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During my two-year detour into legal recruiting, I was struck by how many Biglaw attorneys, both associates and partners, want to make the jump to the in-house side. As a result of this keen demand, the competition for desirable corporate-counsel jobs can be fierce, with hundreds of applicants for a single opening.

What are in-house employers seeking in their hires? In my latest podcast interview, I explored the topic with Sonya Olds Som, a prominent figure in the world of legal search (and, full disclosure, an old friend). We also discussed her interesting and impressive life and career, which took her from a challenging childhood in Detroit to Cornell Law School to law firm partnership to Diversified Search Group, a fast-growing and highly regarded company in the executive-search industry, where she serves as a Global Managing Partner and leads the firm’s Legal, Risk, Compliance, and Government Affairs practice.

If you enjoy this interview, try and meet Sonya in person, since even a podcast can’t do her justice. She’s helping to organize or speaking at several events in the next few months, including the National Summit of Black Women Lawyers in Chicago (March 30-April 1), the National Bar Association Annual General Counsel Invitational in New York (May 11-12), and the National Bar Association Annual Corporate Counsel Leadership Summit in Minneapolis (July 31). In case you’re not familiar with it, the National Bar Association (NBA) is the nation’s oldest and largest national association of predominantly African-American lawyers, judges, law professors, and law students.

My thanks again to Sonya Som for such a delightful conversation.

Show Notes:

Sonya Olds Som bio, Diversified Search Group

Sonya Olds Som Joins Diversified Search Group as Global Managing Partner, Savoy

How Sonya Som Rebounded From The Recession, And Her Advice For Landing Your Dream Legal Job, by Renwei Chung for Above the Law

Sponsored by:

NexFirm helps Biglaw attorneys become founding partners. To learn more about how NexFirm can help you launch your firm, call 212-292-1000 or email [email protected].