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Why use a legal search consultant? The best search consultants are the ones with long standing relationships with their corporate and law firm clients. Since the best recruiters can keep you informed of unique developments and opportunities in the legal marketplace, developing a relationship with a legal search firm is a great way to stay informed of career opportunities of which you may not otherwise be aware. As Smythe Masterson & Judd has developed relationships over decades with its corporate and law firm clientele, we add value not only by keeping you informed of legal opportunities worldwide, but also by adding insight during the interview process itself.

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Who pays the recruiter? A recruiter is paid by the company or firm it represents. A recruiter may be engaged by a company or firm on retainer and/or contingency, and may exclusively or non-exclusively represent the company or firm. Beware of any alleged recruiter who seeks to charge you for their services or for such things as resume costs. There are legitimate career counselors who are paid their fee by the individual whom they are counseling, but they are not recruiters.

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Should I send my resume to multiple recruitment firms? This is generally not recommended. Using a large number of recruitment firms typically increases the chance that your resume will be submitted either to the wrong place or, as is unfortunately more often the case, by more than one individual. This is rarely done deliberately, but using numerous agents increases the chance of confusion which can result in mistakes by both parties involved. Furthermore, you are better off establishing a close working relationship with one consultant whom you trust and whom you feel can make a meaningful difference in your applications. You should only use a well-established firm with a track record and reputation for excellence. An in-house search differs slightly in that not every company uses the same recruitment company for their searches, which are often conducted on an exclusive basis. However, the same methodology should apply in this situation, and you should only use a company that is legitimately representing their client and has a quality track record in this area.

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What is the best way to find a recruiter? The first thing you should do when looking for a recruiter is try to get recommendations from friends and colleagues who have used recruiters in the past whom they have respected. Additionally, when you receive calls from recruiters with whom you have never spoken, take a moment or two to speak with the person. Ask yourself:
  • What is your first impression of this person?
  • Do you get the sense that this individual knows what he or she is talking about?
Once you have narrowed your list of prospective recruiters to two or three, you should schedule meetings with each and interview them as they are interviewing you. Some questions you should ask are:
  • How long has your company been around?
  • What type of clients do you/ your company have?
  • How many lawyers have you/ your company placed at the specific firm or company you are recommending to me?
  • How much time do you focus on my specific practice area?
After your meetings, you should pick the recruiter who most impressed you and who you feel confident can effectively manage your career. If you are using a skilled recruiter at a reputable firm, there is no need to use multiple recruiters for your job search.


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Would it be better to use my own connections within a firm to secure a position or engage a recruiter to represent me? This depends on the particular circumstances involved. As a general matter, it is better to use a recruiter to secure a position rather than a personal contact you may have within the firm. A neutral third-party is able to handle any difficult situation that comes up during the interviewing process. If the recruiter has been authorized for the search, then the firm has already budgeted a fee for this position. Additionally, there is no way of knowing whether your friend has any relationship with the people that would make the hiring decision for this particular opportunity. Moreover, your friend is admittedly a biased advocate on your behalf, while a recruiter is paid for his or her ability to use objective and discriminating criteria on behalf of the hiring client. The best and highest use of your friend’s ‘good word’ on your behalf is to tell him or her, as a matter of professional courtesy, that you are interviewing at their firm, but only after you have successfully begun the interviewing process with that firm.

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My employer does not know I am looking to move elsewhere. How can I be sure that he or she will not learn of my search? In order to ensure confidentiality, we encourage prospects to carefully consider the reputation of the recruiter with whom he or she chooses to work. Because most potential employers only look to hire attorneys in good standing, it is essential to maintain confidentiality as a search progresses. Any information that an attorney shares with Smythe is always treated with the strictest confidence, and any attorney can rest assured that we will do everything in our power to maintain such confidentiality throughout the search process.

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Do you specialize in placing certain types of lawyers? Smythe Masterson & Judd has a general practice. This means that we place attorneys of many different substantive backgrounds. However, certain consultants within Smythe do spend proportionally greater amounts of time working with a specific type of lawyer.

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Do you place attorneys in cities other than New York? Smythe Masterson & Judd has been in business since 1978, and in that time has built a vast network of clients throughout the world, including in Europe, Russia, the Middle East, China and the Indian sub-continent. Of course, we also work across the United States in all major metropolitan areas. As such, Smythe is sought out by firms and corporations across the world to identify candidates, and we have always done this successfully from New York.

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How long does the placement process take? The length of the process can vary from a few weeks to several months, depending on the exact nature of the search and the relative seniority of the attorney searching.

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Can I work with more than one consultant at Smythe? Smythe functions as a team and shares all information pertaining to openings. This means that each consultant has access to any search the firm is conducting. For this reason, it is not necessary to work with more than one consultant at Smythe. Once an attorney begins working with one Smythe consultant, our other consultants will respect that working relationship and generally not interact with such attorney. Behind the scenes though, Smythe consultants work hand-in-hand and collectively rely on each other to provide the best representation and counseling possible for attorneys engaged in the search process.

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Does Smythe place contract or part time lawyers? Smythe does not have a contract or part-time division.

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If I have already submitted to an institution through another legal recruiting agency, how long must I wait before my resume can be resubmitted to that institution? There is no precise answer to this question, though general convention dictates that six (6) months must pass between the dates of the first and second submissions to the same institution.

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When I qualify, in which area of the law should I specialize? This is entirely up to you. Focus on what you enjoy and are good at and make this your core concentration. You will be spending a significant portion of your life at work and it is important that you enjoy what you do. However, you should also give serious consideration as to what your career goals are further down the road. For those who have an interest in moving in-house or working overseas, transactional law offers more opportunities than litigation. Moreover, you should look at the market and recognize the areas that are busy. Areas such as corporate and litigation tend to fluctuate over time. Other areas such as intellectual property and labor/employment law are more resistant to market conditions and consequently offer more stability. Finally, you should also give serious thought as to the amount of time you wish to commit to your profession; M&A;, securities, and high-level litigation are intellectually stimulating and well-compensated areas of law to work within, but they are also demanding and likely to impact your personal life.

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At what stage can/should I move in-house? Depending on your professional goals, you can generally move in-house as early as the beginning of your 4th year of practice. While it is occasionally possible to move in-house in the first year or two after graduating from law school, it is typically preferable to wait until after you have obtained a rounded training within a law firm. It is important to have a clear idea of what you want from your career. What you hope to achieve by going in house is a prime consideration in deciding when to make that move. In-house counsel are often required to wear numerous hats and handle radically different areas of law. A rounded experience within a law firm provides one with both the ability and the maturity to handle such a role. Furthermore, in-house counsel are often required to work with a significant degree of autonomy and interface with non-legal personnel, which again requires a certain level of experience and comfort in counseling clients directly, especially when oneÂ’s advice may limit or run counter to a clientÂ’s intended course of conduct. Also, in-house positions are not the panacea for the things one may not like in their law firm, whether it be long hours, routine work, distance from the business strategy of a client, or other dislikes. Each in-house position is unique and should be evaluated on its own merits.

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Are there ever opportunities to transition to a field outside of law? A J.D. is one of the most highly respected post-graduate qualifications, and, as such, brings with it the opportunity to pursue several career paths. The majority of individuals who earn law degrees choose traditional career paths as lawyers, either as partners in law firms, in-house counsel with corporations, or as government lawyers or prosecutors. However, other opportunities periodically present themselves either on a quasi-legal or non-legal level. Periodically, companies will ask us to help them identify attorneys who would like to move into a different kind of position, most typically investment banking or management consulting. For example, recently, we have been seeing more attorneys cross over to high level compliance positions. Candidates for such non-legal positions almost always require a J.D. from a top law school and experience acquired at a major law firm. It is, however, worth pointing out that such opportunities only appear in a boom economy and it is extremely difficult to make a move in a depressed market. In our experience, the majority of lawyers enjoy the practice of law and are generally presented with more significant career advancement opportunities if they focus on developing their core legal skills.

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Copyright © 2004 Smythe Masterson & Judd All Rights Reserved
Why use a legal search consultant?

Who pays the recruiter?

Should I send my resume to multiple recruitment firms?

What is the best way to find a recruiter?

Would it be better to use my own connections within a firm to secure a position or engage a recruiter to represent me?

My employer does not know I am looking to move elsewhere. How can I be sure that he or she will not learn of my search?

Do you specialize in placing certain types of lawyers?

Do you place attorneys in cities other than New York?

How long does the placement process take?

Can I work with more than one consultant at Smythe?

Does Smythe place contract or part time lawyers?

If I have already submitted to an institution through another legal recruiting agency, how long must I wait before my resume can be resubmitted to that institution?

When I qualify, in which area of the law should I specialize?

At what stage can/should I move in-house?

Are there ever opportunities to transition to a field outside of law?


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