As highlighted in this recent piece on Law.com, the importance of law firms conducting thorough due diligence on lateral partner candidates is underscored every few years, when a newly hired partner’s background quickly puts the firm’s good reputation at risk.
Many firms conduct no independent screening and rely exclusively on lateral partner questionnaires without doing a deep dive into social media or other relevant public information. Effective due diligence can fall by the wayside in the excitement and pressure to onboard a new lateral.
Lateral recruiting is on an upswing. It can drive growth and enhance a firm’s reputation, for sure. But it can backfire if not done carefully and with thorough vetting. Hiring an objective third party to vet lateral hires can help identify red flags that may otherwise remain hidden. It is money well spent to retain a specialist who has experience investigating candidates’ personal and professional backgrounds, including analysis of the content of traditional and alternative social media platforms and messaging sites, deep web and dark web repositories, and other online locations for reputationally significant content authored by or about the candidate.
Thoroughly vetting lateral hires is a straightforward and relatively low-cost way to safeguard an organization’s hard-earned reputation and the trust of its clients.
