Expertise is everything in the executive recruiting world. When your business is searching for a qualified legal professional, an experienced attorney recruiter will help you achieve the hiring outcomes you’re looking to accomplish.
Attorney executive recruiters maintain extensive networks of qualified professionals who may or may not be actively searching for a new role but may be enticed with the right opportunity. These recruiters make finding new talent significantly easier than simply relying on external hiring channels.
This guide will show you how to identify and work with an effective attorney recruiter. It includes practice area tips, what to look for, and how to use your recruiting resources effectively.
Top Qualities to Consider When Hiring Attorneys
The most important starting point for attorney recruiting is understanding the types of experience and legal knowledge in the specific practice area for which your firm is recruiting. If you need a general corporate lawyer, you are searching for an attorney who has a significantly different skillset than a specialized employment lawyer.
Another area to look at is the candidate’s ability to collaborate. Often, lawyers may be sectioned off in a general counsel’s office and not have the collaborative relationship needed to succeed with other parts of the company. For example, lawyers may not “speak the same language” as, say, the sales department or the finance team. It’s all about being able to discuss legal topics in layman’s terms.
How Attorney Hiring Differs from Executive Recruiting
The nuances involved in legal hiring differ significantly from hiring other managerial roles. While the average executive may be more focused on the company’s big picture, such as overseeing a large team or department, attorneys are more specialized and focused on one specific area.
An attorney recruiter will understand how to personalize the approach to match the right attorney to the right client. Ideally, a recruiter will also be able to match qualified candidates to the client’s culture.
Clients repeatedly emphasize that their attorneys must be able to collaborate with other departments, such as accounting, sales and customer service. Ultimately, it’s about combining technical capability with interpersonal skills so that all departments can work together to achieve the company’s common goals.
How a Specialized Attorney Recruiter Can Produce Superior Outcomes
Effective executive recruiters, including those who specialize in legal hiring, have access to large talent pools. This advantage allows executive recruiters to reach more qualified candidates who have the experience and skills that align with a client’s needs.
Expert recruiters have off-market candidates in their databases. Ideal candidates may not be actively seeking a new position. A recruiter can stay on candidates’ radar by keeping them in the loop on relevant opportunities related to their practice area. This saves hiring teams time since only the best candidates are brought to the front of the line.
Specialized recruiters have the time and resources to continuously contact the market’s best talent—active or passive. Their extensive networks allow them to proactively engage with attorneys who may be open to the right opportunity but aren’t actively browsing job boards. This direct approach increases the likelihood of securing top-tier candidates who align with a firm’s specific needs. Additionally, recruiters can provide valuable insights into compensation trends, market demand, and competitor hiring strategies, giving firms a strategic edge in talent acquisition.
Current Trends in Attorney Recruiting
Legal talent recruiters are seeing a substantial increase in attorney recruiting in certain niches, including data privacy and cybersecurity risk. Although real estate has been on the decline, it was also a practice area with surging demand. Technology lawyers are also seeing significantly increased demand as more large language models and their derivatives continue to come online in the tech business.
Many in-house attorneys are considering leaving their positions and switching employers due to high workloads and limited career advancement opportunities. This anticipated attrition is prompting legal departments to enhance career development initiatives and explore flexible talent solutions to maintain stability.
The competition for top legal talent has led to increased compensation demands. Some top law firms are now charging up to $2,500 per hour, reflecting the high salaries leading attorneys command. In response, according to the Wall Street Journal, corporations are reevaluating their legal budgets and considering alternative fee arrangements to manage costs effectively.
The Many Traits of Top Legal Talent
Recruiters look at the following areas when evaluating a potential legal candidate:
- Law School Transcripts: Law school transcripts provide recruiters with insight into a candidate’s academic performance, legal acumen, and consistency in coursework. High grades in key subjects such as contracts, constitutional law, and legal writing signal strong analytical and research skills. Recruiters also assess class rankings and honors (e.g., cum laude and law review) to gauge competitiveness. However, transcripts alone are not decisive; work experience, writing samples, and interpersonal skills often weigh more in hiring decisions.
- Deal Sheets (for corporate lawyers): Attorneys use deal sheets, particularly in transactional law, to showcase their experience in mergers and acquisitions, finance, private equity, and other corporate matters. These sheets detail significant deals an attorney has worked on, including transaction type, client representation (e.g., buyer, seller, lender, or borrower), deal value, and the attorney’s role. Recruiters and hiring managers use deal sheets to assess an attorney’s expertise, depth of experience, and ability to handle complex transactions. A well-structured deal sheet can be more influential than a resume in securing lateral moves or in-house counsel positions.
- Prior Experience: As shown on a resume, prior experience in a particular industry or practice area means that an attorney can “hit the ground running” at your firm.
- Solid References: Lastly, solid professional references make all the difference in determining whether a candidate may be a strong hire for your firm. A large roster of quality references indicates that an attorney has the skills, knowledge, and, perhaps most importantly, the emotional intelligence to succeed in the new role.
Creating a Competitive Attorney Hiring Process
What motivates a successful, hardworking attorney to move to a new position? The answer is multi-faceted, of course, with compensation playing a big role. Beyond that, attorneys with in-demand skills want to see that their efforts will be rewarded with efficient pathways for progression and promotion in addition to at-minimum market-rate salaries.
However, something else has been happening in the market, especially post-COVID. More and more attorneys are looking for flexibility and a hybrid work environment instead of five days per week in the office. Companies looking to hire and retain talented legal professionals may wish to offer such a flexible arrangement—potentially as a counterbalance to offering above-market compensation.
Recruiters, in turn, need to ensure that this hiring process is as streamlined as possible. As attorneys move through interview rounds, recruiters need to keep the hiring machinery moving to avoid losing out on top talent. This means scheduling the next round as efficiently as possible, keeping strong candidates in the loop on what the next steps might be, and ensuring effective management (on behalf of both parties) for any disputes that may arise.
How Daley And Associates Can Help You Find the Best Legal Talent
At Daley And Associates, we understand that finding top-tier legal talent requires more than just reviewing resumes. Our specialized attorney recruiters leverage deep industry knowledge, extensive candidate networks, and strategic hiring methodologies to match your firm or corporate legal department with the best legal professionals. Whether you need an experienced litigator, a corporate attorney with M&A expertise, or an in-house counsel adept at navigating regulatory complexities, our team provides tailored solutions to meet your hiring needs.
Our recruiting process is built on proactive engagement with both active and passive candidates. We maintain relationships with highly qualified attorneys who may not be actively seeking a new role but are open to the right opportunity. By tapping into this exclusive talent pool, we ensure that our clients gain access to candidates who possess not only the necessary legal expertise but also the right cultural fit for their organizations. Our meticulous screening process evaluates credentials, deal sheets, law school performance, and references to present only the most qualified professionals.
With a proven track record in placing high-caliber legal professionals, Daley And Associates is your trusted partner in building a strong legal team. Whether you’re expanding your firm or reinforcing your in-house legal department, our expertise in attorney recruiting ensures that you secure the best talent to drive your organization forward. Contact us today to discuss how we can assist in your legal hiring needs.
