Diligence is a fact of life that cannot (and certainly should not) be avoided. In an M&A transaction, the parties understand that a certain degree of diligence will be requested of both parties.

Over the last decade the number of lateral moves and the investment that firms continue to make in partner hiring have grown exponentially (a 2015 ALM Legal Intelligence Report estimated $1.3 billion in lateral partner compensation alone in 2014).

By now, I hope we’ve all looked in the mirror and seen our own reflection as it relates to our respective lateral recruitment efforts.

The surveys that report lateral partner hiring as more or less a 50-50 proposition keep being published, and yet the lateral partner market is as robust as ever.

The Business Development and Marketing team clearly does not build a firm's brand alone but it is certainly the steward of the firm's brand—maintaining it, protecting it and promoting it. And the team has a vital role to play in the recruitment, onboarding and integration phases of a healthy and effective lateral partner hiring model.

Groysberg questions what actually makes stars “stars” and whether, if they move jobs, they can simply provide a plug-and-play solution for their new firms.