# The Headhunter’s Playbook: When to Lateral, When to Stay, and How to Pivot with Lameck Kefela
Episode of Studying Law Around the World, hosted by Claudio Klaus.
Published: Wed, 28 Jan 2026 12:00:00 GMT
Duration: 00:26:40
## Summary
In this episode of Studying Law Around the World, I sit down with Lameck Kefala, a Recruitment Consultant at Smith Legal Search. Lameck shares his unique journey from articling at a firm and working in legal tech to becoming a legal recruiter.We break down the current state of the Toronto legal market for 2026, revealing which practice areas are heating up (Infrastructure & M&A) and which are cooling down (Litigation). Lameck also explains the "3 to 5 Year Sweet Spot" for making a lateral move and offers a controversial take on why starting your career on Bay Street is like working at a fast food giant.If you are thinking about moving in-house, lateraling to a new firm, or just want to understand how headhunters evaluate your resume, this episode is for you.
## Listen
- Episode link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/studyinglawaroundtheworld/episodes/The-Headhunters-Playbook-When-to-Lateral--When-to-Stay--and-How-to-Pivot-with-Lameck-Kefela-e3e9lmu
- Audio: https://anchor.fm/s/38a26d44/podcast/play/114660510/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-0-28%2F416975174-44100-2-b6ecd11d91191.m4a
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/34QvO0swkWx4XtNxlItXWe
- Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/studying-law-around-the-world/id1547616885
Show page: https://claudioklaus.com/podcast
Canonical: https://claudioklaus.com/podcast/episodes/the-headhunter-s-playbook-when-to-lateral-when-to-stay-and-how-to-pivot-with-lam.md