Max Gelernter‘s background as a practicing attorney and successful leader in advancing diversity brings his experience to BarkerGilmore to build highly effective legal and compliance teams by placing attorneys in roles that maximize their strengths while helping organizations accomplish their mission.
Recognized for his ability to appreciate the ever-increasing challenges faced by legal leaders, Max uses his expertise to recruit exceptional in-house legal and compliance talent, thereby supporting the strategic counsel, executive development, succession planning, and other services BarkerGilmore advisors provide to legal and compliance departments, CEOs, and boards across the country.
With your global law firm experience, how do you characterize your approach to the executive search process?
I was fortunate to be a client-facing attorney with large institutional clients. This allowed me to personally get to know many General Counsel and Deputy General Counsel, gaining insight into how they think and what they are looking for. Moreover, working for a global law firm gave me a good sense of how associates and partners think, how they communicate, and what they are looking for. This firsthand knowledge has left me with what I can only describe as an implicit connection—a deep understanding of both sides—so that I can meet the needs of both the client and the candidate and unite them in a successful match.
How does your first-hand experience as a legal leader benefit a potential candidate?
Being a practicing attorney in a global law firm, you realize that, ultimately, dollars matter. But for me and many of the lawyers that we interview, you also know that beyond dollars, there are more aspects to a fulfilling career. I can empathize with a brilliant partner in a great law firm who may be looking for the intangibles — leadership, management, the opportunity to think outside the box. My ability to tap into that next level of motivation can help an attorney make the leap to move in-house and be happy. Since the client wants somebody who wants just that, I’m bridging the gap.
From a client perspective, how does your first-hand experience as a legal leader benefit a legal or compliance department searching for a candidate with the right fit?
One skillset that I have brought from my practice at K&L Gates is the ability to understand and assess emotional intelligence as well as cultural fit. You need the right personality for each situation. I talk to the client, get to know them and their culture, identify the soft skills as well as the technical skills that they need, really listen, synthesize the information, and then go into the field to find the right candidate. To help make the final candidate recommendation, I also implement BarkerGilmore’s CustomFitSM assessment process.
What are you passionate about?
I truly enjoy bringing people together, although that sounds ironic coming from a litigator! It’s rare when everyone can be happy and be a winner. At BarkerGilmore, I reach that goal by finding the client the best candidate and finding the candidate the best job. I’m also passionate about diversity. At K&L Gates, I was an active member of the global LGBTQIA+ employee resource group. Additionally, I ran the pro bono Name Change Project, which helps low-income transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary individuals through the legal name change process, so that their legal name reflects their living identity.
How have you helped attorneys and compliance officers succeed during your career?
While I was at the firm, I was City-lead for the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, a law school mentorship program. I connected law firm and in-house attorneys with diverse 1L law students from the University of Pittsburgh and Duquesne University to prepare them for the highest positions of future legal leadership. This initiative proved to be beneficial to the attorneys and compliance officers since many of them did not have direct or personal access to diverse talent. Through the mentorship program, in-house legal departments and law firms added diverse individuals to their teams, ultimately creating value for the organization with the contributions of a variety of viewpoints and voices.
Why did you transition from serving as a legal leader into the executive search world?
I was very happy as a large law attorney, but I wanted to pursue a career path that allowed me to spend less time on legal issues and more time with people. I feel that I have an innate ability to connect with diverse candidates, understand the needs of an in-house team, and bring the two together. The right fit makes everyone a winner, and being able to achieve that gives me a deep sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.
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