Confidentiality is part and parcel of being a lawyer. And while it’s part of the day-to-day with client matters, sensitive negotiations, and privileged communications, it’s also often a consideration if you’re considering a lateral move.
From your current employer to your client base, there are plenty of parties that are cause for a valid concern about confidentiality.
In fact, the issue of who gets to know what comes up in nearly every initial conversation we have with candidates. It may not be the first question, but it’s rarely far behind. These six points walk through what changes, and what doesn’t, once you start that conversation.
1. Confidentiality isn’t one-size-fits-all
Confidentiality needs vary from one candidate to the next. When you work with the right recruiter, the process should be tailored to match the level of discretion you need.
For some, that need is minimal. Take, for instance, a general litigator who often spends time chatting with opposing counsel or other firms. It’s less likely to raise eyebrows if someone sees you having coffee or dropping by to talk to their team.
Other candidates feel this more acutely. For example, in some markets like corporate tax or maritime law, there may be only a handful of other lawyers who do that work and have limited interaction with opposing counsel.
They’re naturally concerned that their clients might be told they’re leaving before they’re ready or that colleagues might spot them in a rival firm’s office.
If you’re on the more cautious end of that spectrum, several steps and conversations happen before you’re required to disclose who you are to a potential firm.
2. Your name doesn’t have to be attached to anything until you say so
The moment outreach begins, it’s natural to assume your name goes out with it. That’s not the case, though. A search can start as a blind submission that contains no identifying information.
The blind submission generally describes:
- Your practice area
- The types of clients you represent
- General numbers like your average billing rate and the revenue you’d bring with you
It doesn’t include anything that could identify you, like where you went to school, the name of your firm, or anything else someone could search to find you. That’s enough for a firm to know whether they want to schedule a meeting, and not enough for them to know that you, in particular, are looking.
Once those firms come back interested, most candidates are often ready to be identified.
3. Meetings don’t have to happen anywhere you’d be recognized
If the idea of being spotted walking into a rival firm’s office gives you pause, then there’s a way to avoid it entirely. Firms are aware of this concern, and many are willing to accommodate potential hires with alternative meeting arrangements.
Some firms have separate areas for conference rooms or even a whole separate floor, so that clients and candidates don’t have to walk through office space to get to a meeting.
Other arrangements happen entirely offsite. One firm might hold a meeting at a restaurant’s event space. Another firm held first meetings in a hotel conference room, away from anyone who might recognize a candidate.
Less formal options work too. Some first meetings happen over coffee, or somewhere outside the city entirely, wherever makes the most sense for you.
If a firm is interested and you’re concerned about being seen, they’ll find a way to meet that works for you. It shouldn’t be the deciding factor.
4. Even if a firm is interested, you can keep it on a need-to-know basis
A firm’s interest can feel like it means your materials land in front of the entire hiring department right away. And ordinarily, that’s what happens: A business plan, write-up, or resume gets circulated to the whole hiring group, and every partner involved gets a look.
For a candidate who wants more discretion, firms can narrow that circle for the earliest stage. Instead of looping in the whole hiring group right away, your materials might go to just two people, such as the attorney leading the practice group and the hiring partner.
Fewer people involved means fewer chances for something to get out before you’re ready. Once a first conversation confirms interest on both sides, review typically opens back up to the rest of the group, the same way it would for any other candidate.
5. At some point, you do have to be identified, but on your terms
There’s a limit to how long anonymity can last. A firm needs to know your reputation as a lawyer, and the people you actually work with, before they can seriously evaluate whether you’re a fit for their partnership. A description on paper only gets a firm so far.
That disclosure happens only with firms that have already shown genuine interest, not with everyone on the original list, and only once both sides are ready to move forward. It happens on your timeline, not the firm’s.
Client identities can stay protected, too
Confidentiality concerns often extend to a rainmaker’s clients as well. You might worry less about your own name coming up than about a client finding out you’re thinking about moving. If word gets out too early, a rival firm could approach your clients directly, or your clients could hear about the move from someone other than you, before you’ve had the chance to reassure them yourself.
However, just like your own name, clients’ identities can be withheld early in the process. For example, you can describe clients by industry instead of their company’s name. An NDA can also be requested to limit the firm from reaching out to your clients; this step can provide reassurance, whether you’re concerned they might try to poach your clients or inadvertently reveal you’re considering a move.
To move forward, disclosure is necessary at some point. A firm can’t seriously evaluate a business plan that just lists client A at $1 million and client B at $500,000. At some point, they need to know who those clients are to determine whether that book of business is the right fit for them or if there are conflicts of interest.
6. Not every recruiter will treat your confidentiality the same
The NALSC Code of Ethics requires member search firms to treat candidate information as confidential (Article II.4) and to submit candidates to employers only with the candidate’s express consent (Article II.3).
However, non-member recruiters aren’t bound by these rules. Some aren’t even based where they claim to be, sending mass outreach while posing as U.S. professionals, and none of that falls under any code of conduct. That’s part of why some firms will only work with recruiters who are NALSC members.
When you’re ready to talk
We understand this hesitation firsthand. Before our founder, Jen Gillman, became a recruiter, she was a practicing lawyer weighing whether to explore other firms and was worried about the same things. In the 18 years since, working from the other side of that process, we’ve never personally seen a confidentiality breach.
Every conversation with us is confidential, starting with the first one. You don’t need to have decided anything, not even whether you want to move, to pick up the phone.
When you’re ready, book a call, and we’ll take it from there.
