How Do Legal Recruiters Work and Should I Use One?

[PLEASE NOE: I did not use AI to write this. These are my thoughts, based on my experience.]

Here’s how the typical legal recruiter works: ‍ ‍

·        Recruiters scour resumes and profiles from sites like LinkedIn, indeed and zip recruiter and do outreach;

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·        Recruiters build a database of candidates from previous job searches, previous communication and referrals;

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·        Recruiters post jobs as needed to get candidates for roles they have been assigned to fill.

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·        Recruiters have screening meetings and calls to get to know the candidate, their experience and an understanding of what they are looking for;

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·        Recruiters present all candidates they believe may be a good fit based on their resume and screening as a “shortlist of candidates”;

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·        Recruiters charge 25-35% of the candidates annual salary based on the job offer.

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Recruiters DO NOT: ‍ ‍

·        Give preliminary skills and knowledge testing unless required by the firm they are executing a search for;

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·        Fully vet candidates;

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·        Give refunds and most don’t give placement guarantees.

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You should work with a recruiter if: ‍ ‍

·        Neither you nor anyone on your team have time to complete the process in house.

‍ ‍ Resume review & screening typically takes 8-25 hours

‍ ‍ Interviewing typically takes 6-12 hours.

‍ ‍ Decision, reference checking & offering/negotiation takes 2-5 hours

‍ ‍ Onboarding can take 4-8 hours

‍ ‍ Total time investment: roughly 20–50+ hours before the person even starts producing

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·        You have the operational budget to afford the additional expense;

‍ ‍·        You want to avoid the spam that comes with job posting

‍ ‍·        You don’t mind interacting with a high volume of candidates

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The Asked + Answered approach to recruiting paralegals: ‍ ‍

·        3 Well vetted candidates at a time – receive a profile highlighting their skills, knowledge, personality and experience; ‍ ‍

·        Volume reduction: we filter the spam, flakes and unqualified candidates to make sure you interview only the best candidates;‍ ‍

·        Onboarding assistance;‍ ‍

·        Low flat-rate pricing;‍ ‍

·        Placement Guarantees;

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If you're a small litigation firm navigating the balance between growing your team and managing overhead, Asked + Answered can help! Whether you need help recruiting the right paralegal for a permanent hire or want outsourced paralegal support while you figure out your next move, we specialize in connecting attorneys with experienced legal talent — on your timeline and your terms. Reach out at:  support@a3socal.com

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