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I'm planning to leave my current biglaw firm to move to a biglaw firm in another market. A friend who used to work at my current firm lateraled about nine months ago to a firm in which I'm interested in applying. My friend was kind of a crappy lawyer when he was at my current firm, and I can't imagine he's turned into a butterfly at the new firm, so he may have a reputation for being a crappy lawyer there, too. In this case, is it better to ask my friend to submit my resume on my behalf (and increase the odds that the firm looks seriously at my materials because it won't have to pay a recruiter fee), or should I just go through a recruiter? To the extent that it's relevant, I think someone with my profile would be competitive at this firm. Thanks in advance for the advice.

Anonymous User wrote:I'm planning to leave my current biglaw firm to move to a biglaw firm in another market. A friend who used to work at my current firm lateraled about nine months ago to a firm in which I'm interested in applying. My friend was kind of a crappy lawyer when he was at my current firm, and I can't imagine he's turned into a butterfly at the new firm, so he may have a reputation for being a crappy lawyer there, too. In this case, is it better to ask my friend to submit my resume on my behalf (and increase the odds that the firm looks seriously at my materials because it won't have to pay a recruiter fee), or should I just go through a recruiter? To the extent that it's relevant, I think someone with my profile would be competitive at this firm. Thanks in advance for the advice.

Any reason the answer isn't (c) apply directly?
If you don't think your friend will be an asset to your application, I'd say trust your instinct.
A recruiter might be helpful, but if the firm is looking to hire, maybe just apply directly? If there's a job posting, apply to it. If not, either send your info to HR or, perhaps more effectively, figure out the partner in your practice group who you'd expect/want to work for, and email him/her directly.

To some extent, the answer may depend on the firm and market. My sense is that a V10 in NYC won't bat an eye at a recruiter fee. But a non-vault firm in a small market would probably look at the recruiter referral as a big negative.

I agree with trusting your instincts on your contact to some extent, but I would remind you that you will be working with this person, and you don't want them to feel snubbed regardless of what you think of their legal abilities.