Overview of role

Linklaters has an ambitious strategy in the US. Ensuring we attract, engage, promote and retain the best talent underpins our ability to grow our business and deliver excellence to our clients.

This New York based role will be responsible for all aspects of our legal recruitment for the global US practice - from law school recruitment and managing the summer program, through to associate and counsel lateral hiring.

This role will also work closely with the Global Head of the US Practice and COO, Americas to support the hiring and integration of lateral partners into the Americas region. 

Lateral Partner Hiring 

• Support the execution of the US lateral partner hiring strategy in collaboration with the Global Head of the US Practice and COO, Americas, along with the practice group leaders and sponsor partners.
• Manage internal hiring process including identifying and managing relationships with search firms, internal briefings, business case development and interviews through to collation of feedback.
• Develop relationship with candidates and, as one of their main points of contact, guide them through the recruitment and election process.
• Ensure hiring process is managed efficiently and that appropriate data is captured e.g, interview feedback, business plans, LPQs and other due diligence processes to support decision making.

Law School Recruitment

• Maintain relationships with careers services and increase on-campus engagement to position Linklaters as an employer of choice in the US.
• Advise recruitment partners on law school recruitment strategy to secure quality candidates for the US practice.
• Devise strategy for marketing at law schools, improving our employer brand and developing innovative ideas to set us apart from our competitors.
• Manage and oversee all aspects of the on-campus interviewing program.
• Drive forward the selection of candidates with the recruitment partners.

Summer Associate Program

• Manage the summer program for the global US practice including working with partners to identify the resource requirements for offices/practices, working with Global Mobility to manage overseas placements, and working with workflow coordinators to ensure equitable work allocation.
• Design the summer program for the US and London offices including trainings, social events and mentor opportunities.
• Manage the process to ensure that each summer associate receives regular feedback throughout the program and mid-summer and final assessments. Manage the offer process at the end of the program.
• Maintain program of engagement with summer associates throughout the academic year. 

First year associates

• Alongside HR Manager, manage the work allocation and practice placement process for the first-year associates’ general practice pool.
• Work with partners to identify practice resourcing requirements for junior associates and understand the work experience of the first years. 

Lateral Associate Recruitment

• Establish and maintain strong working relationships with recruitment agencies. Ensure that suppliers develop in-depth understanding of the practice areas/offices to enhance quality of candidates and to improve effectiveness of the recruitment process.
• Identify and implement new scouring methods to expend our talent pool, with a focus on expanding our pipeline of diverse candidates.
• Coordinate lateral associate recruitment for the US practice worldwide, including screening resumes, making recommendations to partners, overseeing organization of interviews, collation of feedback and management of offer and onboarding process.
• Work with partners to identify resourcing requirements, taking into account current and anticipated headcount, market conditions and business requirements.

Building external relationships and bringing best practice into the firm

• Embed the firm’s commitment to diversity, equity & inclusion throughout all recruitment processes with a specific focus on ensuring we achieve our Race and Gender targets.
• Develop and implement best practice for recruitment policies and practices, including delivering coaching and training to interviewers to help them develop the skills to be front line ambassadors for the firm.
• Share best practice with HR colleagues in other jurisdictions.
• Maintain external network to promote external brand and keep up to date with market knowledge.
• Cultivate and maintain strong relationships with recruitment agencies, law schools and other external organizations such as NALP. 

Team Management

• Provide direction and guidance to team members (Recruitment Advisor and two Recruitment Assistants) in order to ensure a high quality service is delivered to all stakeholders.
• Identify ways to develop individuals through group and individual development plans, regular feedback and coaching.

Your skills and experience

• Practical experience and knowledge of all key elements of the role including managing the candidate experience, identifying diverse candidate pools and raising employer brand.
• Commitment to delivering our diversity, equity & inclusion goals
• Experience of working with and gaining the confidence of a range of stakeholders, including at senior levels.
• Excellent communication skills, with clear and concise presentation skills (oral and written), with ability to adapt style to suit audience and purpose.
• Professional approach to work and relationships, able to act as an ambassador for the team and the firm
• Demonstrates commercial and practical insight and considers the financial and resource implications of proposed solutions
• Strong team player with a collaborative working style.