Bryson Malcolm · Founder & CEO
I talk to reporters pretty regularly about Big Law hiring, pay, and how firms treat the people who work there. Everything below quotes or cites me.
"'Paul, Weiss used to be the gold standard for litigation,' legal recruiter Bryson Malcolm told Politico of the recent culture changes at the firm."
"Recruiter Bryson Malcolm expects firms to match the salary increases and bonuses by the end of the year."
"They must feel like they have enough command over talent and things like that, that they can get away with waiting longer to match," Malcolm said. "They're probably feeling like they don't wanna start a bidding war."
"Like other political issues and movements in the country right now, it's become more of a collective action thing and not an institutional thing."
"I don't think anyone really trusts any major institution right now, but I think people do trust people."
"I don't want people to think that the sky is falling."
"Firms that have walked back diversity efforts are not likely to rev those efforts back up in the short term. They face a challenge, according to Bryson Malcolm, a New York legal recruiter."
"How do you communicate to talent that you care that they're there without sharing with the Trump administration or the public that you still care?" he said.
"It seems like they care but they don't want anyone else to know," said Malcolm. "It's a scary time and everyone is relying on subtext."
"Applications from associates who require visas and are looking to move to another law firm may be dead on arrival, particularly in the last six months, said Bryson Malcolm, founder of recruiting firm Mosaic Search Partners."
"I'd probably say half the candidates I've worked with over the past year have explicitly told me that they have no interest in applying to firms that made deals with the Trump administration this past year. That's a hard line for some people."
"For firms like WilmerHale who sued the administration directly, that's been a big boost as well for both candidates and law students, honestly. That's something that continues to pop up, and I don't think it's going to really go away."
"Paul, Weiss used to be the gold standard for litigation. I think that reputation is waning."
"Students are plugged in in a way that they've never been before and they're tracking all this. I don't really see a situation where a student would choose Paul, Weiss over any of its peers that didn't have a similar fallout."
"Bryson Malcolm, founder of legal recruiting firm Mosaic Search Partners, told Politico that 'Paul, Weiss used to be the gold standard for litigation. I think that reputation is waning.'"
"Malcolm acknowledged in interviews that he had emailed some of the firm's attorneys about Goodwin Procter's withdrawal from diversity programs but said his agreement with the firm allowed him to do so. 'I was making the attorneys aware of what had happened, and there is no language in there that suggests anything else,' he said."
"Goodwin Procter ended its contract with Bryson Malcolm's Mosaic Search Partners one day after Malcolm posted on LinkedIn that the firm's response to the EEOC probe was 'shameful.'"
"'This is shameful,' said Bryson Malcolm, a recruiter and founder of Mosaic Search Partners, in a LinkedIn post."
"Malcolm said the firm's explanation for terminating his contract was 'an excuse and a bad one.' He said the termination was 'in response to my voicing my displeasure with the firm last week when they turned their backs on the entire diverse community of big law.'"
"Standing up for the legal profession and the rule of law has given certain firms a big boost in visibility with students."
"Students aren't really locked into every single law firm. The firms who have lawyers who are actually proud to be there right now... I just think that's going to come out when you're talking to them and students might end up going for that."
"From what I'm hearing, most [law students] plan on applying everywhere they can and if they have a choice between a law firm that made a deal and one that has not, they will choose the firm that has not made a deal."
"I think the DEI issue is more important than it's being given credit for... For Gen Z, they're particularly sensitive to inauthenticity."
"[I've] heard from Columbia students who have committed to work at Willkie, Skadden and other firms that have since made concessions. Some want to know if it is possible to find another position at this stage."
"His advice: If you want to stay in big law, wait out the next several months and see what plays out. Meanwhile, network."
"But as the Trump administration continues its anti-DEI efforts, it's becoming harder for clients and attorneys to avoid getting stuck in the crossfire."
"Even if they aren't on the list, there is a chaos element here, they could be on the next list in a couple of weeks."
"Students should lean on informal networks like affinity groups at their law schools to remain competitive... These student organizations act as a proxy for insider expertise legacy law students have coming into school."
"Choosing pass/fail is a risky gamble for students... Opting in may be construed by firms to indicate a political position, but it could be a game-changer for students worried about a low grade point average."
"[Bryson Malcolm] posted that he combed through data to find that, in a recent round of layoffs, overall associate headcount was reduced by about 15%, white male headcount was reduced by 6.5% and person of color headcount was reduced by 21%."
"Diverse attorneys are often the first to go when firms go through layoffs due to Big Law's implicit biases."
I am available to discuss associate hiring, lateral movement, compensation and bonus season, law firm talent strategy, and broader Big Law workforce trends. I work with reporters on background and on the record, and I have a long track record of protecting anonymous sources.
Media inquiryBryson@MosaicSearchPartners.com
Send it my way. Off the record is fine.
Email meBryson@MosaicSearchPartners.com
Quotes above are excerpts. Follow the headline for the full piece at its original publisher.