Associate attorneys contemplating a lateral move often wonder if they should enlist the services of a legal recruiter.  To answer this question, associates should analyze the current demand for their specific skill.  If the associate’s services are in high demand, then law firms are typically willing to pay the fee associated with the placement, and the associate can leverage some of the many benefits associated with working with a good legal recruiter.  If not, then the associate might be better served by undertaking the search on their own.

Why use a Legal Recruiter?

Before diving into whether an associate should use a legal recruiter, it’s important to mention some of the reasons why an associate should consider a recruiter in the first place. Firstly, law firm associates tend to work long hours, and job searching is a time-consuming task. Legal recruiters streamline this process by identifying new opportunities and scheduling interviews, among other services.  Secondly, a good legal recruiter should provide an associate with inside information about the role (partners the associate will be working with, office culture, and more).  Thirdly, a recruiter can help to prep for interviews, something an associate may not have done since he or she was a 2L.  And last but certainly not least, if an offer is made, a recruiter can step in to negotiate salary, bonus, start dates and more, items that associates might not otherwise feel comfortable negotiating if they had to do so directly.

How to Determine if your Skill Set is in Demand

There are three main factors that an associate should consider when determining whether their services are in high enough demand for law firms to justify the recruiter fee, including academic pedigree, years of experience, and practice focus.

Academic Pedigree

Law firms consistently value an associate’s law school and GPA when hiring, a factor that remains crucial regardless of market conditions.  For example, some of the more selective law firms use a sliding scale based on the reputation of the law school and the minimum GPA the firm will considered from that school for an interview.  Whether the economy is booming and law firms are hiring at a rapid pace like they did in 2021 or the lateral hiring market is relatively cool like it was in 2023, the requirement by certain firms that associates have strong academic credentials remains the same.

The chart below shows total associate hires by AmLaw 100 law firms in 2023 by law school and where those law schools are ranked by U.S. News & World Report.  Seven of the top ten law schools attended by associates who were hired as experienced attorneys by AmLaw 100 law firms were from top 10 law schools.  Of course, this is due in part to the fact that many of these experienced attorney hires come from peer firms where the entry-level hiring occurs mainly from top-ranked law schools, but it’s still an indicator of a preference for a strong academic background when top firms evaluate lateral candidates.

Thus, one of the first things an associate should evaluate when deciding whether to work with a legal recruiter is whether their law school and GPA will make them an enticing candidate.

Experience

Associates should also assess whether they have enough work experience to justify the recruiter’s fee. In most cases, if an associate doesn’t have at least a year or two of work experience, then using a legal recruiter might not be the best approach to finding a lateral position.  Law firm demand for associates tends to be highest during an associate’s second through sixth year, with the true sweet-spot being third through fifth years.  The chart below shows total lateral attorney hires by class years over the last twelve months, with over 65% of all hires taking place in the 2nd through 6th year range.  Accordingly, with demand at its highest during this mid-level period, it’s an optimal time to leverage the services of a good recruiter.

Practice Focus

Associates must also gauge the market demand for their expertise, a factor more variable than academic credentials and years of experience.  For example, the chart below shows hiring by practice area for AmLaw 100 firms in 2021, the year that saw firms make offers the same day as a first interview and offer $100,000+ signing bonuses to transactional associates.  Firm Prospects tracked 3,193 corporate hires into AmLaw 100 firms that year.

By way of comparison, in 2023, Firm Prospects tracked 1,144 corporate hires by AmLaw 100 firms, which accounted for only 12.3% of all hires that year.  That’s a 64.1% decrease in corporate hires in 2023 as compared to 2021.

The takeaway here is that an associate attorney who is a perfect candidate for working with a legal recruiter in one year might be better served by applying directly to law firms only a year or two later, as dictated by current market conditions.

Conclusion

Deciding whether or not to work with a legal recruiter for a lateral associate move is an important decision that can have a substantial impact on the success of a lateral job search.  As a result, associates should closely examine whether or not they are a good fit for working with a recruiter, and that examination should be largely based on the level of demand for an associate’s particular skill set, taking into consideration both market conditions and factors specific to their experience.  If the associate is a good fit, the recruiter can add substantial value to the job search; if not, the associate should undertake the job search unilaterally.

In the end, whether an associate decides to work with a recruiter or not, Firm Prospects can be a great resource.  The Firm Prospects’ platform has thousands of law firm, in-house and government legal jobs, objective law firm profiles covering over 3,000 law firms, and provides the ability to connect with some of the top search firms and legal recruiters in the country.

Schedule a demo today to see how easily you can connect with firms, attorneys and legal recruiters.