Our Dallas office is looking to add a Senior Legal Recruiting Manager to provide strategic direction and oversight of the Non-Lateral (Campus) recruiting efforts of the Dallas office. This individual will join a dynamic local team which partners closely with our other Texas offices, Houston and Austin, as well as the broader Firmwide Legal Recruiting and Development (LRD) department.
The ideal candidate will be an adept and proactive team player with strong organizational and problem-solving skills. We are looking for someone with the ability to establish credibility and confidence among key stakeholders by exercising impeccable judgment and discretion. The ideal candidate will also develop and/or lead change environment efforts across all phases of projects and initiatives to drive the Firm’s culture of continuous improvement.
Specific Job Duties (This list is not exhaustive and may be supplemented and changed as necessary.)
Collaborate with Director of Legal Recruiting & Development for Texas, broader TX LRD team, FW Recruiting team, Dallas office administrative management, TX hiring partners and the TX Hiring Committee to develop, implement and manage recruiting strategies and programs in order to achieve non-lateral attorney hiring goals, including but not limited to candidate sourcing and pipeline management with respect to meeting expected practice group hiring targets.
Manage and oversee scheduling, planning and coordination for virtual, in-office and on-campus interviews. Partner with the Travel, Meetings & Events (TME) team regarding event execution for in-office receptions, super interview days, offer dinners, “sell” events, campus sponsorships, and other recruiting initiatives.
Manage the Non-Lateral (Campus) hiring process and initiatives, including annual campus outreach, campus engagement, sourcing candidates, including managing offer letter correspondence, reviewing offers for consistency and uniformity, and conducting due diligence.
Lead assigned FW law school teams, partnering with the FW recruiting team, TX office LRD leads and the Director of Legal Recruiting & Development for Texas to brainstorm creative ways to engage assigned schools and further engage our talent pipeline.
Build strategic relationships with career services professionals, law student groups and professional networks to increase Kirkland’s visibility and advance the Firm’s recruiting strategies.
Manage Dallas office Non-Lateral recruiting budget, ensuring timely approval of Chrome River expenses and invoices while monitoring GL accuracy.
Train and develop direct reports, ensuring seasonal contractors and non-lateral recruiting team members receive and utilize relevant toolkits, how-to guides, and resources needed for role success while providing leadership and guidance in a supportive environment.
Ensure local Dallas team maintains the Kirkland applicant tracking database (viRecruit) including candidate entry and status updates as needed; partnering with our FW recruiting team as necessary.
Manage Summer Associate Program including communication with summer associates, orientation programming, planning and coordination of inclusive programming/events (in partnership with TME), creation of mentoring pairings, monitoring budget; partnering with the Attorney Engagement team on assignment distribution and the execution of mid- and end-of-summer reviews.
Develop, prepare and analyze relevant reports, projections, and statistical data as needed – leveraging Tableau to produce and interpret data-driven visualizations used support recruitment and hiring recommendations.
Manage completion of pre-hire SilkRoad tasks in preparation for new associate onboarding.
Collaborate with TX Attorney Engagement team, TX Workflow Manager, and local Dallas Attorney Engagement Coordinator.
Collaborate effectively with Kirkland offices/departments both within and outside of Texas to identify efficiencies and best practices.
Collaborate with FW recruiting team as needed and help with ad hoc departmental projects.
Other duties as may be assigned.
Education, Work Experience, Skills
The ideal candidate will have:
8+ years of experience, preferably in a law firm or other professional services environment, with at least 4 years of people management experience.
Bachelor’s degree, required.
Ability to design short-term and long-term goals, with clear criteria to measure success and return on investment.
Superior verbal and written communication skills.
Demonstrate exemplary judgment, strong leadership and problem-solving skills.
Ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines, while staying organized and multitask in a fast-paced, pressured environment.
Ability to foster a culture of inclusivity and belonging by modeling good Firm citizenship.
Display initiative and a "can do" attitude.
Build stakeholder trust through the ability to synthesize/distill information into actionable recommendations.
Interact with attorneys across varying levels of seniority and personality types with ease.
Proven change management skills.
Proficiency in the use of office software, including Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint. Experience with viRecruit preferred.
At Kirkland & Ellis, we are united in our ambition and drive to move forward. We share core values that help us achieve excellence: collaboration, talent empowerment, service, inclusion, respect and gratitude. Our people are our greatest asset, and we invest in the brightest talent and encourage a diversity of perspectives and strengths to create dynamic teams that operate at the pinnacle of their field. Our talented professionals show up every day knowing they will engage in meaningful work, continuous learning and professional development.
As one of the world’s leading law firms, we serve a broad range of clients with market-leading practices in private equity, M&A and other complex corporate transactions; investment fund formation and management; restructurings; high-stakes litigation and trials; and government, regulatory and internal investigations. We handle the most complicated and sophisticated legal matters because we don’t just meet industry standards, we create them. We bring innovation and entrepreneurialism to every engagement and, as a result, have long-standing client relationships with leading global corporations and financial sponsors. With 6,500 employees (in...cluding 3,000+ lawyers) operating from 18 offices across the United States, Europe and Asia, we are one of the largest law firms in the world and a top financial performer.