Building a strong team is perhaps the single most important ingredient for creating a successful law firm. Obviously, we all want the smartest, most dedicated, most enthusiastic professionals we can find, the trick is finding and then retaining them. In a recent conversation with Paul Ward, the founder/owner of Paul Ward Professional Recruiting based in Phoenix, Arizona, he noted that we are currently in the midst of a sellers’ market. Of course, we weren’t discussing real estate; Paul was referring to the blatant shortage of qualified professionals across the board and specifically within the legal profession.
Law firms are spending more time and money in lengthy and often complex pursuits for new hires. Not only is the search more difficult and time consuming, but in most cases once a viable candidate is discovered, firms are having to offer more money, better benefits and even creative perks just to stay competitive with all of the other firms vying for those same choice candidates. With few exceptions, only the larger law firms in this country have the luxury of maintaining a full-time, fully staffed HR department. This means that extremely valuable time, billable time, must be dedicated to finding, negotiating and hopefully, hiring new associates.
Not surprisingly, many firms are turning to professional recruiters. It’s a solid and practical solution with perhaps just one caveat, how do you find, negotiate and hire the right recruiter? In many ways, the same time and effort must go into selecting the right headhunter as goes into seeking the right employees.
In an effort to assist you in this all-important quest, Attorney at Law Magazine has done our own research in order to compile a list of the top 5 legal recruiters in the United States. During this process of selecting these premier companies, we were faced with the fact that perhaps as much as 90 percent of all legal recruiters are locally owned and based. Because this is a national publication, it only makes sense to provide a list of those recruiters who regularly serve clients from throughout the country, and in some cases, the world.
While all opinions remain our own, this content contains links to companies we may be compensated by.
1. Robert Half Legal Staffing and Consulting
Number one on our list is the Robert Half Legal Staffing and Consulting. While a full-service recruiting company, Robert Half boasts a complete division dedicated to supplying talented legal professionals from attorneys to support staff. Offering expert screening and vetting services to find only the top legal talent across the country this company specializes in quality staffing services. This obviously helps you cut down the time and effort of locating the right people for your firm. It’s an opportunity to have that essential first and second screening process at your fingertips.
2. Parker Lynch
Taking second place on our list is Parker Lynch an advisory, learning, development and recruiting company that prides itself on placing attorneys and other legal professionals in prominent law firms and corporate legal departments throughout the nation. In addition to locating the best legal minds for your firm they promise to help viable applicants “build new skills, network with other legal and compliance professionals, take leadership training, receive career coaching, improve your resume, and transition into a new role, or even try a new career path.”
3. Major, Lindsey & Africa
Number three on our list is the global recruiting firm of Major, Lindsey & Africa. With a three-pronged approach, this company does the legwork for you finding associates, partners and even in-house counsel candidates. In addition, their experts locate and vet great candidates to fill spots in law firm management, interim staffers and provide transform advisory services. They have a strong and proven 40-year track record of recruiting the top talent for firms and companies.
