Lateral hiring on the rise, focus on strengthening practice areas to drive long-term growth

NEW YORK, Dec. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Leopard Solutions, the premier provider of legal business intelligence and analytics, today published the results of its inaugural 2024 Lateral Partner Hiring Survey conducted in partnership with Wisnik Career Enterprises. This survey, which captures responses from nearly 100 legal industry professionals specializing in talent acquisition and recruitment, underscores the transformative impact of lateral hiring on law firm growth and strategy.

The survey data reveals an evolving landscape where proactive strategies, diversity initiatives, and operational refinements are pivotal. These insights illuminate how firms are navigating the complex dynamics of lateral hiring to drive growth and maintain competitiveness. Firms are increasingly prioritizing proactive recruitment strategies, with 69% of respondents focusing on identifying and sourcing lateral candidates. This aligns closely with the emphasis on strategic planning, noted by 64%, which highlights the importance of integrating lateral hires with long-term organizational goals. Additionally, the data indicates that strengthening practice areas is the leading driver of lateral partner recruitment, with 39% of respondents identifying this as their focus. Firms are demonstrating less interest in geographic expansion or client-centric market share growth, reflecting a measured and targeted approach to enhancing specialized expertise and meeting client demands.

“Lateral hiring in the legal industry has evolved significantly, reflecting the growing strategic importance of this recruitment practice for law firms,” said Laura Leopard, Founder and General Manager of Leopard Solutions. “Insights from our inaugural survey paint a vivid picture of how firms are refining their strategies to navigate the complexities of lateral hiring while fostering growth and maintaining a competitive edge.  Despite early cries of doom at the start of the year, our data shows that the lateral market has been brisk and outpacing entry level hiring once again in the Top 200 firms so far this year.”

Key findings from the survey include:

Demonstrating the critical importance of revenue contribution, 92% of firms prioritize a candidate’s book of business.Specialized expertise (72%) is a close second, reinforcing the demand for niche skills to drive growth in high-demand practice areas.Effective sourcing and referral processes are pivotal, as 35% of lateral partner hires come from referrals—partners leveraging their professional networks from previous firms, deals, or associations. Utilizing tools like Leopard Solutions for strategic targeting and implementing streamlined conflict and background checks can reduce inefficiencies, speeding up the hiring process.A growing emphasis on gender diversity, with 81% of firms actively recruiting more female lateral partners.Cultural and strategic alignment (67% and 51%, respectively) remain vital for ensuring seamless integration and long-term success.

“This marks the most significant growth we have observed in the expansion of recruiting roles within law firms, with 56% of teams focused on lateral partner hiring reporting an increase,” said Eva Wisnik, President & Founder, Wisnik Career Enterprises. “This trend reflects the growing recognition of the strategic importance of dedicated recruitment professionals, as firms increasingly adopt proactive hiring strategies to remain competitive in the evolving legal landscape.”

To learn more about Leopard Solution’s 2024 Lateral Partner Hiring Survey and leading collection of legal intelligence insights, visit www.leopardsolutions.com/thought-leadership/unlocking-success-lateral-partner-hiring-strategies/.

About Leopard Solutions
Leopard Solutions, a SurePoint company, is a leading provider of legal market intelligence with over 20 years of experience. We offer real-time, curated insights to help legal professionals enhance their business and recruitment strategies. Serving a broad range of clients—including law firms, recruiters, law schools, and corporations—Leopard Solutions provides data solutions for job searches, recruitment, and competitive intelligence. Our technology is continuously updated to ensure relevance and accuracy, building a strong reputation for reliability.  

Leopard Solutions was acquired by SurePoint Technologies, a leading provider of innovative legal software that improves workflow and financial performance for mid-sized law firms.  

Learn more at www.leopardsolutions.com. 

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SOURCE Leopard Solutions LLC

ATLANTA, Dec. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Groundfloor Finance, Inc., a pioneer in alternative investing, is introducing the issuance of the first-ever deferred pay residential transition loan (RTL) bond. This inaugural offering marks a significant milestone in both the residential transition loan market and Groundfloor’s evolution as a key player in capital markets.

As the first to securitize this product, Groundfloor is introducing a bond designed to appeal to institutional investors seeking differentiated credit opportunities. Unlike traditional RTL structures, this deferred pay model offers a unique performance profile while maintaining the underlying integrity and stability of the RTL asset class. Groundfloor is already the primary servicer for this asset.

“Deferred pay RTLs differ from standard structures by paying principal at maturity while also paying a very attractive coupon, which enhances their appeal to certain institutional investors,” said Groundfloor co-founder Nick Bhargava. “This bond not only diversifies the investment options within the residential transition loan sector, but also positions Groundfloor as a repeat issuer, driving innovation in the space.”

The bond is secured by a diversified portfolio of RTLs originated and asset managed by Groundfloor. Performance Trust Capital Partners, LLC was the sole structuring agent and bookrunner on the transaction. By issuing this bond, Groundfloor bypasses traditional intermediaries, demonstrating its growing sophistication and credibility as a capital markets participant.

About Groundfloor
Founded in 2013, Groundfloor is a pioneer in asset-backed securities and private capital. The company has securitized multiple new types of investment structures qualified by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. To date, Groundfloor has managed more than $1.7 billion in investment volume. Because of its innovative approach, transparency, and steady year-over-year returns, the company has won multiple awards, including five consecutive years on the Inc. 5000 List, four years on the Deloitte Technology Fast 500, and being named to the 2024 Forbes Fintech 50. For more information, visit Groundfloor.com.

Media Contact:
Hela Sheth
hela@katalystcomms.com

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SOURCE Groundfloor Finance Inc.

With Coupa’s total spend management platform, companies can optimize supplier sourcing, manage direct and indirect spend and future proof operations in one unified platform

FOSTER CITY, Calif., Dec. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Coupa, the margin multiplier company, has been named a Leader in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide SaaS and Cloud-Enabled Direct Spend 2024 Vendor Assessment (Doc #US52734424, December 2024).

In the first report of its kind from IDC covering the direct spend market landscape, the IDC MarketScape for Direct Spend, cited the benefits of Coupa’s unified platform as a key strength. The report states, “Coupa offers a holistic platform for optimized direct spend, leveraging a robust platform that fosters supply chain collaboration, mitigates risk, facilitates ease of supply chain design and planning, and is seamlessly integrated with the full S2P suite to drive ease of contracting, purchasing, and invoice management.”

“The need for an integrated spend management approach has never been more critical, as businesses face external factors impacting revenue, like volatile interest rates and supply chain disruptions, all while managing outdated sourcing processes and fragmented systems,” said Salvatore Lombardo, Chief Product and Technology Officer. “Coupa’s AI-driven total spend management platform provides businesses with a holistic view that helps them grow margins, streamline processes, and mitigate risks, through data-driven decision-making. Our community-generated AI gets smarter by the minute, informed by our $7T in global spend data and network of buyers and suppliers. Using Coupa AI, our customers are creating more resilient and adaptive supply chains, identifying new strategic suppliers, and discovering opportunities to manage their business spend more effectively and efficiently.”

“We are building a network that will sit at the center of global trade. In the future, supply and demand will be matched autonomously, in real time, allowing buyers and suppliers to connect seamlessly and creating a self-sustaining loop that saves everyone money while constantly learning and adapting,” added Lombardo.

Coupa provides the most comprehensive, connected, and agile solution covering the full direct spend process in one unified platform. Coupa’s unmatched direct spend capabilities include: 

Supplier Sourcing Optimization: Find the best suppliers, negotiate better contracts, and drive savings, all while optimizing sourcing strategies to meet business goals.Supply Chain Design & Planning: Monitor your physical supply chain in near-real time and run what-if scenarios to enhance decision-making across cost, service, and sustainability.Supply Chain Collaboration: Enhance communication with suppliers in real-time and improve order fulfillment and ensure supply continuity with better visibility and collaboration.Third Party Risk Management: Assess and manage supplier risks by quickly identifying threats, while strengthening compliance to build supplier resiliency.Contract Lifecycle Management: Streamline the contract management process by parsing documents and integrating contracts with sourcing and procurement workflows.Invoicing, Payments & Treasury: Automate invoice and PO matching to reduce errors and accelerate payments and ensure tax compliance and liquidity.

For a complimentary excerpt copy of the report, click here.

Additional Information

Read the report blogLearn more about Coupa Supply Chain Collaboration

About Coupa
Coupa makes margins multiply through its community-generated AI and industry leading total spend management platform for businesses large and small. Coupa AI is informed by trillions of dollars of direct and indirect spend data across a global network of 10M+ buyers and suppliers. We empower you with the ability to predict, prescribe, and automate smarter, more profitable business decisions to improve operating margins. Coupa is the margin multiplier company™. Learn more at coupa.com and follow us on LinkedIn and X (Twitter).

About IDC MarketScape
IDC MarketScape vendor analysis model is designed to provide an overview of the competitive fitness of ICT (information and communications technology) suppliers in a given market. The research methodology utilizes a rigorous scoring methodology based on both qualitative and quantitative criteria that results in a single graphical illustration of each vendor’s position within a given market. IDC MarketScape provides a clear framework in which the product and service offerings, capabilities and strategies, and current and future market success factors of IT and telecommunications vendors can be meaningfully compared. The framework also provides technology buyers with a 360-degree assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of current and prospective vendors.

“IDC, MarketScape: Worldwide SaaS and Cloud-Enabled Direct Spend 2024 Vendor Assessment, Doc #US52734424, December 2024“

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SOURCE Coupa Software