Lisa Martens

“When I first considered making a lateral partner transition, I had no interest in using a recruiter. I lived and worked in San Diego for over 15 years and was well-connected in the legal community. I had friends and former colleagues at virtually every firm in town and, as a lawyer, I could certainly negotiate for myself when the time came because I negotiate for a living. Also, I was concerned that the hefty recruiter fee might be viewed as a detriment by most firms and could potentially place me at a disadvantage as compared to other candidates. What I didn’t realize when I first agreed to engage Larry Watanabe and Stacey Pacelli at Watanabe Nason, was what tremendous assets they would be at the end of the process when it was time to move the rest of my team (consisting of attorneys, paralegals and staff). Because I was prohibited from soliciting my team members, it was Larry who worked with each of them to address their concerns and negotiate on their behalf. His knowledge of the firm, his high-level connections within firm management, and his overall understanding of the legal industry allowed him to deftly navigate the complexities of the process and to ultimately (after many weeks and after several rounds of negotiations on behalf of each team member) ensure that my entire team made the transition with me and are happier because of it. I have no doubt that Larry’s commitment to keeping the team together ultimately helped clients make their decisions to move their business with us, as well.”