Private Equity Secondaries | Washington, DC
Strengthening a Market-Leading Private Equity Secondaries Practice
The Challenge
The nation’s leading private equity secondaries practice group sought to strengthen and expand its Washington, DC presence in a highly competitive and specialized talent market.
The firm engaged COGO not simply to recruit, but to analyze the partner market, assess competitive dynamics, and advise on how best to strengthen the DC office with elite talent aligned with the firm’s strategic objectives.
The Approach
COGO began with a comprehensive market analysis, mapping the private equity secondaries partner landscape across key firms and identifying lawyers with the experience, credibility, and client relationships required to add immediate value. This analysis incorporated insights into practice depth, market reputation, leadership capability, and cultural fit.
Working closely with firm leadership, COGO advised on positioning and role definition; ensuring the firm’s growth objectives were clearly articulated and compelling to top-tier partner candidates.
The Result
Through its targeted, insight-driven approach, COGO helped the firm clarify the optimal partner profile and identify high-caliber candidates capable of reinforcing its market-leading position in private equity secondaries. This strengthened the firm’s understanding of the competitive partner market and resulted in the addition of the group's top choice candidate in the market joining the firm.
The Conclusion
For market-leading firms, growth depends not on volume hiring, but on precision talent decisions. By combining market intelligence with strategic advisory support, COGO enabled the firm to approach partner hiring as a platform-building initiative.