Here We Are

Normally, this would be a space where we’d write about some issue impacting legal recruiting. We could write about the amazing rebound of the legal industry, the lateral churn, the “hot” legal markets, etc. But we wanted to share something a little different as we reflect on the last year and look to the next. 

We feel incredibly lucky and privileged to be in this space where we can experience gratitude. We are so thankful for human resilience. We are thankful for empathy and kindness. We are thankful for another year to do what we do. We are thankful to the amazing individuals and law firms we work with. We are thankful for you. 

As we roll into the new year, it doesn’t necessarily feel new; it feels strangely familiar. Perhaps because the past two years have seen wave on wave of cyclical disruptions, uncertainty, and tribulation. It’s hard to divide out what happened in 2020 versus 2021, and to be honest, perhaps it doesn’t matter. 

It’s easy to look back on last year (or two) with pessimism and anger. 

And yet, here we are. 

We’ve survived these last couple of years. We’ve arrived at the current moment, and what we feel now is…gratitude. 

Yep. Gratitude. 

Per Covid, humanity has a shared experience, a common thread, that unites us all. We’ve shared/are sharing a difficult experience that has impacted us all differently, but has definitely impacted us all. We all lost our normal, and we all lost it at the same time. 

We are right there with you. We, too, have experienced your pain and your ups and downs.

The Aspire team had one child do virtual elementary school for almost a year, while mom and dad valiantly tried to balance the demands of work and care and education. We fearfully sent another child out in the world to start college in the middle of a pandemic, wringing our hands from the sidelines and praying for their safety and well-being while mourning the loss of some of the celebratory rites of passage that we hoped they would enjoy in graduating high school. We had to delay a wedding, delay it again, then finally have a small (but beautiful) celebration that was very different from what we’d always assumed we could have. 

We’ve lost family members and dear friends to Covid. We have caught it ourselves. We haven’t been able to see our geographically distant family, or help them when they needed it most. We have loved ones who are suffering from long Covid. We watched our business hit an abrupt pause in the early days of the pandemic. We, too, wondered — worried — what our future would look like. 

And yet, here we are.

Our small but mighty company is thriving because the people here are thriving. We expanded to a national presence (hello, pandemic relocations) and have another location coming soon on the east coast. We are expanding our families (twins for one of us!). Our families are closer than ever (being shoved into the same square footage will do that). We’ve spent more time outside and have improved our collective health. We’ve relished the time we actually get to speak or work closely together in the same space — the mundane has become precious. 

And, we share this trait with you. Many (if not most) of the amazing firms we have the privilege of working closely with are having their best financial years ever. Law firms and their stellar attorneys and administrators pivoted to remote workplaces overnight and have done amazing things to take care of their clients. Profitability and productivity at law firms is on the rise.

Our clients are actively hiring Partners, Counsel, and Associates while they plan for a very busy 2022. Our candidates have strong practices with resilient clients and are excited for the future. We’ve loved watching you expand your teams.

We’ve cheered you on while you’ve opened new offices. We’ve witnessed (and helped, I dare say) our candidates make career transitions that have allowed them to thrive personally and professionally, which genuinely brings us joy. 

So, here we are, and here you are. Thank you.

In Gratitude,
The Aspire Legal Search Group
Mike, Candice, Miranda, Monica, Matt, and Faith