Director of Legal Recruiting

Title: Director of Legal Recruiting

Office Status: Hybrid – 4 days onsite per week in Hudson Yards, NYC

Pay Rate: $76.92 - $86.54/hr

Contract Length: 6+ months

Overview

A leading law firm is seeking an experienced legal recruiting leader to provide interim management of its U.S. attorney recruiting function. This role will oversee campus and lateral associate recruiting, manage a summer associate program, support partner-level searches, and serve as a key advisor to hiring partners and firm leadership. The ideal candidate has significant law firm recruiting experience and can step into active hiring cycles with minimal ramp-up.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the day-to-day operations of the legal recruiting team, setting priorities and managing recruiting activity, deadlines, and team coverage.
• Oversee law school relationships, student outreach, interviews, recruiting events, and offer processes.
• Manage the summer associate program, including rotations, assignments, mentoring, evaluations, and offers.
• Direct lateral associate and judicial clerk recruiting across multiple offices and practice groups.
• Review candidate submissions and advise hiring partners on interviews, callbacks, and hiring recommendations.
• Support confidential lateral partner searches, coordinating candidate review, approvals, offers, and integration planning.
• Advise recruiting committees and firm leadership on candidate decisions, hiring requests, and sensitive recruiting matters.
• Review candidate recommendations, committee materials, recruiting communications, and process changes.
• Coordinate headcount and hiring approvals, ensuring required authorizations are obtained before recruiting activity proceeds.
• Manage search firm relationships and placement terms.
• Partner with internal teams on compensation, conflicts, background checks, immigration matters, and onboarding.
• Coach and supervise recruiting professionals while maintaining accurate applicant tracking records, approval documentation, and status reports.
• Serve as an escalation point for sensitive or time-critical recruiting issues.