Lateral hiring procedure Forum

[Casper123]

I sent an application for a lateral position in an overseas office of a V100 law firm. After several phone calls and a skype interview, it seems that the interview process has come to an end. According to the HR-person I talked to, the partners I would mainly be working for as well as the managing partner of the office all support my application. However, they have to present my application to some hiring committee at the HQ. The HR-person also said that my salary expectations are a bit higher than they had in mind (I guess 10-20%).

Is there a high chance that this committee will say no although the relevant people from the satellite office are all in favor of hiring me? Is the fact that my salary expectations are a bit high a problem (I told the HR-person that I am open for discussions, so, if they are going to extend an offer, I guess they will just tell me to take it or leave it)? Does anyone have any experience with this type of procedure?

[Anonymous User]

Which market was this? How many int'l offices do they have?

[Toni V]

During my lateral process to a V 30 firm, they stated their pay structure, which I was agreeable with. I do not recall an option to “negotiate.”

On a potential lateral, I was offered a position but their moving allowance was way too low, they refused to budge … no deal.

[Casper123]

Which market was this? How many int'l offices do they have?

Think London, HK... Around 10 international offices. Is that relevant?

[Anonymous User]

I recently lateraled to a V100 firm, albeit domestically. I was interviewing with a V50 competitor in the same town and got the impression at the outset of my V100 interview that they had effectively made the decision to extend me an offer (basically pitching the reasons my growth opportunities at the V100 were better than the V50). This was basically confirmed after the interview, but they mentioned that they needed to clear the hire with their national section head. While waiting to hear back from them, I was extended an offer from the V50 and relayed the salary info to the V100 recruiter. Heard back within a few days with a competitive offer, and was able to negotiate a signing bonus.

My sense is that if the firm is actively interviewing, they have a need and expect to be able to get the hire approved. Getting clearance from above is essentially a formality if the local office wants you. I would expect that if they can't exactly meet your salary expectations, they will at least counter-offer (maybe with a signing bonus, etc). TL;DR, I would feel pretty secure if the local office folks actually want to hire you, and would not worry so much about the higher-up approval.