Lateral.ly: Elitists or no jobs? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Has anyone used them? I work for a good boutique firm and went to a top undergrad and top 20 law school graduating at the top third (school doesnt rank). Best school in the market selected, top school in the other regions. I've successfully gotten some interviews through friends and a recruiter at a few of the same firms listed on their homepage recently.

They advertise matching candidates from top law schools with top firms so I get that they will be more exclusive but getting denied access because there isn't a single opportunity available makes me wonder if they basically just filter you out if you don't work for big law? I don't want to leave my resume in their system if that's how they operate so I'm curious if there's another explanation, like if they only have success in a limited region?

[El Pollito]

sounds extremely sketchy

why don't you just apply for jobs on your own

[Anonymous User]

Hmm just joined recently, will let you know what happens. But I'm a shitigator from a lower T14 at a regional firm looking into a bad market for shitigators so I fully expect to get denied.

[84651846190]

Why do people trust their resumes with outfits like this? Is it really that hard to reach out to firms yourself instead of using a recruiter?

[El Pollito]

Why do people trust their resumes with outfits like this? Is it really that hard to reach out to firms yourself instead of using a recruiter?

if you're too lazy to apply on your own maybe you don't want a job that badly. recruiters are all terrible and don't look out for your best interests and firms would rather not pay them.

[Anonymous User]

Was under the impression that these places show positions that aren't advertised elsewhere. Misapprehension?

[El Pollito]

Was under the impression that these places show positions that aren't advertised elsewhere. Misapprehension?

it's really rare for recruiters to have exclusive postings at worthwhile firms. I don't know about lateral.ly, but it's probably not any different since if they had exclusivity they'd be advertising it on their website.

[Anonymous User]

Using a recruiter isn't necessarily lazy. It's called working long hours and having a tough time identifying opportunities in another market with limited contacts. Cold calling on firms has a pretty low response rate and there's only so much your fellow junior associate friends can do.

As I said in the original post, I've reached out to people as well but I was hoping to identify additional opportunities. Lateral.ly markets itself as having more/unpublished opportunities but either that's untrue or they're even more exclusive than they say. Or both.

[84651846190]

Using a recruiter isn't necessarily lazy. It's called working long hours and having a tough time identifying opportunities in another market with limited contacts. Cold calling on firms has a pretty low response rate and there's only so much your fellow junior associate friends can do.

As I said in the original post, I've reached out to people as well but I was hoping to identify additional opportunities. Lateral.ly markets itself as having more/unpublished opportunities but either that's untrue or they're even more exclusive than they say. Or both.

Are you in litigation? If so, you just don't have the credentials to land a position using a recruiter. Recruiters want candidates with tippy top credentials who they can spam across multiple employers with a high likelihood of getting a bite somewhere. Today's litigation lateral market is really shitty, so you're probably competing with top 10% types from t14s. Odds are not good for you whether you use a recruiter or not.

Using a recruiter is risky because you don't know who they are showing your resume to or how they are describing you to employers. Much better to just take the 2-4 minutes per law firm and check for openings on the firm's website. Of course, the best way to do it is to find someone you know in the area and get them to give you some contacts. (People generally WANT to help you get a job at their firm because there is usually a bonus given to people who bring laterals into a biglaw firm.)

[Old Gregg]

Was under the impression that these places show positions that aren't advertised elsewhere. Misapprehension?

Not with lateral.ly. It makes zero sense for them to have exclusivity (the founders have no recruiting experience), and they're not personally curating candidates for these jobs.

[El Pollito]

Using a recruiter isn't necessarily lazy. It's called working long hours and having a tough time identifying opportunities in another market with limited contacts. Cold calling on firms has a pretty low response rate and there's only so much your fellow junior associate friends can do.

As I said in the original post, I've reached out to people as well but I was hoping to identify additional opportunities. Lateral.ly markets itself as having more/unpublished opportunities but either that's untrue or they're even more exclusive than they say. Or both.

Are you in litigation? If so, you just don't have the credentials to land a position using a recruiter. Recruiters want candidates with tippy top credentials who they can spam across multiple employers with a high likelihood of getting a bite somewhere. Today's litigation lateral market is really shitty, so you're probably competing with top 10% types from t14s. Odds are not good for you whether you use a recruiter or not.

Using a recruiter is risky because you don't know who they are showing your resume to or how they are describing you to employers. Much better to just take the 2-4 minutes per law firm and check for openings on the firm's website. Of course, the best way to do it is to find someone you know in the area and get them to give you some contacts. (People generally WANT to help you get a job at their firm because there is usually a bonus given to people who bring laterals into a biglaw firm.)

Accurate description of how litigation job applications work. I'll add that the second there is a single opening you will get a million recruiter emails, so you are competing with the hundreds of people who respond to those for every single position.

Using a recruiter is also risky because they will absolutely push you into opportunities that aren't best for you so they can get paid, no matter how much you reiterate that you're looking for something else. It will eventually work if you don't get something right away.

And yes, I would LOVE to help people get a job at my firm so I can get paid. I forward positions to friends who are looking whenever I see one that fits.

[los blancos]

Today's litigation lateral market is really shitty, so you're probably competing with top 10% types from t14s.

Was it not always this way/will it ever get any better? Genuinely curious.

[El Pollito]

Today's litigation lateral market is really shitty, so you're probably competing with top 10% types from t14s.

Was it not always this way/will it ever get any better? Genuinely curious.

I doubt it's ever getting better again. Clients don't want to pay for gaggles of juniors to do doc review.

[Anonymous User]

Still curious if anyone does have success with lateral.ly but I took down my profile since I don't like it just sitting on some random possibly shady site. I realize that there are always more attractive candidates than me but I have landed interviews with a few big law firms and came very close to getting an offer with one of them (working with a recruiter) so it's tough but not impossible.

My recruiter is decent - she's sent me some unpublished positions so I don't see a problem using one in tandem, as long as it's one you can trust not to apply to anything you dont authorize.

[los blancos]

Today's litigation lateral market is really shitty, so you're probably competing with top 10% types from t14s.

Was it not always this way/will it ever get any better? Genuinely curious.

I doubt it's ever getting better again. Clients don't want to pay for gaggles of juniors to do doc review.

Yeah that makes sense.