Legal Recruiting Manager

Buckingham Search; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 95,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Buckingham Search is seeking a Legal Recruiting Manager in Chicago to lead attorney hiring and support the firm's summer associate program. This high-visibility, individual contributor role requires owning searches from intake to offer and building trusted relationships with senior stakeholders.

The ideal candidate has full-cycle recruiting experience in an agency or law firm, with campus program exposure and strong sourcing skills.

Qualifications

• Full-cycle recruiting experience within an agency and/or law firm.
• Agency recruiting followed by in-house recruiting is ideal.
• Experience recruiting lateral attorneys or specialized professional talent.
• Exposure to summer associate recruiting, campus programs, or early-career hiring.
• Ability to advise and build credibility with partners, practice leaders, and senior stakeholders.
• Strong sourcing and candidate-development skills, including passive talent.
• Excellent organization, judgment, communication, and follow-through.
• Manage multiple searches and priorities without sacrificing candidate experience.
• Experience with LinkedIn Recruiter; Leopard Solutions familiarity is helpful.
• Collaborative approach and comfort as an individual contributor without direct reports.

Responsibilities

• Leading lateral attorney searches from intake through offer.
• Partnering with practice group leaders to understand hiring needs and develop search strategies.
• Identifying and engaging legal talent through direct sourcing, referrals, external relationships, and recruiting platforms.
• Managing candidate screening, interview coordination, feedback, offer development, and closing.
• Building relationships with promising candidates who may not be ready to move.
• Overseeing the summer associate recruiting process and helping deliver a well-organized summer program.
• Coordinating onboarding activities for a seamless transition for new attorneys.
• Maintaining accurate candidate records, recruiting data, and pipeline updates.
• Using LinkedIn Recruiter, Leopard Solutions, and other resources to research and engage prospective candidates.
• Evaluating current recruiting practices and recommending efficiency improvements.
• Representing the firm professionally with candidates, law schools, search firms, and external partners.

Skills

Full-cycle recruiting

Stakeholder management

Talent sourcing

Relationship building

Campus recruitment

Organization

Communication

Tools

LinkedIn Recruiter

Leopard Solutions

Job description

Legal Recruiting Manager

Buckingham Search is representing a Chicago-based law firm seeking a Legal Recruiting Manager to lead attorney hiring and support the firm’s summer associate program.

This is a high-visibility, individual contributor role for a recruiter who enjoys owning searches from beginning to end and building trusted relationships with senior stakeholders. The ideal candidate likely began their career in agency recruiting before transitioning in-house, preferably within a law firm or professional services environment.

The position is based in Chicago and follows a hybrid schedule with three days in the office, including Tuesday as a consistent team day. MUST BE LOCATED IN CHICAGO

The Role

You will serve as a primary recruiting partner to firm leadership, working directly with the hiring partner, practice group chairs, and members of the HR team. Your responsibilities will span lateral attorney recruiting, summer associate hiring, and onboarding.

This person will independently manage the full recruiting lifecycle while creating a thoughtful and professional experience for candidates, interviewers, and new hires.

Key responsibilities will include:

• Leading lateral attorney searches from initial intake through accepted offer
• Partnering with practice group leaders to understand hiring needs and develop effective search strategies
• Identifying and engaging legal talent through direct sourcing, referrals, external relationships, and recruiting platforms
• Managing candidate screening, interview coordination, feedback, offer development, and closing
• Building relationships with promising candidates who may not be ready to make an immediate move
• Overseeing the summer associate recruiting process and helping deliver a well-organized summer program
• Coordinating onboarding activities to ensure new attorneys have a seamless transition into the firm
• Maintaining accurate candidate records, recruiting data, and pipeline updates
• Using LinkedIn Recruiter, Leopard Solutions, and other resources to research and engage prospective candidates
• Evaluating current recruiting practices and recommending ways to improve efficiency, communication, and the candidate experience
• Representing the firm professionally with candidates, law schools, search firms, and other external partners

The Ideal Background

We are looking for a confident, relationship-driven recruiter who understands how to identify talent, influence stakeholders, and keep complex hiring processes moving.

The strongest candidates will bring:

• Full-cycle recruiting experience within an agency, and/or law firm
• A background that includes agency recruiting followed by an in-house recruiting role is ideal
• Experience recruiting lateral attorneys or other specialized professional talent
• Exposure to summer associate recruiting, campus programs, or early-career hiring
• The ability to advise and build credibility with partners, practice leaders, and senior stakeholders
• Strong sourcing and candidate-development skills, including experience engaging passive talent
• Excellent organization, judgment, communication, and follow-through
• The ability to manage multiple searches and competing priorities without sacrificing candidate experience
• Experience with LinkedIn Recruiter; familiarity with Leopard Solutions is helpful
• A collaborative approach and comfort working as an individual contributor without direct reports