Head of Lateral Partner Recruiting

UNKNOWN; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 225,000 - 325,000; Full time

Job summary

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP is seeking a Director of Lateral Partner Recruiting to lead national discovery, assessment, and acquisition of top partner talent. The candidate will oversee a strategic, full‑lifecycle process and work closely with firm leaders to align hiring with growth plans.

Ideal candidates bring deep legal recruitment experience, Am Law 100 exposure, and a network within the legal community.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required.
• 10+ years of experience in legal recruiting or related leadership roles; Am Law 100 preferred.
• Experience recruiting lateral partners and/or practice groups for law firms.
• Strong understanding of law firm partnership structures, compensation systems, profitability metrics, conflicts issues, and partner mobility trends.
• Executive-level stakeholder collaboration and discretion in handling sensitive information.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a comprehensive lateral partner recruitment strategy aligned with growth priorities.
• Manage full lifecycle recruitment for lateral partners and groups, from market mapping to onboarding.
• Partner with Firm leadership to identify strategic growth opportunities.
• Source and maintain relationships with high-performing candidate pools across markets and practice areas.
• Build robust pipelines of prospective lateral partners and groups.

Skills

Leadership

Executive communication

Strategic thinking

Relationship building

Influencing

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

MS Word

Outlook

Excel

viDesktop

Leopard List

LinkedIn Recruiter

Lawcruit

Job description

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP is seeking a Director of Lateral Partner Recruiting to lead national discovery, assessment, and acquisition of top partner talent. The candidate will oversee a strategic, full‑lifecycle process and work closely with firm leaders to align hiring with growth plans.

Ideal candidates bring deep legal recruitment experience, Am Law 100 exposure, and a network within the legal community.