Senior Lateral Legal Recruiting Specialist

About Kirkland & Ellis

Kirkland & Ellis LLP is a preeminent, full-service law firm with offices around the world and a staff as diverse as the practice areas we support. Our clients range from Fortune 100 companies to medium and small corporations, financial institutions, and private equity firms.  Known for our commitment to excellence, Kirkland strives to provide superior service to our clients as well as our fellow employees. From Information Technology to Human Resources, Paralegal Services to Business Development, Kirkland offers non-attorney professionals challenging careers in a variety of functional areas. Whether starting or growing your career, Kirkland can offer a performance-driven culture filled with bright and innovative teams of co-workers.

Essential Job Functions

The Texas offices are seeking a Senior Lateral Legal Recruiting Specialist to support to the Legal Recruiting efforts.  As part of the Firmwide Legal Recruiting and Development Department, the Senior Lateral Legal Recruiting Specialist will be responsible for all aspects of lateral attorney recruiting including, but not limited to: lateral hiring; strategic direction and planning; working closely with with senior partners within all practice areas regarding lateral needs; day to day management and professional development of local recruiting team; relationship building with recruits, search firms, and vendors; budget planning; industry research.

This position requires a high level of collaboration with attorneys and staff and the ability to work independently.  This position requires the exercise of independent judgment.

The ideal candidate will be highly organized, possess excellent proofing and communication (verbal and written) skills; the ability to multitask in a fast-paced environment; a very strong attention to detail; and a professional demeanor.  Additionally, the ideal candidate will possess strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build relationships among lawyers and staff to achieve results. 

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS (This list is not exhaustive and may be supplemented and changed as necessary.)

• Proactively communicate and collaborate with senior partners within all practice areas regarding lateral needs
• Provide strategic direction for lateral hiring programs and facilitate executing them
• Act as primary contact for judicial clerks, lateral candidates and headhunters
• Source candidates and review candidate materials
• Schedule interviews and meet candidates
• Collect & distribute interview feedback
• Accurately track all candidates
• Update Kirkland’s website with open position information
• Coordinate judicial clerk outreach and receptions
• Work with our Immigration and Mobility Specialist on pipeline of transfer attorneys to/from Texas offices

• Prepare new-hire paperwork
• Coordinate new-hire orientation and onboarding
• Focus on lateral attorney integration, in conjunction with the Texas Attorney Engagement team members
• Provide reports and statistical data as needed
• Supervise department assistant
• Collaborate in the lateral attorney offer and hiring process, including preparing, updating, and overseeing the correspondence of offer letters, reviewing offers for consistency and uniformity, conducting due diligence, facilitating attorney registration, and identifying liability issues
• Work with attorneys and assist local and firm management in the negotiation of lateral hire compensation, utilizing market trends and conditions that may affect compensation, bonuses, raises, and benefits
• Ensure the regular maintenance of, and contribution to, attorney applicant databases for purposes of lateral applicant tracking, NALP reporting, and reference checking; develop, prepare and analyze relevant reports and projections regarding attorney attrition, market analysis, hours and billing rates
• Collaborate with other Kirkland offices and departments to identify efficiencies and best practices, including efficient in-take of lateral hires/orientation programs
• Work closely with the LRD team to assist with ad hoc projects as needed

Qualifications & Requirements

Education, Work Experience, Skills

The ideal candidate will have a minimum of 5 years of recruiting experience in a law firm or professional service industry. The candidate must also demonstrate strong leadership, problem-solving, and strategic planning skills, and the ability to work across all levels of management with various personality types; build relationships, be proactive, stay organized, and multi‑task in a fast‑paced environment. A Bachelor’s degree is required, along with superior verbal and written communication skills.

The ideal candidate will have:

• Demonstrated knowledge and expertise regarding lateral attorney recruitment activities;
• Strong leadership and teamwork skills;
• Strong problem-solving skills;
• Strong planning and organizational skills;
• Ability to design short-term and long-term goals, with clear criteria to measure success and return on investment;
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines;
• Ability to excel in a matrixed organization;
• High degree of comfort interacting with partners, coupled with a strong image and presence that engenders confidence from firm management and attorneys;
• Strong presentation skills combined with confidence and poise;
• A Bachelor’s degree combined with a minimum of five years of recruiting experience, preferably in a large law firm or other professional services environment;
• Proficiency in the use office software, including Microsoft Office. Experience with ViDesktop preferred.

How to Apply

Thank you for your interest in Kirkland & Ellis LLP.  To complete an application and submit your resume, please click "Apply Now."

Equal Employment Opportunity

All employment decisions, including the recruiting, hiring, placement, training availability, promotion, compensation, evaluation, disciplinary actions, and termination of employment (if necessary) are made without regard to the employee’s race, color, creed, religion, sex, pregnancy or childbirth, personal appearance, family responsibilities, sexual orientation or preference, gender identity, political affiliation, source of income, place of residence, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, age, marital status, military veteran status, unfavorable discharge from military service, physical or mental disability, or on any other basis prohibited by applicable law.

Closing Statement

The www.kirkland.com job postings and recruiting mailbox are for candidates only. If you are a recruiter, search firm or employment agency, and do not have a signed contract with Kirkland & Ellis LLP ("K&E") and have not been asked specifically to submit candidates, you will not be compensated in any way for your referral of a candidate even if K&E hires the candidate. Direct contact with K&E employees in an attempt to present candidates is inappropriate and will be a factor in determining any future professional relationship with the Firm.