Before the offer goes out
Score the lateral before the offer goes out
Deal-structure facts in · a P&L, working-capital and opportunity-cost read out
What this tool does
A managing partner, practice-group leader or CFO/COO entering the offer conversation for a lateral partner enters the candidate's claimed portable book, packaging terms and firm cost benchmarks, and gets back an evidence-based P&L, working-capital and opportunity-cost read over 12 quarters. Lateral offer decisions get made on P&L break-even inside the guarantee window, but two-thirds of laterals miss the book, only 10–20% hit the timeline, and working-capital break-even lands 6–12 months after P&L break-even because of WIP absorption and lockup — none of which shows up on a spreadsheet built by the hiring partner.
You'll need (~10 minutes):
- Practice area, claimed portable book, band (single hire / team lift-out), client concentration
- Guarantee floor, guarantee length, recruiter fee, any signing inducement
- Rate uplift on move, partner margin, lockup days, PII loading estimate
- One-off ramp cost (systems, KYC re-underwriting, BD) and any restraint-litigation reserve