Audrey D. Wisotsky and Michael J. Mann Quoted in New Jersey Law Journal Article, 'Shortage of Mid-Level Deal Associates Driving High Demand'
Pepper partners Audrey D. Wisotsky and Michael J. Mann were quoted in the March 5, 2015 New Jersey Law Journal article, "Shortage of Mid-Level Deal Associates Driving High Demand."
Michael Mann, managing partner of the Princeton, New Jersey, office of Philadelphia-based Pepper Hamilton, recalled the hiring slowdowns of years past.
"I can't tell you how many clients and friends called me in 2009 when their kid or their nephew was graduating from law school," Mann said. "We all had the calls. ... I don't know what that kid's doing today. A lot of them aren't practicing."
With past hiring scale-backs, "even if it's 10 percent … you lose that float," Mann said. "As time goes on, you realize you didn't hire anybody those years."
Audrey Wisotsky, a Princeton partner of Pepper Hamilton who handles secondary mortgages and other transactions, said transactional associates "have not been trained up."
"There were no deals going on for a couple years—partners didn't even know what they were doing," she said.
During that period, firm associates were funneled to bankruptcy and commercial litigation, which were busy. Pepper Hamilton, like other firms, has utilized recruiters, though there's a limited pool of candidates, they said, noting that the shortage has been felt most in corporate securities and financial services groups.
Mann pointed out that even a so-called fifth-year transactional associate might have done stints in public-interest law or unrelated practices before starting to learn the craft.
"What you find is, the people you see don't really have the experience you're looking for," he said. "A lot of people were doing a mixed bag back then."
Content contributed by attorneys of Troutman Sanders LLP and Pepper Hamilton LLP prior to April 1, 2020, is included here, together with content contributed by attorneys of Troutman Pepper (the combined entity) after the merger date.