WHAT WE DO

PRE-HIRE DUE DILIGENCE

Decipher lowers firms’ lateral hire risk through four proprietary solutions.

Investigative Background Report

Diligence

Why it matters

Major red flags can be found for one in four lateral candidates, from problematic social media to financial improprieties.

Diligence provides law firms with the unparalleled qualitative intelligence they need to fully vet potential hires.

How it works

These deep-dive reports are built on first-person human intelligence. Our analysts reach out to carefully sourced clients, former colleagues, market peers and opposing counsel to learn about a candidate’s book, business development potential, legal skills, cultural fit and more.

The result

The firm is empowered to make fully informed decisions about the individuals they bring into the fold….often as fiduciaries.

Objective Background Screen

Dossier

Why it matters

Lateral Partner Questionnaires can be incomplete and unreliable; 30 percent of the LPQs submitted to Decipher omit key information.

Dossier helps eliminate surprises in the hiring process.

How it works

We use a variety of public, private and proprietary databases to uncover the most important objective intelligence, then relay it to our clients in a synthesized and easily digestible report.

Among the potential issues scouted: questionable online behavior, background irregularities, financial concerns, civil and criminal legal issues and more.

The result

The firm can make high-stakes hires with confidence, knowing it has addressed financial, legal and reputational risk.

Enhanced Referencing

Debrief

Why it matters

In-house administrators often lack the time or training to make meaningful reference calls; indeed, in a Decipher survey, only 35 percent of firms said they “always” checked candidate references.

Debrief elevates reference checks by ensuring they are candid, complete and actionable.

How it works

Through Debrief, we conduct in-depth interviews with four to eight candidate-provided references.

We seek and deliver useful commentary about a candidate’s technical skills, client relationships, cultural fit, business development abilities and more.

The result

The firm has a fully developed profile of its prospective laterals, with insights from the people who know them best.

Summer Associate Screening

Why it matters

According to NALP, 89 percent of 2L summer associates accept offers at their firms. These are your partners of tomorrow – but thanks to social media and other dangers, they are also your risks of today.

Decipher’s Summer Associate Screening solution allows firms to rapidly identify potential problems during the competitive and time-crunched recruiting season.

How it works

Our intelligence analysts conduct comprehensive social media and online screenings for each summer associate; we look to identify problematic content, review personal networks and eliminate surprises.

This expedited process delivers clear, high-level reports within 24 to 48 hours. Candidates are rated on a straightforward stoplight system, ranging from Green (all clear) to Yellow (questionable) to Red (major concern).

The result

The firm is positioned to act both quickly and safely to hire next-generation talent that will not endanger its risk profile or reputation.

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