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P. 88
Legal Recruiting
and Staffing
Jon Lindsey1
New York Founding Partner,
Major, Lindsey & Africa
During the three and a half decades since the 1982 founding of our firm — Major, Lindsey
& Africa (MLA) — the legal recruiting and staffing industry has undergone enormous changes;
indeed, in many respects, it has changed more than the legal industry it serves.
The Role of Legal Recruiting and Staffing Firms
Legal recruiting and staffing firms make professional placements for a variety of positions
and professional roles at client companies and law firms, either for permanent placement or for
more limited durations of time. They include:
In-House Legal Departments: in-
house counsel positions, e.g., general
counsel (GC), corporate counsel, or
legal secretary.
Law Firms: partner and associate
candidates who typically work
exclusively with a single recruiter to
identify firms that would be the best
cultural, financial, and practice fit.
Business Management: retained
searches for firms’ business management professionals, e.g., chief operating officer
(COO), chief marketing officer (CMO), chief strategy officer (CSO), chief financial
officer (CFO), and corporate legal department operations professionals.
Permanent: full-time employees, whether at law firms or in-house at companies.
Specialized/Temporary: legal professionals for specific projects or on an interim and
temporary-to-permanent hire basis (both at companies and law firms).
Most of the scores of legal recruiting firms in the U.S. have a small handful of recruiters in
a single city; several have offices in more than one city. Our firm is unique in having more than
200 recruiting professionals in more than 25 locations worldwide, including London, Hong Kong,
Tokyo, Singapore, Amsterdam, Sydney, Delhi, and cities across the U.S. This provides the distinct
1 Jon Lindsey is the New York founding partner of Major, Lindsey & Africa. Over the past two decades, Jon has placed scores of partners and
practice groups at many of the world’s top law firms and assisted firms in merger and branch office acquisitions. As the former global co-chair of
the MLA’s Partner Practice Group, Jon helped to set strategy and coordinate the partner practice for the firm’s 25 domestic and international offices.
He is the co-author of “Managing People in Today’s Law Firm” (Quorum Books, 1995) and the 2014 MLA “Lateral Partner Satisfaction Survey.”
He gratefully acknowledges the contributions of his colleagues Robert Major Jr., Michelle Fivel, Ru Bhatt, Amanda Brady, and Greg Richter in the
development of this chapter.
73
and Staffing
Jon Lindsey1
New York Founding Partner,
Major, Lindsey & Africa
During the three and a half decades since the 1982 founding of our firm — Major, Lindsey
& Africa (MLA) — the legal recruiting and staffing industry has undergone enormous changes;
indeed, in many respects, it has changed more than the legal industry it serves.
The Role of Legal Recruiting and Staffing Firms
Legal recruiting and staffing firms make professional placements for a variety of positions
and professional roles at client companies and law firms, either for permanent placement or for
more limited durations of time. They include:
In-House Legal Departments: in-
house counsel positions, e.g., general
counsel (GC), corporate counsel, or
legal secretary.
Law Firms: partner and associate
candidates who typically work
exclusively with a single recruiter to
identify firms that would be the best
cultural, financial, and practice fit.
Business Management: retained
searches for firms’ business management professionals, e.g., chief operating officer
(COO), chief marketing officer (CMO), chief strategy officer (CSO), chief financial
officer (CFO), and corporate legal department operations professionals.
Permanent: full-time employees, whether at law firms or in-house at companies.
Specialized/Temporary: legal professionals for specific projects or on an interim and
temporary-to-permanent hire basis (both at companies and law firms).
Most of the scores of legal recruiting firms in the U.S. have a small handful of recruiters in
a single city; several have offices in more than one city. Our firm is unique in having more than
200 recruiting professionals in more than 25 locations worldwide, including London, Hong Kong,
Tokyo, Singapore, Amsterdam, Sydney, Delhi, and cities across the U.S. This provides the distinct
1 Jon Lindsey is the New York founding partner of Major, Lindsey & Africa. Over the past two decades, Jon has placed scores of partners and
practice groups at many of the world’s top law firms and assisted firms in merger and branch office acquisitions. As the former global co-chair of
the MLA’s Partner Practice Group, Jon helped to set strategy and coordinate the partner practice for the firm’s 25 domestic and international offices.
He is the co-author of “Managing People in Today’s Law Firm” (Quorum Books, 1995) and the 2014 MLA “Lateral Partner Satisfaction Survey.”
He gratefully acknowledges the contributions of his colleagues Robert Major Jr., Michelle Fivel, Ru Bhatt, Amanda Brady, and Greg Richter in the
development of this chapter.
73
