2011 marked an exceptionally productive year for Kinney Recruiting, both in our Domestic and International groups. After deep, recession-fueled cuts to lawyer head counts at most major law firms in 2008 and 2009 (and a cautious 2010), law firm and in-house hiring rebounded in an exciting and pronounced way that only looks to continue in 2012. Internationally, Kinney once again placed the most lawyers in the major Asia markets, including Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai and Beijing. To celebrate, in December we embarked on a 10-day off-site meeting in Hong Kong and Macau with all our recruiters. It was a great opportunity to spend time with far-flung colleagues from Russia, Asia and other parts of the U.S. and it allowed us the chance to continue to share best practices and techniques for continued success by all Kinney recruiters.

In the domestic market, we had success “coast to coast,” making placements with firms of all size in markets from New York to the Silicon Valley (and quite a few Texas markets in between . . .).  We had the privilege to work with some truly exceptional candidates and to connect them with strong opportunities whether those opportunities were local or across the country.

Thematically, we placed a significant number of corporate associates and partner groups, although placements in the controversy-based practices ran a very close second.  Transactional needs, especially for experienced associates with major market deal experience, were and continue to be a major focus for our clients. Deal flow has fully rebounded in Texas markets and our clients are telling us they simply don’t have enough qualified associates to handle the work load. Within controversies (or potential controversies), there was (and remains) a consistent demand for strong candidates in government investigations and white collar practices, as well as in securities litigation.

Austin, Texas remains the home base for Kinney Recruiting and our presence and reputation is deep in the major Texas markets. As our clients continue to grow, we have been doing the very same thing by adding talented professionals to the Kinney team.  For our candidates, we endeavor to relentlessly represent you and use every resource available to ensure that you are given the most looks possible and options for the direction of your career.  It looks to be an exciting year for hiring in the Texas legal industry and we look forward to the opportunity to continue working with the best and brightest.