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Through word of mouth, I've heard of a couple of law firms that are looking to hire lateral attorneys, but have not advertised an opening on their website. Instead, they are working with third-party legal recruiters to provide them with candidates. In such a circumstance, would a law firm consider applications sent directly to the firm or are they only considering applicants from the recruiters (i.e. they have an agreement with the recruiter that they will only consider their applicants for the job).

I know that hiring partners and HR people sometimes post in this forum, so hopefully someone can answer this question. Law firms will pay recruiters thousands of dollars for their candidates, so I am wondering how much an advantage an applicant would have if they directly applied to the firm since the firm would be saving money. On the other hand, I am concerned that the firm will only look at applicants from the recruiter and will not consider unsolicited resumes.

If you can say in a cover letter where you heard they were hiring—i.e., that someone referred you—then you should definitely do that. But otherwise I'm not sure if you shouldn't just apply through the recruiter: if they haven't advertised the opening on their own site it sometimes means they don't want people to know they are hiring, or that they only want to look at pre-screened candidates.

If you know of a place that is hiring or might be hiring, always apply directly. The only exception is when the employer is advertising the job and directs you to apply through the recruiter (or says that the recruiter has an exclusive).

If you know what practice group is hiring, send your materials to the practice group head as well as any other contacts. You need to make your best case in your subject line and the first sentence of your email. (Former Supreme Court clerk interested in appellate lateral position/(same law school as partner) alumni application for position (their practice group)).

The worst that will happen is that your resume gets kicked to the recruiter. As long as your cover letter doesn't say "I heard you were working with XYZ, but thought I'd save you a few bucks," it won't make a difference. If you don't hear anything at all, you can resend your materials to the recruiter.

TooOld4This wrote:If you know of a place that is hiring or might be hiring, always apply directly. The only exception is when the employer is advertising the job and directs you to apply through the recruiter (or says that the recruiter has an exclusive).

If you know what practice group is hiring, send your materials to the practice group head as well as any other contacts. You need to make your best case in your subject line and the first sentence of your email. (Former Supreme Court clerk interested in appellate lateral position/(same law school as partner) alumni application for position (their practice group)).

The worst that will happen is that your resume gets kicked to the recruiter. As long as your cover letter doesn't say "I heard you were working with XYZ, but thought I'd save you a few bucks," it won't make a difference. If you don't hear anything at all, you can resend your materials to the recruiter.

Makes sense, thanks.