Why don’t I just submit myself?
You wouldn’t try to argue a case in court if you weren’t a litigator. Sometimes it’s just best to leave things to the professionals. We do this everyday. We know these firms. We got lunch with the hiring manager last week. We are your asset.
We’ll tailor your resume to the opportunity at hand, prep you for the interview with insider knowledge, advocate for you and negotiate on your behalf.3
Why shouldn’t I just submit through a friend?
“Neither a borrower nor a lender be” - Shakespeare 4
Ok fine, but why work with Whistler Partners instead of another recruiting shop?
We hope you’ve gotten here because you like our style. But that’s not enough reason to entrust us with the future of your career.
The fact is, we place more attorneys into top tech and startup practices than any other recruiting shop.
Because we've focused our efforts, we're just more knowledgeable about the space. We know how to help you change practice areas, how to impress that one hiring partner, and how to trick your dream firm into wanting to hire you (just kidding, we’re sure they’ll want you based on your killer credentials). If you have one shot at making a good impression, don't you want to go in equipped with as much knowledge as possible?
Did we mention that we negotiate salaries and benefits every day?
Negotiation takes practice and we’ve done our reps.
Why use just one legal recruiter? Isn’t more… more?!
We love maximilism! More cake, more vacations, more drinks! But it’s not great when it comes to legal recruiters.
Think of yourself like a star athlete, and of us like your agent. LeBron James wouldn’t have two agents with conflicting interests advising him.5 They would never be able to offer impartial advice.
Similarly, if you have two separate recruiters, they’re incentivized to advocate most for the job where they represent you, even if that’s not the best move for your career.
Because of that, we always prefer that you work with just one recruiter, even if it’s not us. Choose the one you trust most and stick with them.
What if another recruiter calls me about an “exclusive” law firm job?
Call your favorite Whistler recruiter. If you’re an associate, 99.9% of law firm jobs aren’t exclusive to any single recruiter. Claiming that an associate level law firm job is “exclusive” is often a trick used when fishing for resumes. If the job does happen to be that 0.1% of law firm associate jobs that is exclusive, we will double check with the firm and gracefully bow out if true.
How do you get paid? I know you’re not all just doing this out of the kindness of your own hearts.
Our fees are paid by whoever hires you.
We probably place 1/10 people we consult with, but we strive to provide 10/10 with valuable advice. If you do want to bribe us with gifts like alcohol or free dinners, we’ll gladly accept. (Recruiting doesn’t have the strict code of ethics law does.)
That said, the highest compliment you can give us is a referral.
Should I go in-house? Is it too early in my career?
We refer to “the 10,000 hour rule” (credit: cool Gibson Dunn partner, piggybacking on Malcolm Gladwell). Associates tend to be ready to go in-house when they have about 10,000 hours under their belt (around the fifth year if you’re billing 2,000 hours a year). Going in-house too early could potentially stall out your career. In BigLaw, there are clear benchmarks and an annual raise is essentially guaranteed. But the business world is far more opaque. If you start as a low level counsel, you can easily be pigeon holed into doing the same kind of contract over and over again, at the same salary, for years.
Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, so we advise you talk with a recruiter you trust (even if you found the job on your own) to help evaluate if an in-house offer is worth taking.
I only want to go in-house. How should I run my search?
No legal recruiting shop has all of the in-house jobs.
In fact, most only have a handful at a time.
If you’ve checked our job board and we don’t have your dream job at the moment, we’d still love getting to know you. The more we know about your practice, the easier it is for us to call and advocate for you when your dream job comes along.
Do I really have to do a deal sheet? Fill out an LPQ?
Yes, yes, a million times yes.
We recommend all first year associates start keeping track of their deals from the get go - even just in the form of casual notes. It’ll make it much easier when you inevitably have to talk about what you’ve been up to for your entire career.
And if you want to be hired as a partner, you’re just going to have to fill out an LPQ. We know you can negotiate your way out of a lot of things, but this isn’t one of them.
Is there a secret cabal of recruiters that gains power by spamming me with jobs I don’t want?
There might be, but we haven’t been invited to join.
The secret that the legal recruiting industry doesn't want you to know? We all have the same database of law firm jobs and attorney contacts. What differentiates our recruiters is our knowledge of the tech and startup industries, and our winning personalities. We hope that our selective email outreach embodies that, and hopefully isn't too much of a nuisance.
If you don’t enjoy learning about the most interesting jobs in law, let us know and we’ll take you off our lists.
Who’s your ideal client?
Someone who’s tall, dark and hand… wait no.
We know we could make more money moving a sad finance partner from Wall Street Firm A to Wall Street Firm B.
But we’d rather work with people who see the world the same way we do - attorneys who are excited about innovation and progress.
And if they happen to have great credentials or a big book, we won’t complain.
Maybe I don’t even want to practice law anymore. Are you hiring?
Sean gets it. He left behind a glamorous life of doc review for an even more glamorous life of cold calling attorneys. And it was the best decision he ever made!
We’re always excited to meet people who want to join Whistler.
If you’re an associate who loves advising clients but hates writing briefs, a GC who’s sick of having to find a new gig every few years, or a retired partner looking to impart your knowledge, reach out to contact@whistlerpartners.com to learn about becoming a recruiter.6
