One of my favorite business books isn't a book about business at all. It's about baseball.

Moneyball by Michael Lewis is the story of the Oakland A's and how they remained competitive in a division when they were grossly outspent by their opponents. The situation is not unlike the way small and mid-sized firms are routinely outspent by the biggest firms in the "war for talent" as legal recruiting was combatively known.

The secret of the Oakland A's was that they selected talent that was undervalued by the baseball establishment.

Most baseball recruiting centered on the 5 tools a baseball player could have (speed, hit for average, hit for power, strong throwing arm and good defense). Players were rated on how many of those tools they possess, with a player possessing all five (the elusive 5 tool player) being the most rare and sought after.

The A's manager derisively remarked that the other teams' preoccupation with 5 tool players made it seem like they were recruiting to "sell blue jeans" rather than to win baseball games.

By contrast, the A's found a less sought after skill set that they identified through analyzing reams of statistical data about potential recruits. They found hidden talents that others missed, often disguised in odd packages. End result: they spent far less per win than their more moneyed competitors.

Similar to the baseball establishment, legal recruiting (particularly by large law firms doing on campus interviewing) also traditionally focuses on tools. The four tools that big law firms prize most highly are:

1. Law school prestige - sadly informed by the enduring, though silly, US News rankings
2. Class rank
3. Grades
4. Law review participation- because anyone willing to spend that much time writing a note nobody will ever read probably won't blanche at billing 2800 hours in a year

The lawyers who possess more of these tools command higher salaries at more prestigious firms working on the biggest cases. The Editor of the Harvard Law Review, instead of the five tool player, becomes the four tool lawyer, and can expect a sky-high starting salary at her chosen firm.

This high-salary recruiting leaves behind the many small and mid-sized firms that can not afford to pony up $160,000 for their very own Harvard Law Review editor. Without the budget to compete for the top talent, these firms have very little chance to win the game this way. With the economic downturn of the last 11 months intensifying the pressure, small and mid-sized firm managing partners would be wise to learn from the A's and switch their recruiting strategy to finding undervalued assets in the legal talent marketplace.

Here are the 4 tools I'd be looking for if I were a law firm managing partner today:

1. Maturity

Too many brand new lawyers enter the workplace with unrealistic expectations and unsustainable debt loads; the immature ones will blame that situation on your firm and quit (or worse, rot on the vine). A mature lawyer who enters practice with realistic expectations about what can be achieved and a plan for how to achieve them starts the race without an anvil tied to her leg.

2. Likeability

An underappreciated trait in the law: associate attorneys who are likeable will attract clients quicker, retain clients more easily, and be less likely to receive a grievance or fee dispute when they screw up. Likeability counts. As it turns out, law practice is more like high school than law school.

3. Sales Experience

Call it what you will: persuasion, selling, influence, or opinion making. The private practice of law is a sales job. The never-ending list of people a lawyer must persuade includes clients, judges, opposing counsel, witnesses, court clerks, etc. Too many new lawyers are either unwilling or incapable of using this skill, if not downright hostile to it. A lawyer who has a work history including time as a salesperson is more likely to have developed this skill set and a willingness to use it.

4. Entrepreneurial Mindset

If I had a nickel every time I heard a law firm partner complain that associates don't behave like firm owners (an entirely predictable state of affairs given that associates don't have ownership interests in their firms) I would have enough to hire my own first year Harvard Law Review editor. Or at least call one from a pay phone. Long distance.

It's pointless to complain that non-owners behave like non-owners. Instead, hire an associate who knows that he is an owner -- not of your firm but of his own law practice. New lawyers who understand they run a solo practice no matter who signs their paychecks engage in fruitful owner-like behavior much earlier -- in my anecdotal experience -- than lawyers who want to become partners in your law firm.

Not coincidentally, all four of these tools can be found in associate attorneys likely to be left behind by the lottery known as on-campus recruiting. Graduates from less prestigious law school, second career lawyers, and students who worked full time while going to law school all become strong potential recruits if you know what you are looking for.

Maybe these tools will work in your firm or maybe you will come up with your own list of undervalued tools.

Or maybe you'll just go back to selling blue jeans.