Legal headhunters - the real deal?

May 17, 2007 5:59 PM

Looking for advice and/or anecdotes about a legal recruiting company called Pemberton Co., and about legal/corporate recruiting companies in general.

So, I'm pretty miserable in my job as an attorney at a small speciality firm. And I keep getting calls from legal headhunters asking if I'm interested in applying for various positions at large law firms in my city (mid-size Midwestern city, for reference). Until recently, I was turned off by the idea of using such a company to get a job, but because of recent events at work, I've become interested.

My questions are:

1) Has anyone had experience with Pemberton Co. specifically?

2) Has anyone had experience with legal or corporate headhunters in general?

I already told them that I'm not paying them anything, and they said of course, the law firm pays if I get hired. I don't see the harm in talking to them, but I'd like advice from any others who have experienced this process.

posted by elquien to work & money (4 comments total)

Where are you located and where are you looking to work (geographically)?
posted by lampshade at 6:07 PM on May 17, 2007

Update your resume, ask for confidentiality and go for it. Follow up. I get these calls a lot and I only just went for it for the first time not to long ago. No luck, but will continue trying.
posted by Ironmouth at 6:17 PM on May 17, 2007

1) Nope.

2) I dunno about your "mid-size Midwestern city, for reference," but I can tell you from personal experience that I would not recommend using a recruiter to go to a large firm in Minneapolis. I spoke to a few headhunters when I was thinking about moving to the Twin Cities, and they all pushed small-beans firms. Your best bet with bigger firms (IMHO) is networking and using personal (or law school or bar association) connections.

The problem with recruiters is a lot of firms do not want to pay them! And a recruiter can "poison the well" with firms you might have done well with, on your own. I recommend talking to people in your market; asking them, specifically, about how larger firms deal with recruiters.

Good luck!
posted by subgenius at 7:57 PM on May 17, 2007

Subgenius - is this true even if the recruiters have a specific position they're looking for? The ones I've spoken with are seeking attorneys for a specific opening, which leads me to believe the firms will be willing to pay them. Is this their BS way of getting you interested, and then they jerk you around after that?
posted by elquien at 7:33 AM on May 18, 2007