Senior Legal Recruiting Manager

LLP•Palo Alto, CA

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Legal Recruiting Manager provides strategic leadership and oversight of legal recruiting for the Palo Alto and San Francisco offices. The position leads law student recruiting, the Summer Associate Program, lateral attorney recruiting, and related initiatives and events. It develops and implements recruiting strategies, manages departmental operations and budgets, and works to attract and retain top legal talent. The manager serves as a strategic partner to Northern California Hiring Partners, the Summer Associate Committee, office leadership, and the West Coast Legal Recruiting Director, collaborating with recruiting professionals across U.S. offices to align local efforts with firmwide objectives, policies, and best practices. The role directs recruiting strategy and operations, advises hiring stakeholders, oversees candidate selection and communications, and monitors market trends and recruiting outcomes. It also manages the Northern California Legal Recruiting team, supporting its performance, professional development, workload, and operational effectiveness. The manager oversees the law student recruiting process and Summer Associate Program, maintains relationships with law schools and recruiting contacts, and evaluates recruiting and outreach efforts to recommend improvements.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree (B.A. or B.S.) from an accredited college or university.
At least four years of experience in legal recruiting, talent acquisition, or a related field.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
Strong organizational and time-management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
Strong attention to detail and sound judgment.
Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work collaboratively and effectively with others.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to research and think strategically.
Self-starter who demonstrates ownership of and commitment to the job.
Ability to maintain confidentiality and exercise discretion.
Outstanding oral and written communication skills, including excellent writing and editing skills.
Strong presentation skills.
Accurate proofreading and a strong command of English grammar, spelling, and sentence construction.
Ability to comprehend information in general business records, legal documents, scientific and technical journals, and reports.

Nice To Haves

Law firm experience, preferably in Big Law.
At least one year of supervisory experience.
Law school recruiting experience, including on-campus interviewing and summer program coordination.
Familiarity with NALP guidelines and applicant tracking systems.

Responsibilities

Provide strategic direction for legal recruiting in the Palo Alto and San Francisco offices, aligning recruiting activities with firmwide goals and business objectives.
Develop, implement, and evaluate strategies to attract law students, entry-level attorneys, and lateral attorney candidates.
Advise Hiring Partners, office leadership, and the West Coast Legal Recruiting Director on recruiting matters, market trends, hiring strategies, and candidate engagement.
Oversee recruiting budgets, including development, forecasting, expense management, and operational efficiencies.
Direct candidate interviews and selection, and maintain effective processes for candidate tracking, interview coordination, feedback, and communications.
Oversee applicant records, recruiting databases, and reporting systems to ensure accuracy, confidentiality, and compliance.
Monitor legal recruiting trends and competitive hiring practices and provide recommendations to Firm leadership.
Collaborate with recruiting colleagues across U.S. offices on firmwide initiatives, best practices, and process improvements.
Represent the Northern California offices at firmwide recruiting meetings and strategic planning discussions.
Partner with Hiring Partners to develop recruiting objectives and strategies, evaluate candidate pipelines, and address hiring needs.
Lead and facilitate recruiting committee meetings and hiring discussions, and prepare recruiting reports, hiring analyses, and market updates.
Lead law student recruiting, including on-campus recruiting, direct applications, callback interviews, candidate evaluation, and offer management.
Manage law school interviews and interviewer preparation, and build relationships with law school career services offices and other recruiting contacts.
Plan and oversee candidate engagement activities, including receptions, dinners, and other recruiting events.
Lead the Northern California Summer Associate Program, including onboarding, orientation, mentoring, work assignments, evaluations, professional development, and social programming.
Manage Summer Associate Committee meetings, the summer associate evaluation and offer recommendation process, and the program budget.
Develop and oversee summer associate events, training, and professional development opportunities; assess feedback and implement improvements.
Develop relationships with law schools, career services professionals, student organizations, and other recruiting contacts.
Oversee law school outreach, including receptions, sponsorships, networking opportunities, and other initiatives, and evaluate their effectiveness.
Represent the Firm at law school events, recruiting programs, and industry-related activities as appropriate.
Lead and supervise the Northern California Legal Recruiting team, establishing priorities and delegating responsibilities.
Manage recruiting team staffing needs, including recruitment, interviewing, onboarding, and training.
Conduct performance evaluations, provide coaching and feedback, and support team members' professional development.
Partner with Human Resources and Firm leadership on employee relations, performance management, and Firm policies and procedures.
Oversee departmental workload distribution, time and attendance, and staff scheduling.
Promote a collaborative, accountable, professional, and service-oriented work environment; mentor recruiting professionals on complex matters and best practices.
Perform other duties and special projects as assigned.