Headhunters, Legal Recruiters, etc. Forum

[Anonymous User]

Anyone have experience with BCG?

[wanderer]

Anyone have experience with BCG?

Ya. Don't use BCG.

[wanderer]

Amy Kossoris (!!! AVOID!!!)

Holy shit, CR. That bitch is crazy. All I'm willing to say, because I'm sincerely afraid that she will hunt me down (she made threats to torpedo my career...fuck).

[Anonymous User]

We have a list of people to avoid at all costs... Does anyone have any recruiters they would *recommend*? I assume the best ones are not the same as the ones calling twice a week, but it's hard to know.

[Old Gregg]

I had a good experience with Momentum, but it really depends on who you worked with (I worked with Sean). I have friends who've worked with Momentum and had less than stellar experiences.

[Old Gregg]

Amy Kossoris (!!! AVOID!!!)

Holy shit, CR. That bitch is crazy. All I'm willing to say, because I'm sincerely afraid that she will hunt me down (she made threats to torpedo my career...fuck).

Did you see her Yelp page? http://www.yelp.com/biz/kossoris-search-los-angeles-2

I think the lone 5 star review is from her

[JusticeJackson]

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[legalese_retard]

Any idea on the legal markets where using a recruiter is especially advantageous? In Texas, it seems that more firms like to use recruiters and rarely advertise open positions.

[Anonymous User]

My firm always prefers candidates who reach out directly vs recruiter to avoid paying the giant fee. If you have biglaw credentials, just pick up the phone and dial the recruiting contact.

The reason that firms use recruiters is they filter out the thousands of shitty candidates from TTTs and top schools without biglaw experience who apply in desperation. If you have the qualifications, firms will want to interview you. Just call and tell them your current firm and law school you graduated from. You will immediately go to the top of the line.

[Anonymous User]

We have a list of people to avoid at all costs... Does anyone have any recruiters they would *recommend*? I assume the best ones are not the same as the ones calling twice a week, but it's hard to know.

I've had a good experience so far with two partners at Major Lindsay and Africa, working loosely together on two separate markets.

[Old Gregg]

We have a list of people to avoid at all costs... Does anyone have any recruiters they would *recommend*? I assume the best ones are not the same as the ones calling twice a week, but it's hard to know.

I don’t want to keep beating this dead horse, but in my experience, recruiters add zero value. They can land you the jobs you could otherwise land yourself, and they can make baseless assertions that you’d be a great fit at firms that will probably not hire you. I’ve heard they can help you transition between markets, and the ones I’ve worked with tout their knowledge of un-posted openings, so I guess there’s that. I haven’t been impressed.

Some have exclusivity over some pretty coveted openings. Pretty sure that WLRK, for example, used one agency for all their laterals.

[Anonymous User]

We have a list of people to avoid at all costs... Does anyone have any recruiters they would *recommend*? I assume the best ones are not the same as the ones calling twice a week, but it's hard to know.

I don’t want to keep beating this dead horse, but in my experience, recruiters add zero value. They can land you the jobs you could otherwise land yourself, and they can make baseless assertions that you’d be a great fit at firms that will probably not hire you. I’ve heard they can help you transition between markets, and the ones I’ve worked with tout their knowledge of un-posted openings, so I guess there’s that. I haven’t been impressed.

Some have exclusivity over some pretty coveted openings. Pretty sure that WLRK, for example, used one agency for all their laterals.

Which agency is that?

[JusticeJackson]

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[Old Gregg]

Exclusivity means that you can't directly apply (not that you would know to since no position would be publicized), and that only that agency can present candidates (i.e., not every search firm under the sun can present people).

The Wachtell situation is unique because this particular agency had been known to funnel them good candidates and Wachtell trusts them to continue to do so. During my process, they were one of two headhunters that needed to meet with me before continuing further in the process. I liked that.

I often see exclusivity for highly coveted big law jobs, and in house positions (especially at financial institutions).

[Frayed Knot]

My firm always prefers candidates who reach out directly vs recruiter to avoid paying the giant fee. If you have biglaw credentials, just pick up the phone and dial the recruiting contact.

If you are applying directly, is there any point working with recruiters in other ways? Will they take a flat fee to give advice, review resumes, negotiate offers (or anything I'm forgetting)? Or do they work strictly on a apply-through-us-for-a-commission basis?

[Old Gregg]

My firm always prefers candidates who reach out directly vs recruiter to avoid paying the giant fee. If you have biglaw credentials, just pick up the phone and dial the recruiting contact.

If you are applying directly, is there any point working with recruiters in other ways? Will they take a flat fee to give advice, review resumes, negotiate offers (or anything I'm forgetting)? Or do they work strictly on a apply-through-us-for-a-commission basis?

The latter. But you can use them to send your materials to another firm, and then use the polished materials for the firm you originally intended to apply to. Just be careful: some headhunters don't even know how to do resumes.

[Cogburn87]

Amy Kossoris (!!! AVOID!!!)

Holy shit, CR. That bitch is crazy. All I'm willing to say, because I'm sincerely afraid that she will hunt me down (she made threats to torpedo my career...fuck).

Did you see her Yelp page? http://www.yelp.com/biz/kossoris-search-los-angeles-2

I think the lone 5 star review is from her

Loling @ her copy pasta reply to all the negative reviews. Robotic and slightly creepy.

[ResIpsa21]

You shouldn't be looking to switch firms as a law clerk unless there are extremely compelling reasons.

Why do you say this? And what would you consider an extremely compelling reason? How about, for example, upgrading from a firm with a middling litigation practice and questionable workflow to a top firm with a well-respected, consistently busy lit practice?

[enibs]

You shouldn't be looking to switch firms as a law clerk unless there are extremely compelling reasons.

Why do you say this? And what would you consider an extremely compelling reason? How about, for example, upgrading from a firm with a middling litigation practice and questionable workflow to a top firm with a well-respected, consistently busy lit practice?

There is no problem whatsoever in looking to switch firms as a law clerk, but there's no reason to use a headhunter to do so. As a law clerk, you can write to firms directly.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone have experience with BCG?

Ya. Don't use BCG.

Anyone want to elaborate on this? What's so bad about them?

[Anonymous User]

Headhunters can help you negotiate terms and can have a good grasp of compensation terms. One offer I received bumped me up a class year, for example, and headhunter gave me a good list of cons for why I shouldn't necessarily take the bump. Other times, the offer letter would not, for example, let me participate in a bonus for the year. Headhunter could negotiate that. Sometimes it's just good to have an intermediary between you and the firm so you can negotiate these terms and avoid potentially looking bad.

What are the downsides of a class year bump, and would it be foolish for an incoming first-year to look to leverage pre-law school work experience (e.g. patent agent) into a pay bump?

[Anonymous User]

I dealt with 2 different headhunters thus far in my search, and I can readily see the pros/cons. The one I stuck with spent 10 years working in the precise practice area in which I am interested (lets call it group X). So he has tons of insight into the different group X practices at the various firms, has many connections with them, and can talk to me about the practice of law in that particular area.

But aside from that, he has applied a more targeted approach that seemed less scattershot, and more personalized. Also, he has been more closely in contact with me, got coffee with me to learn more about my background, experience, goals, etc. The other recruiter I worked with simply took my resume and immediately wanted to start slinging it around. And thats not how things should work.

[Anonymous User]

Headhunters can help you negotiate terms and can have a good grasp of compensation terms. One offer I received bumped me up a class year, for example, and headhunter gave me a good list of cons for why I shouldn't necessarily take the bump. Other times, the offer letter would not, for example, let me participate in a bonus for the year. Headhunter could negotiate that. Sometimes it's just good to have an intermediary between you and the firm so you can negotiate these terms and avoid potentially looking bad.

What are the downsides of a class year bump, and would it be foolish for an incoming first-year to look to leverage pre-law school work experience (e.g. patent agent) into a pay bump?

Generally, that you have fewer years to prove yourself and network at your new firm before you're up for partnership, and you may be thrown into situations you're not prepared for that don't make you look great as a result. If you're planning to bail again in a couple of years rather than try for partner at your new firm, it's probably less of a disadvantage.

[Anonymous User]

Some common problems bad headhunters have:
1) Once they receive your resume and supporting materials, they start sending them to every firm under the sun.

This is what absolutely terrifies me. I'm at the kind of firm where if I get outed as looking to leave, I think I probably get told to pack my bags and go.

I'm a junior litigator in a small market (think Nashville or Cincy) looking to go to Chicago (strong ties). So far, all I've done is reply to recruiters who've reached out to me about Market X and told them "no thanks, but if you've got anything in Chi I might be interested." Anyone have any suggestions? I'd like to make this happen soon, but I realize it might take a while.

[84651846190]

Some common problems bad headhunters have:
1) Once they receive your resume and supporting materials, they start sending them to every firm under the sun.

This is what absolutely terrifies me. I'm at the kind of firm where if I get outed as looking to leave, I think I probably get told to pack my bags and go.

I have a hard time believing this happens very frequently. Recruiters who do this would inevitably have their reputations ruined, both among firms and lateral candidates, no? I would be furious if this happened to me and would spend a good part of my time publicizing what a shitty recruiter he/she is if it happened to me.