CASE STUDY
Our AmLaw 100 client was experiencing a significant increase in commercial real estate work and lacked associate bandwidth to meet their client’s timeline and expertise requirement. The firm had unsuccessfully sought associate laterals and needed to support their current team of associates to expand bandwidth and lessen department fatigue, all while maintaining a focus on high-quality work product and excellent client service.
Having worked with Major, Lindsey & Africa to fill a variety of permanent roles in the past, the firm reached out for assistance. MLA Interim Legal Talent engaged the client in a thorough needs analysis to better understand the issue so we could provide a customized solution. Through this conversation, we were able to identify that the firm was seeking an experienced commercial real estate attorney with joint ventures, acquisitions, development, infrastructure, land use/zoning, commercial leasing (landlord and tenant side), financing (borrower and lender side) and property management expertise at the senior associate level.
The main challenge with this role was that the skill set required was currently one of the hottest on the market and all firm with a real estate group were seeking these laterals. Due to the commercial real estate challenges in the early to mid-2000s, there is a deficit of attorneys who have an expertise in this line of work, thus causing greater demand on a smaller candidate pool during times like this. However, thanks to our expansive network of candidates, we were able to quickly identify a candidate who had just finished another engagement and was available to start immediately.
The success of the consulting attorney has resulted in the client bringing in more consulting attorneys within their corporate and real estate practices. Although the firm initially had reservations about using a remote consulting attorney, they found it has allowed them to effectively expand and contract their bandwidth in line with their workload, preventing idle hands and fluctuating billable hours for associates, as well as providing access to candidates who bring an even broader background to the table that they previously did not have access to. They have been able to take a step back from permanently hiring for the role and focus their efforts on other areas that need extra attention.