Martin Chitwood, Partner at Chitwood Harley Harnes LLP, has served as lead or co-lead counsel in more than 40 class actions nationwide and has been instrumental in recovering billions of dollars for investors and other class members. He's considered the plaintiffs' lawyer in the state of Georgia. He has also been recognized as a Georgia "Super Lawyer" by Law and Politics each year since the inception of the award.
His firm represents both institutional investors and individuals in a wide variety of lawsuits to remedy corporate wrongdoing. They primarily pursue securities class actions but also are a leader in litigating antitrust and consumer protection class actions.
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The caliber of individuals being hired, just to keep up, prompted me to ask him about his hiring practices and experiences.
Do you personally get involved in hiring for the firm?
"When my firm was first beginning to grow, I was part of conducting every interview. As our firm grew larger and my work commitments became greater, I wasn't always a part of the first interview, but I nevertheless made it a practice to meet and have a conversation with any interviewee we were considering hiring. It was through this process that I tried to ensure that anyone we hired would feel comfortable working within the personality of the group and would have the potential to be a long term employee."
Any particularly memorable interview stories?
"When my law firm was still young and small, I interviewed candidates for an associate position from a prominent law school. Of the several candidates I interviewed, one was sick with a cold or flu. She had a sore throat, and she was having a hard time speaking. While she was struggling during the interview, she softly exclaimed, "I'm really sick, and I'm really mad at myself. I really wanted this job." In the context of the interview I felt she was expressing her disappointment that her being sick may be jeopardizing her chances of getting the job she most wanted. Later, when I narrowed the candidates to those with the most impressive credentials, she was one of them. And because I knew the job opportunity was really important to her, I selected her. Now almost 20 years later, she is a mainstay partner in the firm and one of my most trusted confidants."
Do you have a philosophy to share that might sum up your thoughts about hiring?
"I believe every company has a personality. If a company is small, its personality emanates from its owner or manager. If the company is large enough to have sections or groups, every section or group may have its own personality."
"I also believe that in order for an employee to enjoy working in a company, section or group, that employee must feel comfortable being a part of the group personality they are working within. I have found that persons who work within a group whose members share common ideas and attitudes on current social issues are usually more committed to group goals, and are often willing to work with greater zeal and for longer periods than groups who don't share common ideas and attitudes. Therefore, when hiring someone for the business, I believe it is important to consider whether they will fit into the personality that has been developed by the persons with whom they will work most closely."
What's the best interview question you've used and how does that guide your hiring philosophy?
"I believe the best interview question anyone can ask is, "Why do you want this job?" People seek jobs for numerous reasons and knowing why someone is interviewing for the job you are offering can be very helpful to you in making the right selection."
"Every employer wants his employees to work to promote the success of the business. I have found that for most employees to have a strong commitment to the success of the business at least three things are required: (1) they must believe in what the business does (e.g. they must believe it provides a good product or a valuable service), (2) they must respect its leadership, and (3) they must feel comfortable working with their co-workers."
What has driven you in building such success?
"There are two things which I believe have primarily attributed to my success. The first is maintaining good quality control. As our firm grew it became too large for me to be involved in all the important decisions in all of our cases, and the volume of work made it impossible to review the firm's entire work product. However, I have found it possible to ensure that all the work that needs to be done, is being done, and that those working on important cases are thinking ahead and planning for problems that might arise."
"The second thing which I believe has contributed to my success is that I always try to answer my clients' most difficult questions. In my experience, I have found that many attorneys often find a way to avoid answering difficult questions because answering complex questions usually requires consideration of a several step process, and they don't want to either think it through or admit that they don't already know the answer."
And if you are looking for some Super Lawyers trivia, Martin Chitwood is a decorated US Special Forces Veteran and wrote a movie of the week for CBS Television ("Unconquered").
Interview by David Jensen, author of The Naked Interview: Hiring Without Regret
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His firm represents both institutional investors and individuals in a wide variety of lawsuits to remedy corporate wrongdoing. They primarily pursue securities class actions but also are a leader in litigating antitrust and consumer protection class actions.
The caliber of individuals being hired, just to keep up, prompted me to ask him about his hiring practices and experiences.
Do you personally get involved in hiring for the firm?
"When my firm was first beginning to grow, I was part of conducting every interview. As our firm grew larger and my work commitments became greater, I wasn't always a part of the first interview, but I nevertheless made it a practice to meet and have a conversation with any interviewee we were considering hiring. It was through this process that I tried to ensure that anyone we hired would feel comfortable working within the personality of the group and would have the potential to be a long term employee."
Any particularly memorable interview stories?
"When my law firm was still young and small, I interviewed candidates for an associate position from a prominent law school. Of the several candidates I interviewed, one was sick with a cold or flu. She had a sore throat, and she was having a hard time speaking. While she was struggling during the interview, she softly exclaimed, "I'm really sick, and I'm really mad at myself. I really wanted this job." In the context of the interview I felt she was expressing her disappointment that her being sick may be jeopardizing her chances of getting the job she most wanted. Later, when I narrowed the candidates to those with the most impressive credentials, she was one of them. And because I knew the job opportunity was really important to her, I selected her. Now almost 20 years later, she is a mainstay partner in the firm and one of my most trusted confidants."
Do you have a philosophy to share that might sum up your thoughts about hiring?
"I believe every company has a personality. If a company is small, its personality emanates from its owner or manager. If the company is large enough to have sections or groups, every section or group may have its own personality."
"I also believe that in order for an employee to enjoy working in a company, section or group, that employee must feel comfortable being a part of the group personality they are working within. I have found that persons who work within a group whose members share common ideas and attitudes on current social issues are usually more committed to group goals, and are often willing to work with greater zeal and for longer periods than groups who don't share common ideas and attitudes. Therefore, when hiring someone for the business, I believe it is important to consider whether they will fit into the personality that has been developed by the persons with whom they will work most closely."
What's the best interview question you've used and how does that guide your hiring philosophy?
"I believe the best interview question anyone can ask is, "Why do you want this job?" People seek jobs for numerous reasons and knowing why someone is interviewing for the job you are offering can be very helpful to you in making the right selection."
"Every employer wants his employees to work to promote the success of the business. I have found that for most employees to have a strong commitment to the success of the business at least three things are required: (1) they must believe in what the business does (e.g. they must believe it provides a good product or a valuable service), (2) they must respect its leadership, and (3) they must feel comfortable working with their co-workers."
What has driven you in building such success?
"There are two things which I believe have primarily attributed to my success. The first is maintaining good quality control. As our firm grew it became too large for me to be involved in all the important decisions in all of our cases, and the volume of work made it impossible to review the firm's entire work product. However, I have found it possible to ensure that all the work that needs to be done, is being done, and that those working on important cases are thinking ahead and planning for problems that might arise."
"The second thing which I believe has contributed to my success is that I always try to answer my clients' most difficult questions. In my experience, I have found that many attorneys often find a way to avoid answering difficult questions because answering complex questions usually requires consideration of a several step process, and they don't want to either think it through or admit that they don't already know the answer."
And if you are looking for some Super Lawyers trivia, Martin Chitwood is a decorated US Special Forces Veteran and wrote a movie of the week for CBS Television ("Unconquered").
Interview by David Jensen, author of The Naked Interview: Hiring Without Regret
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