Director of Recruiting

Cleveland, OH $125,000-$130,000

About the role

The Director of Recruiting will develop with Firm leadership and execute the strategic vision and day-to-day management of attorney and professional staff recruitment across all offices of a multi-office, multi-practice law firm. This leader will ensure the firm attracts and hires top legal and business talent to support its continued growth, provide client service excellence, and practice diversification. The Director will collaborate with senior leadership, practice area chairs, office partners in charge, and HR to align recruiting strategies and practices with the firm’s overall goals and culture.

Responsibilities

• Develop with leadership and implement a firmwide recruiting strategy for identifying and hiring lateral attorneys, entry-level associates, summer associates, and paralegals.
• Partner with firm leadership to assess short- and long-term talent needs across all practice areas and offices.
• Build employer brand visibility through targeted outreach, law school relationships, and marketing initiatives.
• Develop and implement talent retention strategies.
• Manage the full-cycle recruiting process across all offices, ensuring consistent, high-quality candidate experience.
• Oversee and improve recruiting processes, systems, and tools (e.g., applicant tracking systems, interview scheduling, candidate communications).
• Direct lateral partner and associate hiring initiatives in collaboration with practice group leaders and office partners in charge.
• With the Chair of Summer Associate Program, supervise summer associate program planning and execution, including OCI coordination, evaluations, and offers.
• Develop and implement recruiting marketing plan; maintain and update the Firm’s recruiting marketing materials working with the Executive Director of Development and Marketing.
• Develop recruitment and related budgets and monitor the same throughout the year.
• Supervise the Legal Personnel Coordinator.
• Allocate resources effectively and ensure coordination across offices to avoid redundancy and inefficiencies.
• Track, analyze, and report on recruiting metrics, trends, and market intelligence to inform strategy.
• Ensure compliance with legal and ethical standards, and Firm policies.
• Cultivate and maintain strong relationships with law schools, legal search firms, professional associations, and industry groups.
• Act as a key ambassador of the firm’s culture and values in all candidate interactions.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required; JD or advanced degree in Human Resources or related field preferred.
• Minimum of 8 years of progressive recruiting experience, preferably in a law firm or professional services environment, with at least 3 years in a senior or director-level role.
• Demonstrated experience managing recruiting across multiple geographic locations and practice groups.
• Proven ability to build trust and influence stakeholders at all levels of an organization.
• Deep knowledge of legal industry trends, compensation, and talent acquisition best practices.
• Strong leadership, communication, and organizational skills.
• Member of local and/or national legal professional organizations such as LPAC, CALA, NALP, or SHRM.
• Strategic thinker with hands-on execution capabilities.
• High emotional intelligence and ability to navigate sensitive or confidential issues with discretion.
• Ability to travel to various office locations and law schools as needed.

Pay

$125,000-$130,000