Legal Recruiter

Zagros Search; Dubai; Remote; AED 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Zagros Search in Dubai seeks a focused Legal Executive Search Headhunter to identify and engage high-calibre US and European legal talent. The role emphasizes discretion, strategic judgment and relationship-building over volume, with the candidate-side focus across partner and high-value associate moves.

Based in Dubai or remote, the position aligns working hours with US markets (11am–8pm UAE) and supports a growing expansion into the Philadelphia legal market, crafting targeted shortlists and

Qualifications

• Background in recruitment, ideally within legal or professional services.
• Strong candidate-facing instincts and commercial awareness.
• Ability to listen, ask the right questions and exercise sound judgement.

Responsibilities

• Develop a detailed understanding of the US legal landscape, mapping firms, teams, and individuals across key practice areas.
• Build and maintain a pipeline of lawyers with credible lateral potential.
• Conduct structured but commercially grounded conversations to assess motivation and timing.
• Manage candidates through interview processes, often across multiple firms and jurisdictions.
• Contribute to live mandates by producing targeted, high-quality shortlists.
• Feed market intelligence back into the broader search strategy.

Job description

Legal Executive Search Headhunter – US & European Legal Market

Overview

At the senior end of the legal recruitment market, success is rarely driven by process alone. It is shaped instead by access to information, to relationships, and to individuals who are not actively looking to move, but could be persuaded to do so under the right circumstances. Zagros Search operates within this space, advising on partner and high-value associate moves across Europe, and increasingly, the United States. As part of this expansion, the firm is building a presence in the Philadelphia legal market. This hire will sit on the candidate side of that effort.

The Role

The position is deliberately focused. Rather than operating as a full-cycle recruiter, the role centres on identifying and engaging high-calibre legal talent associates and, over time, partners and managing those individuals through discreet, often complex hiring processes. The work is less about volume and more about judgment: knowing whom to approach, when to approach them, and how to frame an opportunity in a way that resonates.

Responsibilities

The successful candidate will develop a detailed understanding of the US legal landscape, mapping firms, teams, and individuals across key practice areas.

From there, the role involves:

• Building and maintaining a pipeline of lawyers with credible lateral potential
• Conducting structured but commercially grounded conversations to assess motivation and timing
• Managing candidates through interview processes, often across multiple firms and jurisdictions
• Contributing to live mandates by producing targeted, high-quality shortlists
• Feeding market intelligence back into the broader search strategy

Profile

The role is best suited to someone who is comfortable operating with a degree of autonomy and who understands that credibility with candidates is built over time. A background in recruitment, ideally within legal or professional services, is helpful, but not essential if accompanied by strong candidate-facing instincts and a clear commercial awareness. What matters more is the ability to listen carefully, ask the right questions, and exercise sound judgement.

Working Structure

The position can be based in Dubai or operated remotely, with working hours broadly aligned to US markets (typically 11 am–8 pm UAE time).