Published Articles

The Daily Journal hosted a reception in Beverly Hills Wednesday night (9/9/15) for California’s 100 leading attorneys. The event drew lawyers and judges from throughout the state. Afshin Pishevar, general counsel of Hyperloop Technologies, spoke on the future of transportation. Torrey Pines Bank, ADR Services and the search firm Esquire Inc. co-hosted the event. Here are photos from the event.

Click Here to see the Top 100 Honorees Click Here to see the Photos of the Reception

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By Sandy Lechtick Daily Journal About 19 years ago, a partner who was thinking of moving her practice called me requesting a meeting. Over lunch and after the pleasantries, she said “Sandy, I want you to know something, I am a lesbian. I tell you this because I don’t hide my sexuality and most law firms are uncomfortable with this.”

Sandy Lechtick, The Recorder January 31, 2014 “I feel the earth move under my feet, the sky tumbling down………” words that danced in my head as I was listening to Carole King singing her 1970’s hit. It occurred to me that those words also describe today’s legal market. I’m not sure about the sky falling down, but the earth is

by Sandy Lechtick Daily Journal Sandy Lechtick is president and founder of Esquire, Inc., a Los Angeles based legal search firm. Sandy has been retained as an expert witness by several law firms and specializes in partner representation and law firm mergers and acquisitions. He can be reached at www.esquiresearch.com. There are four questions that partners have been asking lately:

by Sandy Lechtick Daily Journal As a kid growing up in Los Angeles in the 1950s and 1960s, my father often drove us through the City and pointed out old, historic buildings that were once the most elegant, stately and expensive in the 20’s and 30’s. Now, as we could see, the buildings were shabby eyesores in run down neighborhoods.

2011 prospects looks promising, but many challenges remain If one were to look at the number of partner moves in the last six months, especially compared to the last three years, the 2011 crystal ball looks unusually rosy. Our four month pipeline of partner candidates that are in the final stages of the interview cycle is three times greater than

By Sandy Lechtick Daily Journal Wei-Chi. Two little words, two powerful thoughts. Loosely translated from a Chinese symbol, the words mean: opportunity and danger. The manner in which law firms exploit the former and react to the latter, will play a huge role in their 2010 fortunes and the coming years. In fact, in some cases it won’t be just

By: Sandy Lechtick Daily Journal As I was watching a speedboat zip across the crystal clear Cabo San Lucas harbor, in the distance was a huge ocean liner slowing slugging its way into view. By the time it reached port, the speedboat was long, long gone. Thinking about the present state of affairs in Law Firm America, it occurred to

by Sandy Lechtick Daily Journal FIRM GUIDANCE If one eye is king in the land of blind, the hustler is clearly king. Never has the hustler been so important to law firms ñ their growth, prosperity and in many cases, their very survival. It is an understatement, but quite frankly too many law firms are propped up by too few

By Sandford A. Lechtick Daily Journal Fasten your seat belts. This year is going to be another bumpy, rocky ride. While it’s not likely there will be any major seismic shocks on the scale of Heller Ehrman and Thelen Reid implosions — what is certain is that 2009 will be another turbulent, and extremely fluid California legal market. Having worked

By Sandford A. Lechtic Daily Journal The fight for talent is more intense and more ferocious than I’ve seen in the last 20 years. While I often hear how tough and competitive New York City is, attorney recruitment in Los Angeles, especially at the partner level, has reached a feverish pitch. I only expect it to intensify in 2008 and

Clifford Chance, the largest law firm in the world, had major ambitions for the Golden State, only to stumble badly at the first jump. By Sandford A. Lechtick Daily Journal, Extra Edition Chance is the worldís largest law firm. It has 29 offices in 19 countries. It has 3,700 attorneys. It has million-dollar partner profits. It has some of the

Next year promises to be much better for the remaining firms that the past three years, especially for the biggest, best managed. By Sandford A. Lechtick Daily Journal If someone had suggested to me two or three years ago that Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison; Lyon & Lyon; and Skjerven Morrill would be out of existence by 2004; and that firms

Law firms that respond quickly and decisively to the changing legal landscape will avoid any of the mistakes their competitors made in 2002. By Sandford A. Lechtick Daily Journal, Extra Edition In the Chinese language there is a well-known symbol with two distinct meanings – danger and opportunity. For many law firms, 2003 poses huge risks and great rewards. Avoiding

The Ten Inertia Busters by Sandy Lechtick Daily Journal Many firms currently are lsoing their best and brightest partners. When partners change firms, everyone assumes it’s because of money. And sometimes it is the money. More often than not, however, other factors played a greater role. Lawyers are generally risk adverse, do not like change and, like most everyone, are

Southern California has become the place for Branch Offices By Sandford A. Lechtick Los Angeles Business Journal California here I Comeî, the song popularized by Al Jolson in the 1920ís, has become the hit melody crooned by an increasing number of national mega-firms. Gigantic operations with hundreds and hundreds of lawyers and support staff, some with 10 to 20 offices

You gotta be kidding the response we got when the equity partner turned down $450K offer because the title was Of Counsel. While the opportunity to expand his practice there was terrific, while the offer about $100,000 more than he was presently earning and the opportunity to build his practice excellent, he focused on those two words Of Counsel and

By Sandford A. Lechtick American Lawyer ̀Bad Moon Rising was not only well written, well researched and quite accurate, but right on the money. Laura Pearlman wrote a terrific piece. I am continually amazed that so many firms still operate as a collection of fiefdoms run by tribal land barons. Today’s barons may not have the biggest castle but the

By Sandford A. Lechtick California Law Business Just because an attorney went to a prestigious law school doesn’t mean that he or she will be hired. A surprisingly high number of attorneys would flunk Basic Interviewing 101. People assume that since attorneys are well educated, smart and articulate, most are effective communicators. In a career context, they should be excellent

By Sandford A. Lechtick Daily Journal The associate salary frenzy is akin to a tidal wave. Some firms might even get washed away. But the real question is, ìHow will this affect associates, a pillar of a law firmís infrastructure?î A day or two after Gunderson made his noteworthy announcement, there was more executive committee hand ringing than Iíve seen

Law firms looking for success next year had better learn the lessons of 1998 By Sandford A. Lechtick California Law Business In the land of the blind, one eye is king and many law firms have done well in the past few years despite a myopic cornea. While 1998 was a banner year, 1999 will pose new challenges. As a

By Sandy Lechtick California Law Business The wild disparity in partner compensation at the various California law firms is having unintended consequences. I was shocked upon learning that the partner I was sipping cafÈ latte with, Iíll call him ìFrankî, who had consistently been generating between $1.5 million and $2 million the last few years, whose practice was clearly on

In the next millennium, law firms will have to reach beyond merely doing good work. Lawyers with initiative will prevail By Sandford A. Lechtick California Law Business The aspect of law that attorneys probably dislike the most, and are generally weakest in, is marketing – selling themselves, their services and their firm. In fact, to many the marketing stuff receives

By Sandford A. Lechtick California Law Business California Law Business Closing Argument Sandford Lechtick November 4, 1996 It’s Just the Money Myth Lawyers don’t leave law firms to chase higher salaries, contrary to popular opinion. They’re chasing quality of life Contrary to what most people think, money is not the driving force for job change. In fact, the notion that

by Sandy Lechtick California Law Business Law firms are finding that they must either conform to new economic realities of perish To paraphrase an old soldier, law firms donít die, they just fade away. Some dissolve, many reconfigure and change their names. Others survive, grow and prosper. With all the changes, one thing is clear: Law firm leaders must focus