What is CLP?
CLP is the first real alternative to traditional law firms for complex legal work in China. We exist to empower our attorneys and our clients by changing the way they work together. Our founding idea was to strip away all of the unnecessary overhead and inefficiency one typically associates with BigLaw, creating a firm of experienced lawyers uniquely integrated with our clients.
Unlike a typical law firm, our attorneys choose which clients they want to work with, the type of work they want to do... and when. And clients choose to work with CLP because our attorneys are delivering holistic legal and business counsel in a flexible, efficient way.
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How selective is CLP?
Although we try not to take ourselves too seriously, we take the hiring part extremely seriously. And fortunately, we've seen a tremendous amount of attorney interest. In fact, in our brief history, our acceptance rate is about 1%.
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How much experience do I need to have?
In general, our clients are looking for our attorneys to hit the ground running...so we really focus on hiring people with the right expertise. In fact, our average attorney has 5 years of experience post-law school. That said, we do consider talented attorneys with fewer years of experience.
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What skill sets are you looking for?
While CLP Attorneys have an extremely wide range of skill sets, our principal practice areas are: Financial Services, Technology & Business Services, Media, Life Sciences, and Consumer Goods.
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Do CLP Attorneys have offices?
Not in the traditional sense. The majority of our attorneys work onsite with clients, so their offices vary with each engagement. Some attorneys are based at the same office for months, others work out of multiple offices on a weekly basis and the remainder work remotely.
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Do CLP Attorneys work together?
CLP Attorneys occasionally work in teams and frequently alongside each other while serving the same client. Most, however, find that our regular get-togethers, online conference programs, and professional seminars are the best opportunity to connect with fellow partners.
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What professional development opportunities do you offer?
CLP offers our attorneys Lawspirit memberships, access to LET's online learning programs, and the opportunity for speaking engagements and enhanced networking. We're also very involved with diversity and pro-bono initiatives and have programs in place for both.
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Who are your attorneys and why do they join?
Because we're something new and different, we've been fortunate to attract attorneys with great credentials and experience. In fact, 73% of our attorneys come from a top 25 school, most have worked at a top law firm, and about one third have spent several years in-house before joining.
Attorneys join because they're looking for more control over their careers, diversity of work and a new way to practice.
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What kind of work do you do?
Our clients retain us for high-end legal work - work that requires a talented attorney but not necessarily the infrastructure of a large law firm. Things like negotiating complex contracts, supporting new and existing lines of business, counseling on employment laws, managing litigation, preparing seasonal securities filings, negotiating strategic transactions, reviewing intellectual property portfolios and setting compliance programs... pretty much anything our clients would do in-house if they had the right resources.
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How are CLP Attorneys compensated?
Our compensation is competitive with most in-house position. Each attorney's salary is determined by a combination of factors including experience, credentials and skill sets.
CLP Attorneys are paid only when they're engaged. This is a critical part of who we are as a firm and intentional to our design. Not paying our attorneys when they're not working allows us to be hyper-efficient (thus, great value for clients) and, most importantly, it's the only way to make the self-determination part of CLP really work. (If we paid traditional salaries, we'd have to tell our attorneys where and when to work.) This trade-off isn't for everyone, but for the right attorneys, the upside is irresistible: sophisticated work, exciting clients and attractive compensation... with an element of self-direction unavailable anywhere else in our profession.
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What is the typical CLP engagement?
Our clients generally use us for longer-term engagements... in fact, the average CLP engagement lasts eleven months (but some have gone on for years!). About 70% of our engagements are full-time, with our attorney working at the client's site, fully integrated into the in-house legal department. The remaining engagements are part-time and/or remote. Some attorneys serve one client at a time, while others work with multiple clients in parallel.
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What is your application process?
Our hiring process looks very similar to what you're used to at law firms and in-house legal departments... after reviewing your resume, we'll typically follow up with an introductory call. If all goes well, we'll invite you to come in for the first of two rounds of interviews. In addition, we'll perform due diligence by following up with your previous employers, running background checks, etc. All of this helps make sure you're right for us and we're right for you. |
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