Headhunters, Legal Recruiters, etc. Forum

[Anonymous User]

Any recommendations for legal recruiters or headhunters in NYC or NJ for pending bar result entry-level positions? TY

[Anonymous User]

I'm working with a recruiter who seemsa to be pretty good. He went solo after working with a larger agency for few years so his brand recognition is obviously lesser. Does this affect his chances to get me in touch with the right people? Differently put, how much does the recuriting agency's title matter assuming that the individual recruiter is equally competent?

[Anonymous User]

2013 HYS grad with "prestigious" (i.e., CA2/CA9/CADC; SDNY/DDC/ND Cal) court of appeals and district court clerkships now at DOJ via Honors Program. Spent a summer at a top DC biglaw firm and got full-time offer but turned it down for DOJ. Now thinking of leaving and returning to DC biglaw or boutique. Think a recruiter would do any good? Or better to use connections at firms/cold email?

I would avoid the recruiter in this situation and do it yourself. You have the bells and whistles and a targeted search.

Connections > Recruiter every day.

[Anonymous User]

I'm working with a recruiter who seemsa to be pretty good. He went solo after working with a larger agency for few years so his brand recognition is obviously lesser. Does this affect his chances to get me in touch with the right people? Differently put, how much does the recuriting agency's title matter assuming that the individual recruiter is equally competent?

Has he personally placed people at firms? The connections your looking for are him knowing folks at law firm/in-house HR teams or partners who handle hiring at these places who trust the guy and the people he has delivered before.

[Anonymous User]

I'm working with a recruiter who seemsa to be pretty good. He went solo after working with a larger agency for few years so his brand recognition is obviously lesser. Does this affect his chances to get me in touch with the right people? Differently put, how much does the recuriting agency's title matter assuming that the individual recruiter is equally competent?

Has he personally placed people at firms? The connections your looking for are him knowing folks at law firm/in-house HR teams or partners who handle hiring at these places who trust the guy and the people he has delivered before.

Not sure if that's the case -- I'll have to find out more. I'm trying to lateral in the LA market. Do you have any recruiters that you know?

[Anonymous User]

Anyone have good experiences with any headhunters placing corporate/M&A 2nd-4th years into Houston from out of market?

[Anonymous User]

Can anyone recommend any recruiters for the Texas market? Specifically Houston or Dallas. If it matters, my practice area is corporate.

[Anonymous User]

I'm working with a recruiter now. He's asked my permission to submit my materials to a firm at which I have a personal contact. For obvious reasons, I would prefer to go through this contact, instead of submitting through the recruiter. Is it acceptable to tell the recruiter not to submit to that firm--and that I will submit on my own behalf there? I'm not sure what's acceptable in this instance, and don't want to my recruiter to lessen efforts elsewhere. He seems to be doing good work.

[Anonymous User]

Any recommendations on Chicago recruiters? Thanks!

[Anonymous User]

Just wanted to give Jenna Grove at Parker & Lynch in NYC a shoutout. I worked with her in a somewhat unique situation (junior looking to switch practice groups), and she was excellent. Got me a few interviews on non-posted openings, but also encouraged me to apply to most places on my own, and I never doubted that she had my best interests in mind. Would definitely recommend.

[Anonymous User]

Im a 3rd year at a large insurance defense firm in a major market. As most ID firms associates, I am having a hellish time. I have a median GPA from T20 law school. Nothing elite about me. But somehow I have been getting multiple biglaw interviews (V40, 2 x V60, and one reputable midsize). I have one second round interview and one first round interview pending. One ding and one potential 2nd interview. They were all direct applies. My 3 recruiters have been largely worthless and waste of time. Some of the firms recommended to me were small no name firms and plaintiffside family law type firms. Wtf. I think these ppl market you differently based on your perceived prestige. I doubt this recruiter would offer the same firms to more attractive candidates because it would be insulting.

[Anonymous User]

Reviving this. Does anyone know any good recruiters in DC?

[sw1220]

Also bumping this thread to see whether anyone knows a recruiter that works with US associates for the London market.

[Anonymous User]

Also, on a related note, are we allowed to use the same recruiter we used to lateral into a firm? Is there a certain timeframe for which they can’t help us?

The recruiter who placed me here sent out an e-mail blast that included me, so I assumed that means that it should be fine. But, I also know that a lot of those are computer-generated, so just wanted to check.

I’ve been at my firm for almost a year.

[Raiden]

uh...isn't the legal market kind of dead in terms of hiring rn?

[Anonymous User]

uh...isn't the legal market kind of dead in terms of hiring rn?

I work in an area that got even busier because of COVID-19 and will continue to get busier as more legislation is released, so I think firms would still hire for my practice.

[Raiden]

uh...isn't the legal market kind of dead in terms of hiring rn?

I work in an area that got even busier because of COVID-19 and will continue to get busier as more legislation is released, so I think firms would still hire for my practice.

L&E? I just hope that companies have the cash to pay their attorneys.

[Anonymous User]

uh...isn't the legal market kind of dead in terms of hiring rn?

I work in an area that got even busier because of COVID-19 and will continue to get busier as more legislation is released, so I think firms would still hire for my practice.

L&E? I just hope that companies have the cash to pay their attorneys.

Close. Benefits and Comp. We do some employment counseling as well. It’s been like drinking from a hose these past few days and there seems to be no end in sight.

Yeah, that part is the only concern. We charge pretty premium rates for a Benefits/Comp practice that does general advising/counseling, so I doubt we will collect all of it. Not really my problem if I leverage this experience and move on to a better firm, though.

[Whatislaw]

I'm in L&E as well and it's been busy, but I'm thinking of putting a hold on a search because I'm worried if I switch to a new firm they'll cut me first if they do layoffs since I'll be "new". Any L&Es still actually hiring and not at risk of layoffs in the Bay Area?

[Anonymous User]

Also, if anyone has any good recruiters for NY. I’ve used Parker and Lynch and they’ve, for the most part, been not so great. Both times I tested the market, the recruiters submitted me places and never got back to me. It just seems very unprofessional to work like that, but I guess that they don’t want to waste time on someone they can’t place easily.

I’ve heard that boutique recruiting firms focused solely in NY may be better but I’m not sure which of the hundreds I should be using.

[Whatislaw]

I'd be curious for a recommendation on Bay Area recruiter as well. Is Parker & Lynch bad in Bay Area too?

[nahumya]

If you must forward a resume to a recruiter, put a watermark on it that limits the distribution.

[Sackboy]

If you must forward a resume to a recruiter, put a watermark on it that limits the distribution.

Not to be daft, but would kind of watermark would you recommend? "For X Firm?"

[Anonymous User]

If you must forward a resume to a recruiter, put a watermark on it that limits the distribution.

Have you had something happen when you didn’t? I’ve always sent my resumes in pdf to the recruiter without any watermark and now I’m concerned I may have screwed up.

[nahumya]

I have heard several stories from friends who were not happy with their resumes being tossed around by recruiters. I don't have a story because I never committed to sending a resume to a recruiter.
When I talk to recruiters it's mainly to feel out the market or a particular firm/company, and I give them some helpful intel about my firm too to make the conversation worthwhile for them.

As for the watermark, it could be as brief as "Provided to [name] on [date] exclusively for submission to [firm]." This helps prevent misuse of your resume by the recruiter or anyone else. Similar to the watermarks you see on documents downloaded from transaction data rooms.