If there is one factor that will have more impact on your organization in the next five years than anything else, it’s the quality of the people, especially those at the top.
With GC and CCO turnover becoming increasingly common and human resources professionals feeling the pressure of managing high-level searches while juggling their other responsibilities, more hiring managers and companies are turning to specialized executive recruiting firms.
If your company is looking for outside assistance to identify and hire in-house legal counsel, General Counsel, or Compliance Officer, the firm you select is just as critical as the person you ultimately hire.
Here are five factors to consider when choosing a legal recruiting firm.
1. Specific Expertise
Many legal recruiting firms divide their time between hiring for law firms and filling in-house legal positions for companies, while simultaneously running various miscellaneous searches on the side.
Look for a recruiting firm with specific expertise. The expertise you are seeking may comprise position, location, or industry. For example, if you are recruiting General Counsel, look for a firm with a strong, current, proven track record of identifying and placing GCs. Specialty recruiting firms should have a wide network of professionals in a given field and the ability to properly assess each candidate in order to find the best possible fit for their client.
2. A National Reach
Selecting a legal recruitment firm that has a national reach ensures you’ll have access to the most qualified candidates across the country. The best firms will utilize their abundant relationships and resources, their vast networks, and their assessment expertise to successfully conduct local and/or national searches to find your perfect match.
Those recruiting firms know that top legal professionals have both the ability and the willingness to relocate for the right opportunity. Likewise, those firms should exhibit the same ability and willingness to seek out those individuals in your geography in order to find the right fit for you.
3. A Team of Professionals Dedicated to Your Search
The team working on your search is critical to the outcome. Look for a firm that’s able to commit a dedicated team of recruiting professionals to your search and make you a top priority.
To determine whether the team you’re considering is the right one, look at their metrics. Consider their average placement rate, retention rate, and client satisfaction rate.
4. A Unique Recruiting Process
You want to hire a legal recruiter who will go above and beyond what you could accomplish on your own.
Consider a firm that uses in-depth research and proprietary tools to dig deeper and uncover high-caliber passive candidates. In addition, seek out a firm with a comprehensive assessment process to identify only the top candidates who will be the perfect fit for your organization.
5. Guaranteed Results
Hiring top in-house counsel affords great opportunity and significant risk. The consequences of hiring the wrong person can be costly, in terms of dollars, time, and your company’s reputation. There’s also a risk that no one will be hired after months of searching and after significant investments of time, effort, and money.
The right recruiting firm should mitigate these risks by guaranteeing their results. Find out ahead of time whether, and to what extent, you will have to pay if no one is identified and hired for your open position.
BarkerGilmore’s team of national legal recruiters have all the resources and national networking power you’d expect from a larger recruiting firm, yet we’re specialized enough to give each engagement our full, undivided attention.
On average, BarkerGilmore places candidates in 96 days, a time frame significantly shorter than the typical placement time in the legal recruiting industry. Additionally, our clients enjoyed a 98 percent placement rate and a 96 percent placement retention rate in the past three years, well above the industry average.
Our firm devotes a team of professionals to every search and uses a customized recruiting process that’s designed to uncover the perfect fit every time. Best of all, we guarantee results so there’s no financial risk to your company.
If you’re looking for an in-house legal recruiting firm that will save you time and money while adding value, we invite you to learn more about our legal recruiting process.
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