Director of Partner Recruiting

Job Description

Job Overview

The Director of Partner Recruitment and Integration leads the development and execution of the firm's full lifecycle lateral partner recruitment and integration strategy. In this role, you will work closely with prospective and lateral partners, internal stakeholders, and firm leadership to identify, recruit, onboard, and integrate top legal talent into the firm, driving alignment with business objectives and fostering long-term success.

The Director serves as a strategic partner to firm leadership, Practice Group Leaders, and office leadership to identify growth opportunities, recruit top legal talent, and support the successful integration of lateral partners and their practices. This role is responsible for ensuring alignment between recruitment and integration strategies, the firm's business objectives, and the long-term success of lateral partner hires.

This role has a hybrid working arrangement. Potential candidates must live within commuting distance of our New York or Philadelphia office to be onsite 3 days per week. In this role, you will report to the Chief Operating Officer.

Essential Functions

• Drive the development and execution of the firm's lateral partner recruitment and integration strategy.
• Partner with firm leadership, Practice Group Leaders, and office leadership to identify strategic growth opportunities and lateral hiring priorities.
• Develop and execute proactive sourcing strategies to identify, attract, and recruit high-performing lateral partners and practice groups aligned with the firm's strategic objectives.
• Build and maintain a robust pipeline of prospective lateral partner candidates across targeted markets, practices, and regions.
• Cultivate and manage relationships with legal recruiters, search firms, and industry contacts to enhance the firm's visibility and access to top talent.
• Manage the full lifecycle lateral partner recruiting process, including candidate identification, evaluation, interviews, due diligence, business plan review, offer development, and acceptance.
• Coordinate candidate presentations, interviews, stakeholder communications, and feedback collection throughout the recruiting process.
• Collaborate with firm leadership and internal stakeholders to evaluate partner opportunities, assess strategic fit, and support informed hiring decisions.
• Monitor legal industry trends, competitive activity, and market opportunities to provide insights and recommendations that support the firm's growth objectives.
• Exhibit and articulate a thorough understanding of BR's practices, brand, clients, markets, culture, and strategy via superior communication with candidates, lateral partners, and key stakeholders.
• Work closely and directly with prospective and lateral partners to shepherd them through the recruitment, onboarding, and integration processes.
• Design custom, comprehensive onboarding and integration plans for each lateral partner prior to arrival. Ensure alignment of integration strategies with individual lateral partner goals and key business objectives identified during the recruitment process.
• Regularly review and maintain integration plans for all laterals during their first 36 months at the firm. Collaborate closely with BD, Practice Management, Practice Group Leaders, and firm Leadership to assess execution of plans. Identify integration opportunities and challenges and address proactively with key stakeholders.
• In collaboration with the Managing Director of Partner Recruitment & Lateral Integration, drive continuous improvement for recruiting, onboarding, and integration processes, leveraging metrics and technology platforms to support best practices, data-driven analysis, and regular reporting to firm leadership.
• Develop, maintain, and report on recruiting and integration metrics, candidate pipeline activity, partner onboarding progress, and long-term integration outcomes.
• Oversee the pre-arrival onboarding process, ensuring the seamless transition of all lateral partners, their teams, and clients to the firm. Liaise effectively with various department leads including Operations, BD, Value & Innovation, Technology, PR, Client Intake, and HR to facilitate transition.
• Evaluate and enhance existing Integration Partner program and ensure Integration Partners are executing on their responsibilities.
• Take lead with the management and development of the Manager of Partner Onboarding and Integration.
• Maintain awareness of industry trends, innovations, and developments in partner recruitment, onboarding, and integration practices.
• Perform other responsibilities as assigned.
• Work additional hours as needed to fulfill job requirements.

Skills/Qualifications

• 10+ years of Am Law experience, with significant direct experience in lateral partner recruitment, strategic talent acquisition, onboarding, and integration.
• Bachelor's degree required.
• Deep knowledge of lateral partner recruitment and partner integration best practices.
• Deep understanding of the lateral partner market, law firm economics, partner business planning, and strategic law firm growth initiatives.
• Demonstrated success developing and executing partner recruitment strategies and managing complex lateral hiring processes.
• Strong relationship management skills with the ability to build credibility and influence among firm leadership, partners, candidates, and search firms.
• Demonstrated ability to employ creative approaches to evaluate and enhance existing processes, framework, and protocol to promote successful partner recruitment and integration.
• Experience leveraging recruiting and integration metrics to support data-driven decision-making, process improvements, and reporting.
• Energized by the opportunity for innovation.
• Solid understanding of law firm economics; experience in collaborating on financial modeling a plus.
• Ability to act with a high degree of integrity and good judgment at all times; a reflection of the firm's brand, culture, and mission.
• Excellent professional interpersonal skills and ability to interact with and influence professionals of all levels.
• Superior verbal and written communication skills.
• Highly responsive with exceptional attention to detail, organizational skills, and the ability to manage competing deadlines.
• Work outside of standard hours as required to manage time-sensitive matters.
• Willing and able to travel to all the firm's offices as necessary to support recruitment efforts, facilitate onboarding and integration, build internal relationships with partners and administrative leaders, and gain an understanding of the unique characteristics and culture of each office.