The Headhunter’s Ball: NALSC Conference 2007

Today through Saturday, Lawcruiters from the U.S. and Canada gather in California for our annual conference, organized by the National Association of Legal Search Consultants (NALSC). (Our client-side recruiting colleagues had their gathering at the NALP conference two weeks ago.) This is the fourth NALSC conference I’ve attended – and each one has been an improvement on the last. There is something very heartening and inspiring about the commitment to excellence in Lawcruiting that my colleagues put into organizing these conferences, and that my fellow attendees bring to the sessions. We all have an unusual job: part firm-builder and part firm-wreaker, part business analyst and part career-counselor, part matchmaker and part noodge. Our clients and candidates hate us and love us all at the once. They dread our calls– and yet they crave them. Whether they like us or not – we know that we have an important role to play in their lives and in the future of their firms. And we also know, as the legal service business grows increasingly global, sophisticated and complex, that we need to get better at what we do. At the moment, the NALSC conferences are one of the key tools Lawcruiters have for achieving that goal. Which is why we are here.