Guest post by: Nabeal Twereet, writer for LawCrossing
Nadeen Weybrecht is a legal recruiter at BCG Attorney Search’s Houston Office. She focuses on matching attorneys with employers in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Georgia, and Oklahoma metropolitan areas. Ms. Weybrecht received her B.A. summa cum laude from Duke University in 2002 and she earned her J.D. from Columbia Law School in 2005, where she was the Development Editor for the Columbia Business Law Review.
Ms. Weybrecht practiced law for more than five years, first as a corporate associate with Baker Botts, LLP, from 2005 to 2008. After that, she made a lateral move to practice business immigration law with FosterQuan, LLP, from 2008 to 2010.
State of the Market
What legal areas do you specialize in?
I practiced both corporate law and business immigration law. In terms of recruiting, I work with all types of attorney practice areas.
How has the state of market been in Atlanta since you joined BCG Attorney Search?
The Atlanta market has been strong and active in the areas of Real Estate, IP and Corporate.
In the spring of 2013, Atlanta law firms had a very strong need for Real Estate, IP litigation, Patent Prosecution and Corporate. Are these areas doing well today?
Yes, each of these four areas remains very strong today.
What do you think the state of market will be like in Atlanta in 2014?
I think it will remain strong in the areas mentioned above – Real Estate, IP and Corporate.
Why are these areas doing well right now?
We are generally seeing an uptick in activity in these areas nationally, especially in the South, and especially in the major Southern legal market that is Atlanta.
Can you predict the trend of the market for the next three years in Atlanta?
I think we will see the areas that are strong today remain active, and there may also be a growing need for health care attorneys.
What practice areas are not doing well in Atlanta today?
We are seeing very little to no movement in litigation in terms of lateral needs and lateral hiring.
Why are these areas not doing well?
We are seeing that litigation is slow nationally and not just in Atlanta.
What do you tell your candidates who are in an area that is not doing well in Atlanta today?
I tell them to be patient with the market, and to try to gain as much meaningful and substantive experience as possible at the firm they are with today so that when the market does pick up, they will be well-positioned to make the move they desire.