Matt Schwartz, Esq.

Email: mschwartz@g-s.com Phone: (202) 559-0468

Matt is a partner at Garrison & Sisson. Matt formerly served as the executive director of a national attorney search firm’s Washington, DC, office and is regarded as among the foremost experts in attorney placement. His practice encompasses associates and partners, and he has placed attorneys across a wide variety of practice areas and for local, regional and national law firms that range in size from 10-attorney boutiques to firms employing hundreds of attorneys.

Matt prides himself on a direct approach. If it makes sense for a particular attorney to stay at his or her current firm, or perhaps shift in-house or to the public sector, Matt will say so. To him, it’s not solely about placements. Helping careers and doing what’s in the best interests of the attorneys with whom Matt builds long-term relationships always remains his top priority.

Prior to becoming a legal recruiter, Matt was a transactional associate at Hogan & Hartson (now Hogan Lovells); before that, he was a litigation associate at Howrey. His legal training and previous employment in the field, his own experience transitioning from litigation to corporate law, and his established expertise recruiting in DC enable Matt to offer candidates as well as clients sound counsel on professional tracks and transitions.

Matt is a cum laude graduate of Georgetown University Law Center with an undergraduate degree from Brown University.

Speaking/Panels

Presenter,

Cracking the DC Legal Market, University of Pennsylvania Law School, April 2014

Georgetown University Law Center, March 2014

"Hot" Practice Areas and Job Search Tips, George Mason University School of Law, March 2014

Selected Candidate Testimonials

“It was an absolute pleasure to work with Matt during my lateral search. He is an expert on the legal market and the different firms, and took the time to get to know me personally, as well as understand my short-term and long-term goals in order to help guide me towards the right firms. Matt helped fine-tune my application materials and held a mock interview to ensure I was fully prepared. Throughout the interview and offer process he was always available and responsive when I had questions, and proved an invaluable source of information and feedback. I ended up at the perfect firm, and I couldn’t have done it without Matt’s assistance. Lateraling can be a time-consuming and stressful process but he made it painless and enjoyable. I highly recommend Matt to anyone considering a lateral move.”
Associate, Capital Markets

“After meeting with so many recruiters and feeling pressured to consider firms that weren’t good fits, finding Matt was a breath of fresh air. Matt’s connections in the industry are genuine and his recommendations were tailored to my needs. He took the time to prepare me for each step of the process and offered concrete, actionable feedback. Thanks to Matt, I ended up in a group that is a great fit and have sent several colleagues his way since then, each of whom experienced the same personalized approach and successful placements.”
Associate, Private Equity

“Matt is the best. I worked with a couple recruiters prior to Matt. What a difference. First, there’s no pressure, and he works with you to identify your goals and develop a plan to achieve them. Equally important, he knows his stuff inside and out. A rock through the lateralling process. I felt he worked hard for me and went the extra mile during writing sample revising, mock interviewing, and post-interview negotiations. I have recommended him to all of my friends that express interest in lateralling. Such a pleasure to work with, and I really appreciated how genuinely happy he was for me when I got the offer at my top-choice firm.” (“V&E has been great so far. Zero regrets.”)
Associate, Environmental

“Matt was incredible to work with – easy and responsive to communicate with and a great liaison between employer and the job candidate. It is very clear that employers give candidates vetted and prepared by Matt a lot of credit and confidence.

I originally started my job search months before meeting Matt and worked with a different recruiter. The search turned out to be fruitless with many submissions, and I was made to feel like a failure by the previous recruiter for not getting any responses. So my friend referred me to talk to Matt and it was the best decision I made. Matt and I had an initial “getting to know you” type of conversation so he could understand some of my motivations for my job search and what I was looking for in my career long term. He was honest but not condescending or abrasive, and very encouraging and transparent throughout the entire process. He gave constructive feedback where necessary and recommended me to get an additional credential, which ended up helping me get my offer. With the new certification, Matt worked with me on submitting my material. Within three weeks I got my offer letter in my email. From application date to offer, Matt was helpful, meticulous, encouraging and never demeaning. He prepared me by setting up mock interviews with me, by giving me detailed background of the practice group and the firm, and keeping record of any areas of improvement in case I needed for the future. Even during the offer and decision stage, when I was anxious about hearing back, he was able to give me reassurance, so that I felt comfortable with every decision and every step of the recruitment process. He made sure to not only help me with obtaining my new job, but also protect my existing job during the search, and ensuring confidentiality so my relationship with my employer is not at risk..”
Associate, Privacy