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How long does a lateral conflicts check take?

Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2017 10:42 am
by Anonymous User
I am a junior associate making a lateral move. How long will a conflicts check take?

Also, how often are conflicts actually an issue for junior associates?

Thanks!

Re: How long does a lateral conflicts check take?

Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2017 11:04 am
by Anonymous User
My s/o went through this recently. She's more on the cusp of junior/midlevel. Went from a V10 specialty corporate group (think VC, ECEB, Tax, IP) to the same group at a different firm in a different city.

Because of the nature of her practice she had to list all of the deals she was on, however small her group's involvement, which turned out to be quite a lot. Conflicts took a few weeks. I've heard (and it was my experience) that conflicts only took a few days so a few weeks was quite unusual.

She's had one thing that the new firm notified her they would have to "figure out" how they were going to deal with it. So I'm not sure how "often" conflicts are an issue, but for what it's worth it has been a real thing even in my limited experience. That said, I don't think that conflicts are likely to kill an offer for a junior.

Re: How long does a lateral conflicts check take?

Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2017 11:10 am
by Anonymous User
I lateraled as a junior and conflicts took less than a week. I ended up getting screened from certain matters, which, due to the broad files used in the new firm's document retention system, has actually been somewhat of a hassle.

Unless, you're kept from working with the new firm's major client(s), then it would probably not be a serious issue.