Putting yourself back on the market is one thing. Doing it with the right recruiter in your corner is another entirely. When you’re evaluating whether to work with a legal recruiter, and which one, reputation and experience should top your list. A top legal recruiter doesn’t just make placements. They make placements that last, and that benefit everyone involved.
What It Actually Takes to Get a Placement Right
“It’s truly about doing what’s right. We place candidates with firms to ensure a good fit. Bringing on a new hire is costly, time-consuming, and impacts everyone’s reputation. We make sure to get it right,” says Shari Davidson, President of On Balance Search Consultants.
That standard only works if everyone involved holds up their end. Clients and candidates both come with preferences, sensitivities, and things that need to be handled with discretion. Honesty with your recruiter isn’t optional. It’s the foundation the entire process rests on.
“Don’t go around your recruiter. Great care is given to ensure that all parties’ interests are prioritized. Don’t start talking to a firm or another recruiter in the middle of a placement. Doing so only derails the prospect of being considered, not to mention puts everyone’s credibility at risk,” says Shari Davidson.
Reputation Is the First Thing to Vet
Attorneys are naturally risk-averse and skeptical, and rightly so. This is your career. Work with a recruiter you actually trust, not just one who reached out first. The top recruiters stay engaged. They stay in constant contact. They make things happen instead of waiting for things to happen.
“My candidates become clients for the long haul. We keep in touch over the years to ensure things are going well and offer insights to help guide their careers,” says Shari Davidson.
Recruiters are guided by the National Association of Legal Search Consultants code of ethics. Before you commit to working with someone, do your own due diligence, and treat it the same way you’d vet any professional relationship that affects your livelihood. Ask how long they’ve placed attorneys in your specific practice area, since a recruiter who knows the finance market cold may have no real footing in litigation or IP. Ask for references from candidates they’ve placed in the last two years, not just their marquee placements from a decade ago.
It’s also worth understanding how a recruiter is compensated. Retained search arrangements, where a firm pays a recruiter upfront to fill a specific role, tend to align incentives differently than contingency arrangements, where the recruiter only gets paid if a placement closes. Neither structure is inherently better, but knowing which one you’re dealing with tells you something about the incentives shaping the advice you’re getting. Reputation in this industry is earned slowly and lost quickly, and it shows.
Red Flags Worth Watching For
Just as important as knowing what a good recruiter does is recognizing what a bad one looks like. Be wary of a recruiter who pushes you toward interviews at firms you’ve shown little genuine interest in, especially if the push feels more about filling a role than finding you a fit. That pressure usually signals the recruiter is working for the firm’s convenience, not yours.
Transparency about your candidacy matters too. A recruiter should tell you, when asked, which firms your resume has gone to and when. If a recruiter is cagey about that basic information, or if your resume ends up somewhere you never agreed to, that’s not a small oversight. It’s a breach of the trust the entire relationship depends on.
Silence is another warning sign. A recruiter who goes quiet after submitting your resume, leaving you to wonder whether you’re still under consideration, isn’t managing the process the way it deserves to be managed. The best recruiters treat communication as part of the job, not an afterthought.
The Value of a Strong Business Intelligence Network
Good recruiters stay ahead of industry trends and maintain real relationships with firms and candidates, not just transactional ones. They’re constantly nurturing existing connections and building new ones. That ongoing work is exactly what surfaces opportunities that never get publicly posted, the kind of moves you won’t find by scrolling job boards.
Coaching, Positioning, and Negotiating on Your Behalf
Before a recruiter presents you to any firm, expect them to ask why you actually want to leave your current position. That question matters. It shapes everything that follows. A good recruiter coaches you through the process, making sure your accomplishments are framed clearly and your resume reads the way it should.
That coaching often goes further than resume polish. Many recruiters will run you through a mock interview before the real one, pressure testing how you talk about gaps in your book of business, a past firm departure, or a stretch of slower billables. If a competing offer materializes mid-process, a good recruiter helps you think through how to handle it honestly, without burning a bridge with either firm. And if your current firm comes back with a counteroffer once you’ve given notice, a good recruiter will walk you through why counteroffers so often turn out to be short term fixes to a longer term problem, rather than simply telling you what you want to hear.
Recruiters will often ask for a representative matters list or a transactional deal sheet. This isn’t busywork. It’s how they quantify your value and assess where your career is actually headed, not just where it’s been.
The top recruiters go a step further. They build a compelling narrative around how your specific skills benefit the firm you’re targeting, and they negotiate a deal that serves both your present needs and your future ones.
Can You Work With More Than One Recruiter?
This is one of the most common questions attorneys ask, and the honest answer is that it depends on how it’s handled. Working with multiple recruiters isn’t inherently a problem. What creates a problem is when the same firm gets your resume submitted twice, once through each recruiter, without either of them knowing. That kind of duplication doesn’t just create confusion. It can disqualify you from consideration entirely, since firms generally credit whichever recruiter submitted first, and the resulting dispute reflects poorly on you regardless of who’s technically at fault.
If you do decide to work with more than one recruiter, be upfront with each of them about it, and keep track of exactly which firms each one is representing you to. The goal isn’t exclusivity for its own sake. It’s making sure nobody ends up working against each other, or against you, without realizing it.
Communication You Can Count On
A good recruiter keeps you informed on where you stand. They return calls. They don’t let you sit in silence wondering whether you’re still being considered. That level of communication is a signal of how seriously they’re looking out for your interests, not just their commission.
Finding the Right Fit Starts with the Right Recruiter
Good recruiters respond to inquiries even when they can’t take you on as a candidate. They serve both sides of the table, clients and candidates alike, through communication that’s transparent and a trust that’s earned over time. Working with the right recruiter, and staying straight with them throughout the process, is often the difference between a move that works and one that doesn’t.
If you’re ready to work with a recruiter who has your long-term interests in mind from the first conversation, On Balance Search Consultants can help.
Who’s Driving Your Career?™
Reach us at Shari@OnBalanceSearch.com or call 516-731-3400.
All conversations are confidential.
About On Balance Search Consultants
On Balance Search Consultants provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to law firms and experienced attorneys. Shari Davidson, President, advises on lateral partner transitions, law firm growth, leadership succession, and attorney career strategy. Working with both firms and attorneys, On Balance helps align long-term objectives with the right platform, leadership structure, and growth strategy.
Contact: OnBalanceSearch.com | 516-731-3400
Disclaimer: This content is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Readers should consult qualified legal counsel regarding their specific circumstances and applicable legal requirements.
