Principal Legal Recruiter

Job Description

At K&L Gates, we are looking for smart, imaginative and hard-working people with diverse backgrounds, experiences and ideas to join us. Perhaps our search for talented visionaries and your search for important and impactful work lead to the same place.

We are seeking a Principal, Legal Recruiter Finance to join the firm. This position will be responsible for managing all aspects of lateral associate recruitment and collaborating with the law student recruitment team for the Finance practice area across all U.S. offices. They help set strategic direction for legal talent acquisition and delivering top talent. Primary responsibilities include proactive management of lateral associate recruiting efforts, coordination of lawyer on-boarding and orientation, and providing subject matter expertise for hiring strategy within the Finance practice area. Additional responsibilities include building strong relationships with targeted legal search firms and positioning and effectively articulating the Firm’s brand and value proposition to lateral candidates.

KEY RELATIONSHIPS
Practice Area Leaders, Practice Group Coordinators, Office Managing Partner, Practice Operations Directors

ESSENTIAL DUTIES
• Collaborating with Practice Area Leaders (PAL), Practice Group Coordinators (PGC), Office Managing Partners (OMP), Finance Practice Operations Director and others to develop and implement strategic legal recruiting plans to attract top tier legal talent.
• Building and maintaining solid relationships with internal stakeholders to understand and strategically identify legal talent needs within the Finance practice area.
• Managing advertising of open positions, including drafting and distribution of job description on Firm’s website and other applicable external job boards, and providing regular updates partnering closely with targets search firms
• Reviewing resumes received from candidates and search firms and, in collaboration with PALs and PGCs, select candidates to move forward in the interview process; managing related follow-up tracking and correspondence with candidates or search firms, providing a differentiated experience to candidates and leaders alike
• Overseeing applicant data tracking process and leveraging hiring analytics to create Finance recruitment best practices
• Leveraging internal and external networks to identify and engage top-tier candidates
Contributing on the recruiting strategy, including pipeline-building initiatives and identification of appropriate target school/interview programs
• Analyzing industry trends, market opportunities and following leads
• Regularly attending industry events as networking opportunities to expand professional connections and promote the Firm as a leader in the Finance practice area
• Managing the lateral associate offer process, orientation, on-boarding and integration of all lateral associate new hires for Finance practice area
• Collaborating with Professional Development department and practice leaders to identify practice-specific training opportunities for Finance associates
• Collaborating with the Student Recruiting Team, PALs, PGCs, local office leadership, identifying desired Finance summer associate class size and determine recruiting strategy, including pipeline-building initiatives, identification of appropriate target school/interview programs, and summer program work assignments.

ADDITIONAL DUTIES
• Collaborating with members of Legal Recruiting team on firmwide initiatives and projects as needed
• Developing relationships with lawyers within the Finance practice area

EXPERIENCE SKILLS REQUIRED
• Possess a Bachelor's in Human Resources, Business Administration, or related field. A JD or legal background is advantageous
• A minimum of 7 years of recruiting experience (required) preferably in a law firm or law school environment and a minimum of 3 years recruiting lawyers in the Finance space preferred
• Must possess in-depth knowledge of legal talent acquisition strategies and best practices
• Possess excellent communication, negotiation, and influencing skills
• Requires good judgment, a professional and friendly demeanor, confidentiality, and strong professional and ethical standards.
• Must be highly motivated, creative, an outside-the-box thinker, flexible, and results-oriented, and possess the ability to work independently under pressure with demanding deadlines.
• A strong growth mindset; demonstrated commitment to learning and improving skills, comfort with feedback and using it consecutively, ability to adjust strategies when faced with new challenges and be solutions-oriented.
• Must work well with all levels of firm personnel and must be able to establish effective working relationships throughout the firm.
• Must possess strong organizational, administrative and word processing skills.
• Must have proven working knowledge of MS Office, Excel and Outlook.
• Must be proficient in using applicant tracking systems and other recruitment tools

ADDITIONAL ABILITIES REQUIRED
• Must be able to deal with stress associated with a fast-paced work environment, including handling multiple tasks on a daily basis.
• Must be able to make judgment decisions and handle daily, routine responsibilities.
• Must be able to adapt to changing work situations and grasp and apply new ideas.
• Must be able to communicate with various personalities at all levels of management and staff.
• Must be able to accommodate a flexible work schedule that will frequently require long hours and periodically weekend work.
• Desk type position which requires a combination of sedentary and standing activities.

Compensation Salary $111,000 - $216,000

The compensation salary for this position will be determined during the interview process and will vary based on multiple factors, including but not limited to prior experience, relevant expertise, current business needs, and market factors.

ABOUT THE FIRM

K&L Gates is a fully integrated global law firm with lawyers located across five continents in more than 40 offices. We have experienced dramatic growth in the past decade and now rank among the largest U.S. based law firms in the world. We take pride in constantly striving for innovation, imagination and an entrepreneurial spirit. We come up with big ideas and then roll up our sleeves to get the job done, guiding our clients through their most complex issues in a variety of industry sectors and across multiple regions of the world.

The industry recognition the firm has garnered emanates from the foundation of a global community aligned on behalf of our clients. The people at K&L Gates are committed to working together to create a legacy for each other, the firm, our clients, and the communities in which we serve. We thrive in an inclusive and socially conscious environment that embraces diversity and takes a holistic approach to the career evolution of all our professionals.