Start or expand your corporate legal team.
We recruit in-house counsel for companies hiring their first lawyer and for legal departments adding depth. Most of the attorneys we reach aren't applying anywhere, and they're working at firms or in other legal departments right now. You see a short list, usually within days.
- We reach attorneys who aren't applying, most of them working at firms or other legal departments.
- Screened on practice fit, business judgment, and the real reason they're moving.
- A shortlist within days, and most searches close in about five to six weeks.
- Nationwide from Tampa, most active in Florida, Georgia, Texas, California, and New York.
Most in-house candidates come from direct outreach, not applications.
The attorneys worth hiring for an in-house seat are busy, and most of them aren't applying anywhere. They're associates at firms doing the work you need done, or counsel at another company who would move for a better mandate. Reaching them takes direct outreach from a recruiter they already know, and that is most of our work. None of it comes from your inbound applications.
Screening starts with practice fit, because a contracts lawyer and a regulatory lawyer aren't interchangeable no matter how the résumé reads. From there we test business judgment by asking how they've handled a call with real commercial risk on it. We also ask directly why they're leaving, since a weak reason tends to show up again eighteen months later. You meet a short list, with our notes on each person.
Which background fits the seat depends on the mandate.
For a first counsel seat, a firm associate at years four to seven is usually the right profile. They've run matters on their own, and the firm training transfers. For associate general counsel and above, you generally want someone who has already worked inside a legal department, because managing outside counsel and sitting in business meetings are learned skills. A general counsel search is its own exercise, with the board or the CEO involved and a longer runway than a counsel hire.
Scoping the seat well saves weeks. Write down what the lawyer will own, who they report to, and whether you want a specialist or a generalist who covers everything that comes in. If this is your first legal hire, say so plainly in the role, because that calls for a particular kind of person: someone comfortable building a function from nothing rather than inheriting one. We'll help you pin this down before we go to market.
| Role | Who usually fills it |
|---|---|
| First legal hire / sole counsel | Usually a firm associate at years four to seven, or a current in-house lawyer who has built a function before and wants to do it again. |
| Counsel or senior counsel (specialist) | A firm attorney whose practice already matches the work, in commercial contracts, employment, privacy, regulatory, corporate, or litigation management. |
| Associate general counsel | Almost always someone already in-house, running a specialty or a business unit, with a few years of managing outside counsel behind them. |
| Deputy general counsel | A senior in-house lawyer ready to run the department when the GC is out, often an AGC at a larger company making a step up. |
| General counsel | A sitting GC at a smaller company, or a deputy GC at a larger one who's ready for the board-facing part of the job. |
You see candidates in days and hire in weeks.
You'll usually have a shortlist within days of the kickoff call, and most searches close in about five to six weeks. We keep the process tight because good in-house candidates are talking to two or three companies at once, and a slow second round is where offers get lost. If you're replacing someone who's still in the seat, the search stays confidential and nothing goes to market with your name on it until you say so.
It also helps to know what pulls a firm attorney across. Predictable hours come up first, then the chance to own an area instead of billing pieces of it, and equity matters at companies where it's real. The ones who stay tend to say it's being closer to the business. Position the role around that and you'll get better candidates, and we'll tell you where your offer sits against what else those candidates are seeing.
How fast can you fill an in-house counsel role?
You'll usually have a shortlist within days, and most searches close in about five to six weeks. Company interview processes vary more than firm processes do, so the calendar on your side is often what sets the pace. A general counsel search runs longer because more people weigh in. We'll give you a realistic timeline for your role at the kickoff call.
Should our first legal hire come from a law firm or from in-house?
Either works, and it depends on what you need on day one. A firm associate at years four to seven brings strong training and handles the substantive work well, though they'll learn the business side as they go. Someone already in-house has done that part, and costs more. If the seat is mostly contracts and volume, a firm background is usually the better value.
What should we expect to pay in-house counsel?
It depends on the market, the specialty, the seniority, and your company's stage. Total compensation usually mixes base, bonus, and often equity, and how those are weighted varies widely between a growth-stage private company and a large public one. We'll give you a specific read for the role and market before you open the search, so the number you go out with is one candidates take seriously.
How do you vet candidates before we see them?
Every candidate is screened on practice fit against the work you have, on business judgment, and on the real reason they're leaving their current seat. We check that they want in-house work specifically, more than an exit from billable hours. You meet a short list with our notes on it.
How does your fee work?
Contingency. There is no cost until you make a hire, and nothing up front. We'll go over the terms in writing before we start. If we don't find you the right person, you don't pay for the search.
Which markets do you cover?
Nationwide from our Tampa base, most active in Florida, Georgia, Texas, California, and New York. In-house searches travel better than firm searches do, since a department hiring a remote or hybrid lawyer isn't tied to a courthouse. Tell us where the seat sits and how flexible it is, and we'll tell you how deep the pool looks there.
Tell us about the seat you need to fill.
Send us the role, or a rough outline of it, and we'll come back with a read on the market and the candidates it holds. No cost until you hire.