We Work Fewer Searches
Q2 is here. For law firm partners managing a practice, that often means a familiar tension: you need to hire exactly when you have the least time to hire.
This is the moment when a lot of firms turn to search. And it’s worth being deliberate about what kind of search.
The Case Against Volume
There’s a version of legal recruiting that operates on throughput, large candidate pools, fast turnarounds, a high volume of submissions timed to generate activity. That model has its own logic. But it creates a problem for the hiring partner who has to evaluate the candidates coming in.
Reviewing a stack of resumes is billable time that isn’t being billed. Every call to discuss an underqualified candidate, every interview that shouldn’t have been scheduled, that’s real cost, measured in hours, absorbed quietly by the people least able to absorb it. The volume model transfers work onto the client. We find that most partners, once they’ve been through that process, would rather receive three candidates worth meeting than ten candidates worth reviewing.
Fewer Searches, Deeper Work
Because we limit the number of active searches we take on at any given time, each engagement gets the kind of attention that produces a better outcome. That means time spent understanding the practice. Not just the title and the hours, but the client base, the culture, the realistic profile of someone who would succeed and stay.
It also means candidate vetting that goes beyond credentials. A strong resume tells you that someone has had the right opportunities. It doesn’t tell you how they handled pressure, how they think through a problem, or how they come across when a client is in the room. We spend time on those questions before a candidate comes to you. By the time we make an introduction, we’re in a position to speak to the candidate as a person, not just as a file.
Why Q2 Is a Meaningful Window
The second quarter tends to bring a natural uptick in lateral movement. Associates and senior attorneys who spent the first quarter closing out year-end matters and receiving compensation decisions often arrive in Q2 with a clearer sense of where they stand and whether they’re ready to have a conversation.
That doesn’t mean the strongest candidates are actively searching. In our experience, the attorneys most worth knowing, those with portable work, strong client relationships, and the kind of technical foundation that takes years to build, are almost never the ones browsing job boards. They’re billing. They’re practicing. Reaching them requires a different approach: direct, relationship-based outreach developed over time, not a reactive search triggered by a posting.
Firms that are willing to engage thoughtfully before an opening becomes urgent tend to be better positioned when the timing is right.
The Right Fit Is a Long-Term Decision
Lateral hiring carries real stakes. A new attorney touches clients, affects team dynamics, and, if things go well, becomes part of the institutional fabric of the firm. If things go poorly, the cost is measured not just in the time spent on the search, but in the disruption that follows.
We approach each search with that in mind. The goal isn’t to fill a role quickly. The goal is to identify the right person for a practice, at the right moment in their career, in a way that holds up over time. That kind of match doesn’t come from sending more candidates. It comes from knowing the right ones.
A Note for Firms Planning Ahead
If your practice is growing and you anticipate hiring needs in the second half of the year, Q2 is a great time to start a conversation, not because urgency demands it, but because early engagement allows for the kind of thorough, relationship-based search that produces better results. We work with a limited number of clients at any given time, and we’re selective about the searches we take on.
If you’d like to talk through what a search for your practice might look like, we’d welcome the conversation – it’s the work we do best.
