The RMN Agency

Just in time for our #10th Anniversary: Once again, The RMN Agency is recognized for the 5th Year in a Row as #Atlanta's #BestLegaRecruiter for 2020 by the Daily Report!! Thank you to all our Clients, Candidates and Colleagues - We're in this #Together: https://images.law.com/media/dailyreport/supplements/Best_DR_2020/mobile/index.html #Bestof2020 #QuintPeat!!!!

LAW.COM Switching Firms During a Pandemic? Consider These Issues | Daily Report

Atlanta’s large firms are in no hurry to fully reopen their offices during the COVID-19 pandemic, after most reopened for voluntary reentry in June. Firms such as Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, Fisher Phillips and Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton are allowing lawyers and staff to enter the office on a voluntary basis, but firm leaders said office density remains low—and they have not targeted any date for a full reopening. Instead, remote work will likely continue through at least the end of the year. ... None of these firms have set a date for a full return to the office. “We’ve told our office leaders to pay attention to scientists and CDC guidelines and not rush to come back,” said Quillen, especially now that parents have children back in school for remote learning. “Parents are really juggling trying to deal with competing demands, which is making it very hard on them,” he said. “And the COVID threat is very real, so we want to be very accommodating about working from home for the foreseeable future.” Schroeder at Bryan Cave expects the current voluntary status in Atlanta to continue through the end of the year at least. “This is the new normal. We’re as open as we’re going to be,” he said, before full reentry. Instead, he’s focusing on how people are doing amid the disconnection from colleagues. Schroeder and his partners are each calling someone new once a day just to check in, especially for associates, he said. “It’s the mortar that keeps the bricks together.” In the long term, the general success of remote work will likely change firm’s face-time requirements after the pandemic—and, consequently, how they use their office space. Kilpatrick anticipates “increased flexibility in its remote work policies” with more people working remotely on a regular basis, a spokesperson said, noting that the firm’s personnel have been able “under challenging circumstances to continue to provide outstanding service to clients.” With regularly scheduled remote work, firms will have a lot of unused office space. Pre-pandemic, some were considering fewer and smaller attorney offices and more multipurpose areas to pare down their office footprints. Now individual offices are in demand for social distancing, but they may become shared. “I think we’re going to see more acceptance of hoteling,” Schroeder said, which would shrink a firm’s office footprint. He envisions a scenario where a lawyer might come in two or three days a week and share an office with someone else doing the same—with thorough cleaning between uses. LAW.COM Big Firms' Office Use Is Still Voluntary—With Few Takers | Daily Report

“You get 10 minutes to cry sometimes. Every single day there was news about somebody getting the coronavirus, someone being shot, riots, election news,” Hood says. “Every single day it was distracting. It was hard to just unplug and not pay attention to those things.” What worked for her was having a bar exam study partner who was a law school classmate. The two discovered as 2Ls that they did well studying together. “I needed to find someone who would help keep me accountable,” Hood says. They’d start their mornings going over AdaptiBar questions and then switch to BarBri. After lunch, the two walked outside while going over MBE questions. ABAJOURNAL.COM Recent bar admittees offer study strategies to stay focused in stressful times—including the pandemic

TRIPLE ANNOUNCEMENT: Our President Raj Nichani is humbled to be selected to serve on the Board of Georgia Appleseed Center for Law & Justice! Georgia Appleseed Center for Law & Justice September 14 at 5:30 PM · Georgia Appleseed is glad to welcome our newest board members--Raj M. Nichani (The RMN Agency), Marc Taylor (Taylor English Duma LLP) and Charisse M. Williams (Leadership Coach). We are grateful they are sharing their time and talent to work for justice on behalf of Georgia's children. Georgia Appleseed Center for Law & Justice | Board of Directors Georgia Appleseed Center for Law & Justice works to increase justice in Georgia through law and policy reform. Georgia Appleseed Center for Law & Justice | Board of Directors Georgia Appleseed Center for Law & Justice works to increase justice in Georgia through law and policy reform. Georgia Appleseed Center for Law & Justice | Board of Directors Georgia Appleseed Center for Law & Justice works to increase justice in Georgia through law and policy reform. See more at gaappleseed.org

Georgia Appleseed is glad to welcome our newest board members--Raj M. Nichani (The RMN Agency), Marc Taylor (Taylor English Duma LLP) and Charisse M. Williams (Leadership Coach). We are grateful they are sharing their time and talent to work for justice on behalf of Georgia's children. Georgia Appleseed Center for Law & Justice | Board of Directors Georgia Appleseed Center for Law & Justice works to increase justice in Georgia through law and policy reform. Georgia Appleseed Center for Law & Justice | Board of Directors Georgia Appleseed Center for Law & Justice works to increase justice in Georgia through law and policy reform. Georgia Appleseed Center for Law & Justice | Board of Directors Georgia Appleseed Center for Law & Justice works to increase justice in Georgia through law and policy reform. See more at gaappleseed.org

...The bottom line is that women aren’t just stuck on the work front—they’re expected to fall further behind. A lot further behind. That’s from McKinsey/LeanIn 2020 report on women in the workplace. The reason is COVID, COVID, COVID. According to the report, women are at serious risk for burnout, working double shifts as they juggle work and family demands like never before. (The report covers 317 companies and more than 40,000 people, including 45 in-depth interviews.) You’ve probably been hearing about women’s increased burdens during the pandemic, but what’s new and troubling is this: “More than one in four women are contemplating what many would have considered unthinkable just six months ago: downshifting their careers or leaving the workforce completely.” And for women with children, that number is one in three. The report puts the bad news another way: “The COVID-19 crisis could set women back by half a decade,” resulting in “far fewer women in leadership—and far fewer women on track to be future leaders. All the progress we’ve seen over the past six years could be erased.” LAW.COM Are Women Leaving Big Law Because of COVID? | The American Lawyer

It took a decade, but the median starting salary among those who graduated law school in 2019 finally eclipsed the $72,000 high mark held by the class of 2009—which were the last to enjoy a relatively strong employment market before the 2008 recession sent things into a tailspin. New data from the National Association for Law Placement (NALP) show that 2019 law grads earned a median salary of $72,500 and an average salary of $100,540—which is a historic high. That’s just one of many bright spots in the latest NALP hiring report, which found that last year’s law graduates enjoyed perhaps the strongest job market on record. But the report also warns that 2020 law graduates and those who follow in the next several years are unlikely to enjoy the same robust entry-level job market with the COVID-19 pandemic pummeling the economy and sowing uncertainty. “Pre-pandemic, the legal services economy was strong, as was the job market for new law school graduates, and in many ways the graduating class had been rightsized for the job market,” wrote NALP Executive Director Jim Leipold in his commentary on the new data. “Now it is all but inevitable that the employment outcomes for the class of 2019 will stand as a high-water mark for some time to come, though of course even some of the jobs they had secured are at risk in the current environment.” For 2019 graduates, 90.3% found jobs within 10 month of leaving campus and 74.3% were in full-time, long-term jobs that require bar passage—which represents an all-time high for those jobs, widely considered the gold standard. NALP’s figures back up data released by the American Bar Association in June, which also showed that the class of 2019 excelled on the job market. LAW.COM New Lawyer Salaries Crept Up in 2019, but COVID-19 Is Likely to Stymie More Increases | Law.com

The sunny news about the J.D. class of 2019’s overall 90% employment rate—the highest in a dozen years—obscures the troubling reality that white law graduates secured jobs at a significantly higher rate than their Black and Native American classmates. New data from the National Association for Law Placement (NALP) highlights the racial disparities in employment outcomes among new law graduates, after the organization this summer expanded the demographic analysis of the jobs data it collects annually. That analysis found that in 2019, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders had the highest overall employment rate 10 months after graduation at 93%, followed by white law graduates at 92%. In contrast, Native American and Alaskan Natives, as well as Black law graduates, had the lowest overall employment rate at 85%. When zeroing in on jobs for which a J.D. is required, the disparity deepened. Nearly 80% of white law graduates secured those jobs in 2019, compared with 62% of Black law graduates, a 18 percentage point difference. “When I look at these numbers, it is hard for me not to conclude that we have prioritized outcomes for white people over Black people in the legal profession, that whether explicitly or implicitly, whether deliberately or inadvertently, there has been systemic preference and advantage for white law school graduates over Black law school graduates, and for white lawyers over Black lawyers,” said NALP Executive Director James Leipold. “The legal profession has not sought to exclude Black lives, but the profession has not prioritized Black outcomes, has certainly not prioritized Black outcomes over white outcomes.” LAW.COM New Data on Racial Disparities in Lawyer Hiring Is 'Wake-Up Call' for the Profession | Daily Report

Several prominent firms have bucked the 2020 trend of slowing down intake of new blood. Citing the presence of previously unavailable lateral options and steady firm performance during the pandemic, these firms have been able to expand their lateral hiring strategies while most others have taken a step back. Data collected by consulting firm Decipher, covering Jan. 1 through Aug. 31, shows several firms remaining active in the lateral partner market following several years of growth—firms such as King & Spalding, DLA Piper, Cozen O’Connor and Greenberg Traurig. LAW.COM Opportunity in Crisis: These Firms Seized on an Unusual Lateral Hiring Market in 2020 | Daily Report

Associates are more likely to be hired laterally than through the typical, organic entry-level hiring process, an extensive study released Wednesday found. Experts say the shift in hiring dynamics reflect the legal industry’s tendency in recent years to favor immediate growth. LAW.COM Lateral Associate Hiring Has Overtaken Organic Hiring, Reflecting Big Law's Hunger for Immediate Growth | The American Lawyer

Kudos to Baker Donelson on this new D&I model! Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz has launched an ambitious push to become an industry leader in attorney diversity within five years, crafting a detailed plan to track the progress of its targeted increases and tie it to leaders’ compensation. As part of that, the 650-lawyer firm is incorporating a scorecard assessing managers’ diversity efforts into its compensation reviews next spring, said Mark Carlson, a member of the advisory board that formulated Baker Donelson’s new Diversity & Inclusion Compact as a road map. Baker Donelson’s initiative aims to expand representation of racially diverse and LGBTQ attorneys from 7% to 20% firmwide by 2025—well above the industry average of 15%. It represents a new approach to increasing diversity, which big firms have long struggled with. #Diversity #Inclusion #BigLaw #LegalRecruiting LAW.COM Tying Pay to Diversity Targets, Baker Donelson Builds In Accountability Metrics | Daily Report

The RMN Agency honors all our #Veterans and their families for their #Service and #Sacrifice. #VeteransDay2020

GOOD NEWS: Law firm profitability could end up high, as “many firms in the industry are lucratively positioned as year-end approaches.” LAW.COM After Drop in Hiring, Big Firms Are 'Lucratively Positioned' for Year-End | Daily Report

Y'all -- we are so grateful that The RMN Agency has been nominated for #BestofGeorgia under the category Business Law Advisors! We would appreciate it if you would please #VOTE for us! https://directory.gbj.com/best-of/vote/legal-services

Great #Networking tips for #LawStudents and #YoungLawyers from Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association (GAPABA)! The RMN Agency's own Legal Recruiting Manager Bonnie Youn will be joining this #VirtualNetworking event with Mentor Breakout Sessions this WEDNESDAY, Oct. 28th, at 5:00 PM EST. REGISTER FOR FREE: https://gapaba.org/event-4008476 Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association (GAPABA) October 26 at 3:14 PM · NETWORKING TIPS: The Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association (GAPABA) partners with the Asian Pacific American Law Students' Associations (APALSAs) at Emory University School of Law, University of Georgia School of Law, and Georgia State University College of Law for a unique Virtual #Networking Event featuring intimate #BreakoutRoom sessions with Mentors, Law Students, and Young Attorneys/Associates on this Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020. Here, five of our featured VIP mentors provide their #Number1 #NetworkingTips! Thank you to: - Tara Plimpton, Sr. EVP, Chief Legal Officer, & Corp. Secretary | Regions Bank - Christopher Chan, Partner | Eversheds Sutherland - Shawn Galey, VP, General Counsel & Gov't Affairs (Americas & Asia), | Brambles - Guanming Fang Ray, Deputy General Counsel | Priority Technology Holdings -Angela Hsu, Counsel | Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP (#GAPABA President) Join us by REGISTERING NOW: https://gapaba.org/event-4008476

The RMN Agency is a proud sponsor of Georgia Lawyers for the Arts #2020VirtualGala! We braved the rains last night for a socially distanced evening of culture, enjoying the beauty of art, catering by #WolfgangPuck and cocktails. President Raj Nichani bid on a few pieces at the urging of our team. Cheers to #GLARTS for creating a semblance of intimate normalcy during these #Pandemic times!

Law firm virtual happy hours are an important part of maintaining connections to a law firm in alternative ways to meet the challenges of COVID-19. Such events allow lawyers and staff at an office to see other members of their team and know that they are still connected to an employer and have a common purpose. Of course, it is sometimes difficult for people to actively engage with other coworkers at virtual happy hours, especially if there are many people on the call. However, just like firm social events are an important part of the culture of the firm to forge a deeper connection among coworkers, virtual happy hours are also critical to connecting people at a firm. ABOVETHELAW.COM Law Firm Virtual Happy Hours Are A Good Idea

When Locke Lord announced the hiring of Mia Lorick in Houston, the press release came with a link to a short introductory video about the new litigation partner, a marketing tool that arose from the firm’s internal use of video and Zoom calls during the COVID-19 pandemic. “This year has opened us to new opportunities, a fresh modern approach, humanizing everything … That’s where this is going,” said Katie Ambrosio, chief marketing officer at Locke Lord. Innovations like the introductory videos for lateral hires are the “absolute wave of the future,” said Kelly MacKinnon, director of business development at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson and national president of the Legal Marketing Association. Jill Huse, past president of the LMA, said some firms have been using video biographies of lawyers for several years, but introductory videos sent with press releases or to clients is something that’s fresh and can be effective. LAW.COM With In-Person Meet-Ups Scarce, This Firm Turned to Video Intros | Daily Report

Many working parents now wake up each day to an impossible schedule in which they attempt to be a lawyer, teacher and caregiver simultaneously. The pandemic has fractured the fragile support system they relied on and further eroded the partition between work and home life. Firms, for their part, have responded with a raft of perks: wellness programming, tutoring services, special bonuses. But that’s not solving the problem. More than anything, parents are asking for their firms to be understanding and flexible with their lawyers’ time, both now and when the world moves past the pandemic. The cost of ignoring that request is clear: Talented lawyers have one foot out the door. “If you are a great associate and you work hard and you’re dedicated, it is a very small investment for me to make—to give flexibility while they’re young,” said Kristen Riemenschneider, a partner at Arnold & Porter who has three elementary school-age children. “It’s a finite window of time in somebody’s life.” LAW.COM Big Law's Working Parents Are Hurting. Money Is Not The Answer. | Daily Report

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, one of the largest labor and employment firms in the U.S., has hired Meg Holman for a newly created position as chief talent officer. Holman, who joined Ogletree on Jan. 4, was chief operations officer at another Atlanta-based labor and employment firm, FordHarrison. The new chief talent officer position for Ogletree is part of a trend of firms placing more emphasis on recruiting and retaining talent while making sure diverse lawyers are included—movements that are gaining even more traction during the ongoing pandemic and social upheaval. LAW.COM Ogletree Hires C-Suite Talent Officer, as Firms Focus More on Recruiting and Retention | Daily Report

Large firms are increasingly digging deeper to find out precisely how profitable their practices are—and to reward partners accordingly. Firms are focusing more on profitability when setting and evaluating partner compensation right now, some legal market observers say, putting a focus on realization rates, frequency of discounts and the degree of leverage. LAW.COM For Partner Pay, Firms Increasingly Look to Profitability | Daily Report