Legal & Professional Services Insights from Anna Jacobs

Tell us a bit about your practice? 

I lead our US Legal & Professional Services practice group; we’re based out of our New York City office and specialize in recruiting interim and permanent legal professionals and leadership roles into law firms and professional services organizations across North America.

What are some emerging roles or skills that employers are increasingly seeking in your practice?

Legal talent is always consistently in demand. Our in-house legal team have had a steady demand for attorney’s specializing in regulatory, compliance and contract review work. On the private practice side, it has been a busy year for litigation, immigration, capital markets and anti-trust vacancies. Intellectual property, data privacy and employment specialists are also in great demand!

What should companies look for when selecting a recruitment agency?

I think it’s important to work with a recruiter who takes the time to really understand the specific needs and goals of each vacancy. When I’ve been the other side of the fence recruiting for my teams and selecting recruitment partners, I’ve always worked with specialists who I feel I can trust: to run a truly thorough search, to properly assess and vet candidates and to take care of all the small but important details and steps throughout the process behind the scenes. It’s so important to work with a great recruiter who you can rely on to work efficiently, swiftly and thoroughly to search for and secure the right talent for you!

What are customer and other insights telling us about activity in your practice area?

TT24: Salary Dissatisfaction – both globally and in the US, the legal sector represented lower current job satisfaction than average with 53% of the workforce reporting feeling neutral or negative with their current role.

TH Insights: In the US, salary dominated career motivators with “clear path for career progression” being third. This industry had salaries depressed during COVID and loyalty seems to have worn out; how does your company index your salaries against your competition?

How can candidates make a lasting impression on recruiters or hiring managers during the recruitment process?

The candidates that really stand out and tend to perform better at interview are those who clearly articulate their skills and experiences, who give a good sense of their working style, professional journey, and future career goals. Clients expect candidates to have the skills/ experience necessary to meet their needs, what they really want is to feel that candidates are serious about the vacancy and are excited by the prospect of working for them/ their team for the long haul. Never underestimate the power of connection - bringing experience to life and giving a sense of work/ leadership style, providing examples that demonstrate flexibility, hands-on approach and commitment to delivering for the firm/ business. Clients often want to hear that candidates are willing to go the extra mile, rolling up their sleeves and delivering daily!

What are the top three lessons you’ve learned over the years that you now apply to every recruitment project?

1. It’s important to provide honest feedback e.g. letting clients know if the compensation they’re offering is out of kilter with the market, or that their approach to recruitment needs rethinking. We are lucky to have a large insights team who produce annual compensation data and feedback from candidates worldwide on what matters most to them when it comes to retention and attracting new talent.
2. To take the time to really listen and understand – whether it’s reading between the lines when taking the job brief (understanding any challenges in the role within the organization and what skills are needed to navigate these) or understanding from the candidate what sort of environment and set-up they thrive in and will result in a successful long-term hire.
3. Sometimes the perfect candidate is the last person you speak to when shortlisting (or even applies after the closing date)! I’m always thorough, casting the net far and wide – continuously looking to find the perfect hire for each search!

Find out more about our legal and professional services practice here, or reach out to me directly to discuss your needs.