. More and more associates are seeing that it is no longer the case that to make partner, you should remain at one firm for your entire professional career. Depending on your practice area, working group and general cultural fit, a lateral move may be necessary to meet your ultimate long-term career goal.

DATA SOURCE: Lateral data copyright 2018 Firm Prospects, LLC. All rights reserved. Used with permission. Not for redistribution. Graphic by DuelingData.

"What questions can I answer for you about the position or the firm?

It's often the last thing you hear from your interviewer in a law firm interview. It can be at the end of the interview. Or it could be halfway through. Or, occasionally, it can be the first thing an interviewer asks. When legal interviewers do this, what are they looking for? What is the right strategy for this? Here are 5 important tips to consider when asking questions in a conversation legal interview:

1. The interviewer is not trying to trick you here; they genuinely want to answer questions that you might have for them. This sounds basic, but it's something interviewees can forget. Because a typical law firm interview is a conversation between two lawyers, there can be the feeling that every question in an interview is some kind of "analytical reasoning test." This is not the point of the Q&A period in an interview. Remember, they were in the same position as you at some point. They may have wished they asked more questions when they interviewed with the firm themself.

2. Ask questions that naturally came out of the conversation that you just had. The best type of question for an interviewer is one that comes naturally from the conversation that you just had. Did your interviewer ask you lots of questions about a particular case or deal? Or maybe they were primarily focused on the reasons you want to make a lateral move? By sticking to themes that the interviewer has covered, you do a few things that make for a very successful interview. You show that you have been engaged and enjoyed the conversation. You help address any concerns or issues they may have highlighted. And, most importantly, you are making the interview easy. Just like a natural conversation.

3. Ask a question that will lead to good follow-up questions. If you don't have questions that naturally flow from your conversation so far, make sure that you ask questions that could lead to good follow-up questions from you. Questions like "Can you tell me about a project you are currently working on?" or "Can you tell me about a typical case/deal where you would want the associate in this position to be involved?" A pointed (but open-ended) question about work makes it easy for the interviewer to visualize you as their future colleague.

4. Do not read from a list of questions. If you prepared a list of questions to ask your interviewer ahead of time, do not pull this out and read from it. This will have the effect of stifling your conversation. It also signals to the interviewer that you may not have been fully engaged in your conversation thus far.

5. Ask questions about the firm that you think the interviewer will be able to answer. This may seem straightforward, but it's something interviewees forget about in the law firm setting. On their career websites, law firms advertise a lot of different benefits and amenities for attorneys. However, it is unlikely that every attorney knows anything and everything about what their own firm has to offer. So for example, unless a connection is clear in their online bio, don't be surprised if an attorney (even a partner) is not able to tell you about how their mentoring program is structured or the range of offerings for CLE programs. At the end of the day, every attorney can definitely answer questions about one common thing: their work. (see #3, above).

New York City is by far the largest training ground for BigLaw associates. There are roughly 2x as many BigLaw associates in Manhattan alone than there are in the second biggest legal market in the U.S.: Washington, DC. Much of the legal work revolves around New York's status as a global financial capital. As a result, every type of transactional work is available and prevalent in the market including work for investment banks, commercial banks, private equity funds, hedge funds, mutual funds and all the companies that are financed by them. Litigation and regulatory work often revolves around the financial industry as well.

Many associates that work at BigLaw firms in NYC live in Manhattan close to the office. With New York being a 24/7 city, this is tempting. You can eat, run errands, go to the gym, etc. at all times of the day, and then pop in and out of the office when you need to do so. However, this level of convenience may be less important to you as you get older and start to look for more separation between your work life and your home life.

If you've thought about leaving the New York City legal market, now is a good time (see my FAQ on relocation). For junior and midlevel associates specifically, there are a few common reasons to consider it:

• Leaving NYC for large peer legal markets like San Francisco and Washington, DC. The two second largest legal markets in the U.S. are the Bay Area and DC metro area. Both of these markets are notable for their sophistication of clients, as well as large deals and matters. In the Bay Area you'll find a good number of corporate opportunities. In fact, there are many firms around San Francisco that appreciate associates with transactional training at NYC firms. They look to hire attorneys that have worked in NY-style practices like debt finance, M&A, capital markets, funds, private equity and most other types of corporate specialties. Likewise, firms in the DC market appreciate attorneys with New York experience, particularly those with litigation and regulatory experience. The firms in the DC market don't hire as many entry level attorneys as the NY market. Thus, they look to the lateral market often to fill junior and midlevel needs. Additionally, it's relatively easy to waive into the DC bar from NY.

• Leaving NYC to service a different client industry. As noted above, most (though certainly not all) BigLaw work in NYC revolves around the international finance industry. If you want to shift your client focus to a different type of industry, a different legal market may make a lot of sense. Examples include Los Angeles for entertainment; San Francisco or Boston for technology; Boston, San Diego or Philadelphia for health care; Texas or San Francisco for energy; and Chicago or Atlanta for Fortune 500 companies.

• Leaving NYC to change your work/life balance. If you're moving to another BigLaw firm in another geographic market, you are still going to work hard. But there is less of a 24/7 in-office culture in markets other than NYC. In part because other city centers still tend to shut down after typical working hours, you might find more attorneys that work remotely or log in from home. Technology is making this easier and more efficient for employers of all types.

• Leaving NYC for a general change or to develop broader skills. The practice of law is becoming more and more portable. With the advent of the Uniform Bar Exam, it's become easier to relocate as a lawyer from a credentials perspective. And the legal industry as a whole continues to be streamlined, more efficient and consolidated through law firm mergers. Sometimes at NYC BigLaw firms, you can feel like you are becoming too specialized. Because there are so many different types of legal services needed in NYC, specialization makes sense from a business perspective. But if you want to remain in BigLaw while developing a more generalist practice, then moving to another legal market might make sense for you.

If you are thinking of leaving NYC, you'll want to talk to a recruiter that has a network of connections across the major markets. Given my connections, one of my recruiting specialties is associate relocation.

When you submit for an open legal position as an associate, your resume should be as tightly tailored to that position as possible. This may mean working with your recruiter on multiple versions of your resume depending on the mix of positions to which you are submitting applications.

Recognizing that recruiters may only read your resume to understand your credentials and professional story, "super-tailoring" your resume is essential.

Even if a position openings asks for other materials that contextualize your background (like a cover letter or matters list), the recruiter may not even get to these materials if your resume does not make sense for the position. As a result, a strong tailored resume is the most important part of the application packet for a legal position. Start by getting the basics of the resume down- see here. Then, review my tips below for "super-tailoring" the resume:

1. Make sure your work experience reflects the specific qualifications identified in the job description. Many applicants don't follow this basic rule and it's very frustrating to internal recruiters. Look at the posted job description online (if this is not available, see if your recruiter can provide more detail). Use language in the experience descriptions in your resume that reflect these requirements. Specific language is important. As an example, take a job description that looks for associates with "transactional experience, preferably including experience with project development and/or finance." If your background covers a wide mix of M&A deals across a range of industries, then for purposes of your resume work descriptions, make sure to prioritize and emphasize any deals that had a project finance and/or energy industry connection. This may mean that other parts of your experience are not included. That's OK. You can be more comprehensive in your attached deals list. For the resume, make it clear that you have experience in the specific area(s) requested.

2. Get information about the practice group and client base relevant to the opening and tailor your work experience accordingly. In order to know what a law firm truly needs for an opening, you need to go beyond the job description. Your recruiter should have more specific details about the nature of the practice group and the specific client base. For example, is a majority of the work in the practice group done for just a handful of local private equity firms? Is there an industry that makes up more than 50% of the work in a firm's commercial litigation group? This additional detail will be helpful when writing up your work experience descriptions in your resume and, in particular, any case or deal examples that you choose to use in the resume.

3. Include information that shows geographic ties. If you are applying to a position in a location that you are not currently working, this is essential. For example, say you are located in New York, but looking to move to the San Francisco office of a different law firm. You may think it is enough to show ties because you went to school in the Bay Area and/or you are barred in the state of California. But is there anything else? Some community service or activity that you used to do that can go in the Personal section at the bottom? An older internship or two in the Bay Area that you can include in order to reveal that you actually grew up in the area? Remember, the cost of a lateral hire with a geographic move is more expensive than a local hire. Make it clear in the resume that you intend to move and move for good. (For more on the topic of relocation, see my FAQ).

4. Put the essential information at the very top. Depending on the opening, there may be some baseline credentials that a candidate needs to have in order to move forward with a candidate. Make sure this information is at the very top of your resume underneath your name and contact details. The most common examples are bar admission, required language skills and the ability to work legally.

5. Use your limited resume space on information that is most relevant to the position. Your resume is only 1 page and there's a lot of information to get across. Only keep in the information that offers some relevance to the particular position. This may mean dropping off old jobs as well as school activities and honors in order to provide more space (at least a full paragraph) to your most recent legal experiences that are relevant to the opening. You want to make it easy for a reader's eye to focus on the key information. If your current job and law school are buried in a list of experiences in accomplishments, then a recruiter won't be able to get the most important information they need to make a decision about your candidacy.

If you're making a move as a lateral associate, it may be a good idea to attach a deal sheet or matters list. This is a more specific bulleted list of your work experience which provides additional context to your resume.

Specifically, a matters list or deal sheet recontextualizes your work around client experience and tasks; both of which are key to understanding the strength of your candidacy for a lateral position.

Just like your resume, your deal list (for corporate lawyers) or matters list (for litigators and other types of lawyers) should be written strategically and tailored to the job application. I have spoken with many candidates who feel lost when it comes to creating this type of list. Common questions include: What exactly should be included? How much detail should I provide? Is it required for junior associates too? If the company or firm does not ask for one explicitly, should I still do it?

Below are 5 important tips when it comes to creating a deal sheet or matters list:

1. The format should be clean, concise & consistent. Specifically, a) For associates, a single page matter list is more than sufficient; if you don't have enough matters to fill an entire page, then you may not need a matter list at all; b) Make sure to follow a very simple bullet format - this will ensure that the document is properly margined and easy-to-read; c) In terms of font, style, etc., copy the style you used for your resume and/or cover letter; in fact, make sure that you have the same address header at the top of all application documents (note: your application documents will likely be submitted as separate electronic documents; a consistent header makes it easier for the recruiter on the other side to create a complete application packet when they print out materials).

2. Include work that is most relevant to the open position. Your matter or case list will not (and should not) be exhaustive. You should focus the list on matters that are most relevant to the position. In the example above, I included a starting list of patent litigation matters. This sample person may have broader litigation experience that includes copyright, general commercial and other types of litigation. But if she is applying to a patent litigation position, the list should focus on that type of work. Therefore, you might need to have several different versions of your matters list depending on the open position.

3. Start your list with your highest-profile work where you had the most responsibility. The items at the top of your list should be projects that have the most name recognition (i.e., widely known clients like Google or Citibank and/or clients most relevant to the position). But first and foremost, the top of your list should include relevant work where you had the most responsibility. Think of projects where you managed others, wrote independently, worked with clients directly, etc. Whether it's a midlevel or senior position, the hiring team will want to know that you can hit the ground running when you get there.

4. If it's public, always start with the name of the case or deal; if it's not, describe the project in another way. The point of the matter or case list is to provide an easy-to-scan list of the types of work that you have done so far. First and foremost, this should start with the name of your client. Even if it's not a company that is widely known, you want to make it easy for the reader to do a quick Google search to confirm the matter and/or get additional detail. This also makes it easy to ask questions in an interview (i.e., "Tell me a little more about your work in this eTech case.) Some matters are not public or ongoing. In that case, include the details that you are able (see the "Patent ownership dispute" example in the sample above).

5. Be comprehensive about your role and don't worry about repeating key tasks. The point of a matters list is to tie your experience to specific cases and deals. This may mean that you repeat some language about your role under multiple items. This is fine. Just make sure that you are being clear and comprehensive on your role in that particular matter. Plus, there are ways to play with the vocabulary and sentence structure so the list does not look like a "copy & paste" exercise (compare the first two items in the sample above).

Your recruiter should work with you very closely when it comes to the writing and delivery of your matters list or deal sheet. They should help you tailor it for the position and advise on the time of submission. Depending on your experience and the open position, you might attach it to you resume when you apply. Or you they might send it in separately. Or they might suggest that you take one with you to your interview and provide when asked.

Despite recent indications of a recession being all but "inevitable" within the next 1-2 years, the legal hiring market remains very strong. If you're a BigLaw associate who has been considering a lateral move for a variety of a reasons, you might think now is the wrong time. "What if the recession hits shortly after I start? Won't I be at risk of losing my job as the 'new associate'?"

When it comes to hiring practices, nobody has a perfect crystal ball. But when it comes to your long-term career planning, there are lots of reasons to think of a lateral move now (or soon), before the recession hits.

Here are 3 key reasons:

1. If a firm has an associate opening, it means they are busy and you will get the billable hours that you need to make your mark. Since the 2008 financial crisis, firms have been much more careful when it comes to hiring lateral legal talent. When somebody leaves a practice group as an associate, this associate will not automatically be replaced. The firm may see the move as the result of natural attrition. Or the departing associate consistently did not meet their billable hour targets, so instead of a new hire, their workload/hours is distributed amongst existing associates. In today's economy, when a firm posts an associate lateral need, this means there is work to do and they need the help. More often than not, this means the person that they hire will hit the ground running and will be likely to hit their billable hour targets each year. This is good news for a new lateral associate. It will be easier to demonstrate value to the practice group and firm when (and still if) a recession comes and workflow slows.

2. Your current practice group or firm may not be ready for the recession. Conversely, you may be working at a firm where it's been consistently difficult to hit the firm's annual billable hours targets. Maybe a key partner in your practice group left. Or maybe the workflow for your firm's clients in that practice has just slowed. This is not a good situation to be in during the time of a recession. You want to be at a firm in a practice that has work for you to do. Additionally, if you're working at a firm that's had some management issues or inconsistent profits per partner growth, then the firm as a whole may not be recession-ready. (This was famously the case with my former law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf, which ultimately folded when it could not pay its expenses and debts when the financial crisis hit.)

3. If you're looking to relocate, do it now when most firms are willing to interview out-of-market talent and pay for relocation and bar expenses. Right now, there are tons of open junior and midlevel corporate positions at law firms in markets like the Bay Area and Boston. Because the need is so high and there is a limited pool of talent in these markets, firms are more than willing to look to other markets such as New York for talent to fill the openings. These firms are also willing to pay the additional costs that come from an out-of-market move - specifically relocation expenses as well as reimbursement and time off to take a new state bar exam. If the market slows, firms won't do this as much. So if you're a New York-barred attorney looking to get home to the Bay Area, you might have to figure out a way to take the California bar on your own time and on your own dime (all while keeping your existing job since it's always better to look for a job while you still have one.)

A good recruiter will talk you through the pros and cons of making a lateral move right now, giving you an understanding of the opportunities that are out there and whether you're the right fit. But no matter what, it's worth starting the conversation now. You don't want to wait to a point when legal hiring for lateral positions starts to slow down.

For many lateral associate positions, though not all, a formal cover letter is required. A cover letter is a 1-page formal piece of writing that expresses your specific interest in the open position, as well as how your background and experience match the qualifications desired. For every industry, the cover letter has its own quirks and specific requirements. The legal industry is no different.

When it comes to a legal cover letter, recognize that it only gets quickly scanned (at most), so an easy-to-read organization is essential

Your individual recruiter should work very closely with you on your cover letter, providing specific information and language that is important to convey. Ultimately though, the letter is coming from you.

Below is a sample cover letter to a recruiting manager for a litigation associate position from a hypothetical attorney, annotated beneath with my suggestions on what is most important for a legal cover letter (and what's not):

1. Don't copy this template (or any template!). The first rule of cover letter writing is that you shouldn't just copy another cover letter and fill in key words. The purpose of a cover letter is to write in your own words why you both want the position and why you are qualified to do it. Recruiting managers can often detect when a cover letter is taken from a template. This is particularly true when you copy nearly word-for-word from a Google search result or publicly available document (like this one :-).

2. Keep it succinct and at a single page. A legal recruiter or attorney does not have the time to read a very long cover letter with lots of detail about your experience and interest. If you start with something long, edit it down to a single page with just a few tight paragraphs that conveys only the key information a recruiter needs to know (see the following tips).

3. Use the right formalities. Make sure to use the formalities of a typical letter: a return address, date, addressee, greeting and salutation. Because cover letters are almost always submitted electronically nowadays, use the return address header that you have used for your resume so that the materials are clearly connected to each other for ease of reference. Otherwise, it should look like a typical business letter. If you don't have the addressee's name and information at hand, find out from your recruiter or Google for a name. A letter should always be addressed to a person where possible.

4. The first paragraph covers the position that you are applying to and why. If a recruiter or attorney reads only one part of a cover letter clearly, it will be the first paragraph. Make it clear in the first sentence what position you are applying to; if you aren't applying to a posted position, but to a group in general, make sure you use the language that the firm uses (i.e., don't say you're applying for "a position in intellectual property" if the relevant group is called the "IP & Technology Practice Group.") This information should be followed with the reason you are applying (i.e., looking to move geographically, change or shift practice, etc.)

5. The middle paragraph(s) should cover your relevant experience and most important credentials, with the first sentence of each paragraph being the most important. The middle paragraphs are all about your experience and credentials. A way to think about this part of the cover letter is that it is your opportunity to "re-contextualize your resume." All resumes must follow the format of reverse chronological experience. The middle part of the cover letter allows you to highlight information that may be hidden on your resume, or to tie all of your resume-based experience together around a single theme. There is no one way to do this. Just be brief, non-repetitive and clear. Make sure the first sentence of each paragraph gets out to main thesis of what you are trying to share. For quick scans, it's the first sentences of the paragraphs that will get read. These sentences should share important information about your candidacy on their own.

6. The final paragraph should have contact details. Your closing paragraph is yours to write and sum up based on one you have written above. No matter what, just make sure the relevant contact information for following up is provided there. If you are working with a recruiter, this should typically include their information.

The summertime can feel like an odd time to change jobs as a BigLaw associate. You might have a vacation or two. (Or, at the every least, you might have a welcome slowdown in hours as the partners and clients that you work with are away on their vacations.) You might be on track to make your hours for the year and are worried what might happen to your bonus.

At the same time, you know that a lateral move is in the cards for you at some point for one reason or another (see my earlier article,"Why Lateral?"). So why might you make that move now, as opposed to several months or years from now? Here are 5 good reasons:

1. The lateral hiring market is very, very active. Right now, the number of associate positions at larger law firms across multiple practice areas and major markets is incredibly high. In fact, according to data provided by Firm Prospects, as of today, there are almost 2,000 active associate job postings for attorneys with 1-5 years experience in the major U.S. legal markets (New York, California, DC, Chicago and Boston). If you're trying to do the same work at a different firm, shift your practice or make a geographic move from your current BigLaw firm, chances are there are at least a couple good opportunities out there for you.

2. The number of opportunities could go down soon. Quickly. According to a recent survey of professional economic forecasters, only 15% expect a U.S. recession by the end of 2019; but 60% expect one by the 2020 U.S. election. A recession (or even an economic slowdown) has a huge impact on legal hiring as much of BigLaw legal services is directly tied to the health of the financial services and other major U.S. industries. As a result, the amount of need for experienced associate talent will drop. During the 2008 financial crisis, this drop in need more or less happened overnight.

3. Your marketability might drop the longer you wait. Particularly if you are a midlevel or senior associate, if you wait to long to make a lateral move, you may end up being less marketable to other firms. If you get to your 6th year or more, the number of openings starts to drop dramatically. Firms want to invest in associates that are senior enough to have the right experience, but also junior enough to be trained and developed according to the structure and style of their new firm. This is why you'll see many more openings for "junior" or "midlevel" associates.

4. You might get too deep in a practice are you don't like. Generally speaking, most BigLaw firms want to specialize their associates as quickly as possible. With some firms, this may mean that you don't get your "first choice" practice area when you return from your summer program and start as an entry level associate. The business needs of the particular firm or office might conflict with your personal preference for your career. It might be possible to shift to another practice later on at the same firm, but oftentimes it is not. You may need to make a lateral move to do this. And if you get too much experience in your specialized practice, you might find it hard for another firm to allow you to tweak, adjust or "retool" your practice.

5. More than anything, it's at least worth having a conversation with a recruiter!Recently, I had a conversation with a former Harvard Law advisee who is working at a major NYC firm and thinks he wants to move back home to Los Angeles at some point. For his practice, there are only a limited number of firms that do the type of work that he does, many of whom are hiring. But for him personally, he's only been at his NYC firm for a couple years and he really enjoys the training and experience that he is getting. He knows there is some risk in waiting, but we talked through the openings that exist in Los Angeles for his practice, how long they have been open and what the groups look like. Ultimately, he decided to hold for now. But knowing his goals, I can keep him updated as opportunities are added, changed or dropped. The only way that a recruiter can help you in this way is if you at least start a conversation.

** Side note: If your concern about moving now relates to whether you will be eligible for a full bonus at your new firm at the end of the year, talk to your recruiter. Each firm handles this differently and there are options and strategies to consider.

The most common questions in a legal interview usually start with the phrase "Tell me about...". Tell me about a deal you recently closed. Tell me about the hardest project you've ever worked on. Tell me about how the work you did on this case. This is all part of the typically conversational legal interview. But there is real strategy in asking these questions. Attorneys are looking for the following with "Tell me about..." questions:

• How do you organize your work and your time on a project?

• What does your analytical reasoning look like when you're working through a legal project?

• How do you work with peers, supervisors and more junior attorneys on your projects?

• How well do you "think on the fly"?

You've probably heard the advice that ahead of an interview "You should be prepared to talk about everything on your resume." This is true, but to be more practical and specific: "You should be prepared to tell clear and organized stories for everything on your resume."

So then what is the best way to prepare for resume-based "Tell me about" questions ahead of an interview? By outlining professional stories using the IRAC method.

What is IRAC?

IRAC, as you may recall from law school or a writing class, stands for:

• (I)ssue - the questions presented, or the problem being solved

• (R)ule - the framework that applies to the issue

• (A)nalysis - the application of the rule to the issue

• (C)onclusion - the final answer to the question or issue

Using IRAC to Create Resume-Based Story Outlines

You may feel confident that you know what you're talking about when it comes to your current job. But you've probably never had to tell the whole story of a project you worked on in a way that is both succinct and complete. The IRAC outline can serve as a great organizing tool when preparing to talk about your work experiences for an upcoming interview. With every relevant legal job, make sure you have 2-3 IRAC'd stories. For other elements of your resume (school activities, interests, etc.), have at least 1 IRAC'd story.

Here's how to write up your IRAC outlines for your resume-based stories:

• The story's "issue"

Describe the case or the deal in big picture terms in just a couple sentences. Identify the client and deal/settlement/award amount if that is public information; otherwise, just identify the client's industry and the goal of the project. Was it an IPO? An internal fraud investigation? A copyright infringement defense?

• The story's "rule"

Identify the specific types of legal work that needed to be done to complete the project for the client. Make sure to mention how many people were working on the project. Briefly identify all the big tasks that had to be done - in order, where possible. For a deal, this may have meant starting with several client calls, then managing the diligence process and finally negotiating relevant agreements. For a case, this may have meant starting with client calls (as well as multiple internal discussions), then managing the discovery process and finally filing a series of pleadings.

• The story's "analysis"

Dig deeper into your individual role in the project. This is the core part of your story (just as the "analysis" eleement is the core part of an IRAC). For example, if your primary role in the project was managing diligence or discovery, talk about it in some detail. Discuss how many people worked on it, how the work was divided, a little bit about what you were looking for and then how you delivered your diligence or discovery report.

• The story's "conclusion"

Stories need endings. If you're talking about a case or deal, the listener will want to know what happened to it. If it died due to a change in the pricing environment or the case settled not in your client's favor, that's OK. If you were taken off the project or it's still ongoing, state that. Just make sure you give the listener some kind of ending.

How Recruiters Can Help

Your legal recruiter can help you run through these outline stories. Ensure that the stories from your current job are especially strong as this is where interviewers will ask the most "Tell me about" questions. The outline should only be used as a rough guide and not be something you memorize like a speech. (You don't want to sound rehearsed.) At the same time, a mock interview exercise using your IRAC'd story outlines will help make sure you end up focused, organized and ready for anything in your interview.

One of the trickiest parts of working at a BigLaw firm is how both employees and the work are managed. Work is brought in by the partners and then divided up within the practice group and working groups. Partners gravitate towards other partners and associates that they like working with. There's not a hard requirement to make sure that work is evenly distributed. Additionally, most partners do as much work as they do manage people doing work. Thus, they are not always incentivized to prioritize organized delegation and management of work flow. More and more, firms are hiring professional staff to be involved in this process, but it can be difficult for them to be fully effective when they are not embedded in the work flow.

So what's a BigLaw associate to do? "Managing up" is a buzzword that has been around for a while. But it means different things depending on where you work. And when it comes to BigLaw firms, there's a very particular way of doing it effectively:

1. Identify who needs "managing up" most. Law firm working groups are a complex web of partners, senior associates, junior associates and support staff. The composition of a particular working group can vary deal-to-deal or case-to-case. You may be working with a senior associate who is very clear about their direction and needs. This person may not need to be prioritized for managing up. At the same time, a junior partner on the same project may be communicating with you directly in an unclear, haphazard way - hard-to-understand emails, sporadic and unpredictable communication, etc. For managing up, start with this type of person.

2. Start with the person's schedule. When managing up to someone who supervises your work at a law firm, the best place to start is with their schedule. Are they in the office all the time or do they work remotely a lot? Are they early birds or night owls? Do they take long gaps mid-day for the gym or do they work right through lunch? Do they have hard stops for kid pick ups or commutes? Knowing when a partner or senior associate does their work ensures you can better predict when they need might need you and be prepared to be responsive at that time.

3. Communicate the way that they like to communicate. In an ideal world, you would sit down with a supervisor on each deal or case and identify expectations, workflow, timeline, etc. At large law firms, there might not be time for that on a particular project. Respect how the partner or senior associate wants to communicate and respond in kind whenever you are able. If they like to speak in person and talk issues out, budget time for that. If they like to send short, to-the-point emails, do your best to communicate in the same way.

4. Be thoughtful of shifting timelines and deadlines. It sounds easy to say, but don't rush something that's not urgent and be prepared to drop something when a more urgent deadline comes along. This is imperative for managing up at a BigLaw firm. Remember that you are part of a much larger project and the timeline can change in an instant. Don't take sudden changes personally. Remember that you are in a client-driven business. If you need to ask questions to understand how to research for a memo, but you know it's not urgent to the client or partner, then put it to the side and come back to it when it is.

5. Compile your questions into a succinct list for a single conversation. Maybe it's been a week and you haven't been able to get in touch with your supervising partner regarding a deal. The list of questions is piling up. Keep a running list, but make sure that list is as succinct and to-the-point as possible. You may only get 5 minutes of the partner's time and you will want to make sure you cover everything you need to, but in an efficient manner.

6. Ask for help! BigLaw firms are very busy places, but they have professional support systems in place to help you manage your workflow. Seek out mentors or professional development professionals to walk through your issues and concerns and get their advice. Your workflow problems won't be solved if you suffer in silence.

It's becoming both easier and more popular to make a geographic move as a BigLaw associate. This is the result of a few trends when it comes to the legal labor market:

• The expansion of the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) to more states across the country means that it's easier for lawyers to get admitted into multiple states at once and/or transfer bar exam results from one state to another.

• Multiple legal markets are very strong right now and the need for talent expands beyond the lawyers that are already practicing there (this is particularly the case when it comes to Boston and the Bay Area).

• Generally speaking, the number of associates making a lateral move of some kind is at an all-time high with the National Association for Law Placement (NALP) reporting an average number of 16.5 lateral hires in 2018 amongst a surveyed group of 428 law offices. This represented a 14.4% increase in lateral hiring over 2017.

• National firms continue to open new offices in large cities across the U.S., leveraging the firm's practice reputation in its existing offices to market to new clients in the new market.

• Practices at large firms are also "nationalizing," meaning if there is demand for talent in a particular legal service, they will look to staff up across multiple office. In an individual office, the attorneys prioritize service to the local clients, but increasingly attorneys work virtually with others in their practice group across other offices of the firm, as as the work ebbs and flows within each office.

If you're thinking of making a geographic move, there's never been a better time.

When it comes to considering a geographic move, here are some FAQs for BigLaw associates:

How do I find a legal recruiter for my geographic move?

Most legal recruiters are identified through personal referrals. But if you don't know any attorneys in your target market, this might not be possible. Conduct a Google search and take a look at some online legal recruiter directories. Most recruiters are clear on their websites about who they work with and where. (Through Gridline Search + Consulting, for example, I primarily work with larger law firms in the big U.S. legal markets, using recruiter connections and industry knowledge I gained through my time as a career advisor at Harvard Law.)

I like my current firm. I just need to move geographically for personal reasons. Should I just ask for an office transfer?

Maybe. But does that other office have the practice area that you work in? Is the culture of the other office the same as your current one? Do you know anyone in the new office that would be interested in advocating for your office transfer? Will your current team help you make the move or will it be hard for them to let you go? If the answers to these questions present complications, it may be best to look for a new employer in your target market. (I talk about this further in my article "Why Lateral?")

When is the right time to make a geographic move?

As a BigLaw associate, you are most marketable for an associate lateral move with 2-5 years of experience. This is generally true whether you are looking to stay in the same market or make a geographic move.

What if I am not admitted into the state where I plan to move?

Start by taking a look at the bar admission resources provided by the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE). If you are a junior associate admitted to a UBE state, you may still be able to port that score to a new UBE state. If you are a senior associate, you may be eligible for "admission by motion" to the new state based on your years of continuous practice in your current state. If something is unclear from a website or written resource, don't rely on word of mouth. Call the state's board of bar examiners directly.

Most firm offices will require that you eventually be admitted into the state where they are located. If you ultimately need to take a new bar exam, sometimes the firm will even give you time off and cover expenses while employed at the new firm (this is more often provide to corporate associates making a lateral move than to litigation associates).

Will the firm fly me out for an interview? Will they pay the expenses?

When interviewing a candidate from another market, most large firms will start with a screening interview via phone, videoconference or with attorneys or staff located in an office closer to you. After this, they will likely require at least one round of in-person interview. Most large law firms will pay for reasonable expenses related to this trip.

Will the new firm pay for my relocation expenses?

In most cases, yes they will. In terms of the exact amount and method, this is something that typically gets negotiated when an offer of employment is made through your recruiter.

My spouse got a new job already, so I need to make the move as soon as possible. How long does the process typically take?

Timing for a geographic move as a lateral associate depends on a lot of factors - your target market, your level of experience, your practice, your current firm, your credentials, etc. It could take a couple weeks to move or it could take several months. You will want to talk with your recruiter about the urgency of your timing and what you can expect. If it sounds like your search could take a long time, you might ask your current employer if it's possible for you to work remotely while you search for a new job in your new market. (Don't just quit your job and then start searching. If your resume indicates this, it might send a negative signal about your candidacy.)

Like the Bay Area, the city of Boston has a legal market where there are more opportunities for BigLaw lawyers than there are candidates. There are at least 150 active associate openings at AmLaw 200 firms in the Boston market (compare that with less than 70 for the Philadelphia legal market, a metropolitan area that is 50% larger than the Boston metro area). Many of these openings are in highly skilled practice areas like private equity, finance, health law and intellectual property. These practices require a certain type of training that can only be found at other BigLaw firms. Therefore, the Boston legal market looks to larger legal markets (such as New York) for talent.

Even if you have never lived in Boston, here are a few reasons to consider the market for your lateral move:

Center for finance, life sciences and technology. New York revolves around financial services; San Francisco, around technology. Boston has a growing mix of both industries, in addition to being a true center for health care and life sciences work. This produces a wealth of opportunities in terms of clients and, by extension, in-house possibilities.

Different work/life-style. Unlike Manhattan or downtown San Francisco, Boston is not a 24-hour city. Restaurants and shops close in the Financial District (where the bulk of law firms are located). This does not mean that lawyers never work late in Boston. They definitely do. But you're much more likely to find people that commute in before 9am and then do their work from home in the late evening hours, as opposed to Manhattan where physically staying in the office past 8pm is not uncommon.

Interesting, affordable places to live. Much is said about Boston's lack of housing affordability, and this is certainly true when it comes to rental units. There aren't enough of them. But Boston is a town where professionals tend to own. My husband and I live in a house in the South Shore beach town of Hull, which is just a 25 minute ferry ride into Boston's Financial District. For the cost of our home, you could maybe buy a small 1-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn Heights (and that would mean a 1 hour+ commute to Midtown). There are lots of towns and neighborhoods around Boston like mine, and keep in mind that you're likely to have a New York market salary to spend on your place to live.

Ski in the winter; beach in the summer. From the center of Boston, it takes less than two hours to get to the beaches of Cape Cod, the mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire and more. Boston is a place where it does not take too long to "get away." In addition, it is city rich with history, museums and a theater scene. (I don't go to any "sports games," but you know the town's reputation when it comes to that.)

When I knew that I was unhappy as a capital markets associate at a BigLaw firm, I tried a few things before I even started thinking of leaving for good. This was 2009, in the middle of the global financial crisis, so it were not a lot of other easy options anyway. So I wrote down what I needed to change and I took action. When I left the firm, I left as a flex time associate.

With the context of my own experience, here are some suggestions of things to do as an unhappy BigLaw associate before you think of leaving:

1. Have an honest, direct conversation about your unhappiness with your mentor/supervisor partner. Law firms prioritize client service over everything else. This can mean that it's difficult to make time to discuss your progress at a law firm, let alone your frustrations and concerns. But at the end of the day, if you're doing good work, a law firm (specifically, an individual partner that likes you) will find a way to keep you. Write down an outline of the concerns you need to address and ask the partner if you can set aside at least 30 minutes to talk. This wasn't easy to do. And it likely won't be for you. But I'm not understating when I say that it changed my life.

2. Get your work from the people you like. If you are working at a BigLaw firm, chances are you are working in a particular working group with a particular practice area. Within that working group, there must be partners and more senior associates who you like working with better than others. Have candid conversations with those attorneys about getting staffed on their projects and getting more work. Of course it's easier said than done, but generally speaking, if you're making your hours working for and with the people you like, it is much easier to say "no" to the people that you don't wish to work with.

3. Ask for a part-time or flex schedule. Just like that. Just ask. Think of the partner that you work with the most that has the most influence within the firm. Someone who interacts frequently with the firm's management would be great. Say that you enjoy your work, and you want to stay, but this is the piece that you need to change. I negotiated a flex time schedule at my large law firm by ultimately doing just this. I asked for half time and I got it. It was not perfect: I often worked long hours on my "on-days," answered emails on my "off-days" and generally had to switch my schedule around a lot. So this was not the kind of schedule that would work for someone who needed to be on a predicatable schedule. But for someone who wants to get themselves more runway while they think more strategically about their next step, it can be a great option.

4. Take advantage of the professional development department. The amount of professional development support at large law firms increases every year. New positions like internal career advisors are being added. This is a new type of PD professional who often provides job-related advice on a confidential basis. Even if your firm does not have a position like this, chances are they do have a professional development advisor of some kind. They can help you develop a strategy to make your existing job work better for you.

5. Talk to a recruiter like me! A good recruiter will ask you whether you have done the previous steps and walk you through how to do them. Recruiters would rather have you critically evaluate your current job than have you look at opportunities hurriedly and back out of the job seeking process later down the line. And if it ultimately sounds like a move makes sense at this point (see my article on why associates lateral), then you have someone that can help.

As I stated in my first article of the year, there are lots of good reasons to lateral from one BigLaw firm to another. When it comes to corporate practice, a great reason to move is to shift your corporate work from representing banks and finance clients to representing clients in other industries. Shorthand for this is often described as going from the "bank side" to the "company side."

When I worked as a capital markets associate at Dewey & LeBouef in London and New York (RIP), my practice was more "company side" than it was "bank side." Our group focused on representing clients in the insurance and reinsurance industry. This focus meant that I got to know the clients and industry very well. One of my biggest tasks was to run the offering document, which meant that I had to talk to different business unit heads in detail. Attorneys that represent the banks financing the offering also had to understand the client's business, but more at a "big picture" level as their primary responsibility was to focus on the underwriting agreement and protect the bank's interests.

Among other things, my "company side" corporate practice afforded me in-house possibilities beyond financial services clients.

Here are the reasons that a "bank side" corporate associate might consider a move to a "company side" practice:

• The deal pace in a company side practice can be quite different from a bank side practice. If you are representing the company itself in a financing, sale or purchase, the client will require a significant amount of attorney time for the diligence, offering details and strategy. This means you become more invested in the transaction than you might as the bank side attorney. You also aren't pushed to close many deals as quickly as possible as you might on the bank side.

• The industries that need company side corporate attorneys right now are wide and varied. Whether you have an interest in working with clients in technology, health care, energy or basically any other big industry, there is a company side corporate associate opportunity out there for you. Additionally more and more firms are aligning their practice groups to industry groups, so this means you can truly focus in on working for particular industry. This can produce the network and knowledge for making a great in-house move later down the line.

• Generally speaking, the lateral associate market is hot and the need for experienced corporate associates is high. Whether your practice is capital markets, M&A, private equity, finance or general corporate, the needs for corporate associates with 2-3+ years of experience is high right now. This will not always be the case. If you want to take advantage of a strategic move to a firm with a good company side practice, now is the time.

ENDNOTE: Most corporate practices at firms do not neatly advertise themselves into the company side or bank side categories. However, if you are working with a recruiter that is thinking strategically about i) the specific opportunity, ii) the firm as a whole, iii) the character of the office and iv) the make up of the practice's working groups, you can ensure the company side work balance that you might be seeking.