Legal Recruitment

As law firms attempt to reduce costs, they commonly cut personnel or human resources departments, seeking the help of legal recruitment agencies to assist in placing professionals in entry to executive level careers.  Employers may choose to utilize recruitment, staffing, or temporary services to meet their needs.  Candidates interested in career changes, executive level careers, or entry into the workforce, enlist these services because they allow candidates to complete one application, instead of applying individually for many positions. 

Legal recruiters work with only the highest level permanent placement positions for the legal industry, hiring candidates for careers requiring extensive education and experience.  Positions allow for direct hire and generally includes high pay; therefore, candidates are willing to compete for the careers offered by these firms.  Employees are contracted to employers based on fee agreements, and all candidates undergo an extensive screening and testing process.  These services are often the most expensive, but require the least amount of employer interaction.

For employers interested in permanent position placements, but interested in more interaction with candidates before committing to hire, legal staffing firms may be their best option.  These services provide qualified candidates on the job for a one to three month period in which the candidate and employer are able to evaluate the placement to ensure the candidate will be a success and is a good fit for that position.  If either party is dissatisfied within this period, they may back out with no penalty.  Candidates are generally placed in these positions on an hourly wage or fee agreement, and if hired, the candidate can then be put on the employer’s payroll.  These services are great for candidates entering the workforce and seeking permanent employment. 

The final legal employment agency available is for employers looking to hire for short term positions.  These temporary legal staffing services are utilized for professionals to supplement current workforces.  They may be used for corporations having unusual peaks in business, or experiencing any number of absences.  Professionals are contracted to legal firms by hourly wage, and work until an organization is caught up.  These firms are often helpful for associates with other jobs, or obligations that must be worked around.  These services often allow candidates to experience a variety of careers within the legal industry. 

While legal staffing services are helpful for employers without HR or personnel departments, online job boards, and newspaper ads are great for employers with the desire and resources for hiring professionals on their own.  These services generally require more interaction, but are much less costly.  Both advertising services allow employers to purchase space for displaying current openings.  Online job boards have specialized programs for screening and weeding out candidates that are not qualified for the open positions.  Newspaper ads may cost less than job boards, but candidates are often localized, and unqualified.  It is necessary for all candidates and employers to carefully research each option, before making any sort of investment. 

For more information on legal recruitment possibilities, please visit the following sites:

• WashLaw Web
• Cornell Law School
• JURIST
• LawCatalog.com

Let iHireLegal be your alternative to recruiting services.  Our niche job board focuses only in legal positions and candidates.