This past year will go down as one of the most challenging
for our industry. We’ve seen
hiring come to a stand still, law students lose opportunities that were once
guaranteed, and everyone wondering what it all means for the future. This labor day, we should all pat
ourselves on the back for continuing to work hard, staying engaged and finding
inventive ways to stay afloat.
Some firms have delved into contact placement, others have shifted to
partner work, while still others have branched out into executive placement or
outplacement work. Recruiters who have been laid off by their employers have
struck out on their own, imbuing the entrepreneurial spirit we so love in
this country. Everyone seems to still be finding their footing as ‘green
shoots’ begin to appear.
Recently, recruiting firms have been engaged in more
searches and have taken them on with gusto. We all expect a ‘hiring bubble’ to appear as firms begin to
pick up business and realize that they have shaved down their ranks a little
too far. Firms will also begin to
question some of their recruiting and hiring methods. Law Schools and firms will begin to restructure the system
that forced firms to hire two years in advance and build a more sensible
system. Law firms have begun
taking on more searches ‘in house’ to save on recruiting fees and that is a
trend that might continue. Legal
recruiters will truly have to begin earning those fees and return to doing all
the footwork they have traditionally been paid to do.
We’ve all seen and have heard of recruiters who simply throw
resumes at a firm and hope that one sticks. Those days are, and should be over. Recruiters who do their due
diligence, vetting and interviewing candidates and only sending up folks who
are truly right for the position in question are the recruiters who will
prosper. I believe the days when
large commissions are gained for very little work are over. We are entering a new cost saving,
penny-pinching era where expenditures will be watched more closely and money
spent much more carefully.
Recruiters offer a valuable service and will always continue
to be an important part of the legal hiring process, but now, they must constantly
prove their worth. Today we celebrate
the great work ethic of the American people. We can rest today, but we will all back at it tomorrow
continuing to do the ‘next right thing’.