Legal Recruiter

Akerman-LL; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid Time Off

Medical Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

Life Insurance

Disability Insurance

401k Profit Sharing Plan

Transportation Program

Job summary

Akerman seeks a Legal Recruiter to drive strategic recruitment of talent in targeted markets. You will identify, engage, and cultivate relationships with prospective candidates, partner with the Chief Talent Officer and leadership, and build pipelines while tracking activity for current and future hiring needs.

The ideal candidate is proactive, organized, and comfortable with direct outreach, collaboration across practice groups, and confidential candidate management in a hybrid environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree preferred or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Minimum 5+ years of recruiting, executive search, or legal recruiting experience preferred.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Comfort with proactive outreach and cold calling.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and projects simultaneously.
• Strong interpersonal skills and relationship building with candidates and stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Partner with firm leadership to understand hiring priorities and recruiting needs.
• Research and identify prospective attorney and legal candidates in designated markets.
• Conduct cold outreach to assess interest in opportunities at Akerman.
• Develop and maintain candidate pipelines and referrals.
• Coordinate meetings between candidates and partners or practice leaders.
• Maintain recruiting databases and status reports for transparency.
• Monitor candidate progress and provide regular updates to leadership.
• Support market research and competitive intelligence on recruiting efforts.

Skills

Communication skills

Organizational skills

Relationship building

Interpersonal skills

Proactive outreach

Professionalism

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Outlook

PowerPoint

AI research tools

Applicant tracking systems

Job description

Founded in 1920, Akerman is recognized as one of the nation’s premier law firms, with more than 700 lawyers across the United States.

Akerman is seeking a Legal Recruiter to support the firm's strategic recruitment initiatives by identifying, engaging, and cultivating relationships with legal talent in targeted markets. This role will partner closely with firm's Chief Talent Officer, firm leadership and internal stakeholders to develop candidate pipelines, conduct outreach efforts, coordinate meetings and interviews, and track recruitment activity for current and future hiring needs. The ideal candidate is proactive, relationship-driven, highly organized, and comfortable conducting direct outreach to prospective candidates.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities :

• Partner with firm leadership to understand strategic hiring priorities and targeted recruiting needs.
• Build and develop target candidate lists based on criteria established by practice group leaders and firm management.
• Research and identify prospective attorney and legal professional candidates in designated markets and practice areas.
• Conduct cold outreach to pre-approved prospective candidates to introduce Akerman and assess interest in opportunities with the firm.
• Engage internal contacts and firm personnel to identify and solicit candidate referrals.
• Develop and maintain relationships with prospective candidates to build long-term talent pipelines.
• Coordinate and schedule meetings between prospective candidates and Akerman attorneys, practice leaders, and other stakeholders.
• Schedule and coordinate internal recruiting strategy meetings to discuss targeted hiring needs, candidate pipelines, and market intelligence.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date recruiting databases, target lists, candidate tracking spreadsheets, and status reports.
• Monitor candidate progress throughout the recruiting process and provide regular updates to firm leadership.
• Assist with gathering and organizing market research and competitive intelligence related to recruiting efforts.
• Ensure a positive candidate experience through timely communication and professional follow-up.
• Support special recruiting initiatives and strategic talent acquisition projects as assigned.
• Assist with additional projects and administrative responsibilities as needed.

Qualifications :

• Bachelor's degree preferred or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• A minimum of 5 + years of previous recruiting, executive search, legal recruiting, sales, business development, or professional services experience preferred.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Confidence and professionalism when conducting proactive outreach and cold calling activities.
• Excellent organizational skills with strong attention to detail.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and projects simultaneously.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to build relationships with candidates and internal stakeholders.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, including Excel, Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint, as well as in utilizing AI and other research tools to build and analyze target lists.
• Experience maintaining recruiting databases, applicant tracking systems, or candidate relationship management tools is preferred.
• Relationship Building
• Networking and Talent Identification
• Strategic Sourcing
• Project Coordination
• Organization and Follow-Through
• Professionalism and Confidentiality

This position plays a key role in helping Akerman proactively identify and attract top legal talent while supporting the firm's long-term growth and recruiting objectives.

Job Type

Full-Time; Monday - Friday (Hybrid)

Salary Range

The firm’s anticipated hiring range for this position is $100,000 - $130,000 annually. Actual compensation will be determined based on a variety of factors, including position, geographic location, education, training, and experience.

Bonus

Discretionary holiday bonus

Benefits

Paid Time Off, Medical Insurance, Dental Insurance, Vision Insurance, Life Insurance, Disability Insurance, 401k Profit Sharing Plan, and Transportation Program

We offer a competitive compensation and benefits package. EOE

Equal Opportunity Employer
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.