Recruiting top legal talent for your firm or legal department is costly, challenging, and often exhausting. Furthermore, if you are looking to hire additional staff, then it’s likely your current staff is overloaded; meaning it will be difficult for them to devote adequate time to a search for talent. On the other hand, a quick hire that turns out to be a wrong hire magnifies the challenge and cost of talent acquisition. From legal departments to small firms to large firms with multiple offices nationwide, acquiring top talent that not only fits your needs and culture but also provides superior service to your clients ultimately determines your company’s success. So how do you discover, engage, and then hire top talent?
Building a strong law firm or legal department is like building a house that will stand for centuries.
It Begins With a Strong, Well-Laid Foundation
Know your market. Pay attention to trends in the legal industry:
- Maintain a keen awareness of legal precedents, trends, potential growth opportunities for attorneys, etc.
- Know what attorneys are seeking regarding compensation, benefits, perks, company Be aware of market realities.
Know Your Needs
Accurate detailing is essential when creating a job description. Define:
- Specific role and responsibilities.
- Expected processes and procedures.
- Firm goals, values, and criteria for success.
- Projected career path.
- Compensation package.
Hire an Experienced, Highly-Qualified Search Consultant
Acknowledging that you need to hire a legal recruiter is simple. The key is hiring the one best-suited to your needs. When looking for a recruiter, seek someone who:
- Has a legal background, appropriate academic credentials, and is a respected authority in their field.
- Is passionate about recruiting – discovering talent, understanding your needs, and melding the two together.
- Stays abreast of market insight and information.
- Exhibits integrity – keeping your information confidential, and standing behind their placements.
- Has built a strong network of both active and passive candidate sources and is continually researching new avenues.
- Respects and serves their clients with loyalty. You can rely on them to only present serious, professional candidates who clearly match the position.
- Will maintain consistent, open communication with your firm or legal department.
The Finishing Touches
A strong foundation and a qualified search consultant create a solid house, but it’s the final touches that make it a home. Be sure your recruiter:
- Connects with both your needs and your culture
- Stands behind your firm – building your brand to prospective candidates
- Is people and service oriented – knowledgeable about the legal market, your market, the candidate market, and how each of them
- Has the skills that bridge any issues and actually bring top talent into your organization. Ultimately, that is why you have engaged him or her.
Connecting with the best recruiter is a valuable advantage in multiple industries. In the legal industry, it’s an absolute essential. Taking a strategic, committed approach to choosing the best recruiter for your firm or legal department will ultimately save you stress, time, and money while ensuring that you engage and retain the talent you need to build long-term stability and success.
OnBoard Legal understand that building a talent team is the key to company success. We believe the best way to serve our legal clients and candidates is through our legal recruiters, who are experienced, knowledgeable, and up-to-date in the legal market. We operate this way because we know our clients and candidates are experts in their chosen fields, and experts deserve to work with professionals who combine true industry expertise with decades of practical experience. Contact us today and discover the OnBoard Legal difference.
