Practice group and team move recruiters for firms of 5 to 200 attorneys

What the role means at a US firm

A practice group move, or team lift-out, is a group of lawyers moving together from one firm to another. It might be one partner with the associates and professional staff who work with that partner, or an entire practice group of several partners. For a firm of 5 to 200 attorneys, a group move is often the fastest way to open a new practice area or to double down on one.

It is also a different kind of hire from a lateral partner. The firm is not evaluating a person. It is evaluating a team, its clients, its economics, and the effect on the firm it joins.

What firms screen for

Receiving firms look at the group as a business:

• Group economics. The group's work, billings, and how much of the work depends on the group leader.
• Client continuity. Which clients are expected to move with the group, and how those clients choose.
• Conflicts across the group. Every client and matter the group handles, checked against the firm's existing clients.
• Cohesion. Whether the group works as a team or as individuals who share a floor.
• Fit with the firm. Rates, staffing, culture, and what existing partners will think of the group's compensation.

How a group move is sequenced

Order matters more here than in any other search. A group move generally runs in this sequence:

• The group leader and the firm talk first, in confidence, about the practice and the economics.
• The firm reviews conflicts at group level, on limited information to start.
• Terms are settled for the group leader, then for each partner and member of the group.
• The group agrees the timing of resignation and the communication to clients.
• The firm prepares to receive the group: space, systems, staffing, and introductions.
• The group moves and the client transition begins.

If one step is skipped or taken out of order, the usual result is that members of the group learn of the move from someone other than the group leader, or a conflict surfaces after resignations are given. Bound's role is to keep the steps in order.

Conflicts and client transition

A group move multiplies the conflicts problem. A conflict that would block one partner can block the whole group. Bound asks both sides early which clients could be affected, so the problem shows up before anyone resigns.

Clients choose their lawyers. Partners and groups should take advice from ethics counsel on what they may say to clients, when, and in what form, and on any notice or solicitation terms in their current partnership or employment agreements. Bound does not give legal advice.

What a receiving firm needs in place

Firms that take on a group successfully usually have settled these points before the first conversation:

• A compensation framework for the group leader, the partners, and the associates.
• Space and technology ready for the date the group arrives.
• Professional staff and practice management support for the group.
• Agreement among the existing partners that they want the group, and on what it will mean for their own work.
• A plan for malpractice insurance and conflicts clearance.

The market at this level

Group moves tend to happen when something changes at the group's current firm: a merger, a shift in strategy, a change in leadership, or a compensation dispute. They are rarer than individual lateral moves and take longer to line up. A late conflict or a leak can end one for reasons that have nothing to do with the group's quality.

This page quotes no market figures. Bound goes through current compensation structures and demand for your practice area and state on the intake call.

How Bound runs a search at this level

The intake call covers the practice you want, the size of group you can absorb, the compensation framework, and who must approve the move. Bound then identifies groups and group leaders in your market whose practice matches and approaches them on your behalf. The list stays with Bound. You see the groups that are interested.

Bound coordinates the conversations in the order above, and keeps the confidentiality terms in place until each step is agreed.

Bound works on contingency at every level. The fee is 25% of the candidate's base salary, payable within 14 days of the candidate's start date, with a free replacement within 90 days. There is no retainer and no upfront cost.

Related practice areas

Bound runs practice group and team moves searches in these practice areas. Introductions are always matched to the practice.

• Commercial Litigation
• Corporate and M&A
• Labor and Employment
• Intellectual Property
• Healthcare
• Insurance Defense
• Real Estate
• Trusts and Estates
• Bankruptcy and Restructuring
• Tax

Other roles Bound recruits

• Lateral Partner
• Of Counsel
• Senior Associate
• Associate Attorney
• Paralegals and Legal Professionals

Who runs the search

Jim Knott, Bound's founder, runs every search himself, from the first call to the signed offer. There is no rotating team and no handoff. You can read his background before you call.

If you are an attorney or legal professional at this level, register confidentially. Your resume goes to a firm only after you approve that specific firm.