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.
And occasionally we will advise that you submit yourself to certain roles.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 always say that at Whistler Partners we're matchmakers, not headhunters. But what does that actually mean?
Most types of recruiting are job-driven. Get a job, fill it with whoever. Legal recruiting, on the other hand, is uniquely candidate-driven. A law firm may not be advertising an opening for a capital markets associate, but they'd happily interview one with great credentials.
Whistler recognized that legal recruiting is uniquely candidate-driven, and we changed our MO. We train our recruiters to put candidates first by never being pushy, by always offering neutral advice, and by fostering relationships that follow candidates throughout their careers. While many shops silo recruiters into working only with attorneys in one region and seniority level, we allow our recruiters to work with a candidate throughout their career, from when they're a junior associate in New York through when they're an equity partner in Los Angeles.
Last, we're unique in that we focus on placing tech and startup attorneys. We recognize that understanding verticals is just as important as understanding practice areas, so we have recruiters who focus on fintech, healthtech,
Did we mention that we negotiate salaries and benefits every day?
Negotiation takes practice and we’ve done our reps.
Why use just one recruiter for my law firm job search? Isn’t more… more?!
We love maximalism! 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 would never have two agents with conflicting interests advising him.5 They wouldn't 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.
Additionally, using multiple recruiters makes it harder to pace a search and to negotiate extensions on offers. A good recruiter will leverage a firm's speed to help move the process along with other firms.
Because of those two issues, we always prefer that you work with just one recruiter on a law firm search, 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% 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 recruiters 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, because we have to be engaged by a client to have an in-house role, most legal recruiters only have a handful of in-house roles at any given time, and those roles tend to have very narrow parameters for what the company is looking for.
Because of this, we don't recommend that you conduct an in-house search exclusively using one recruiter (which is what we recommend for law firm searches). Instead we recommend that you cast a wide net: apply for jobs, work your network, talk to your favorite clients or former clients...
If you’ve checked our job board and we don’t have your dream job listed, we recommend signing up for our newsletter and following us on Linkedin to learn about our newest in-house roles.
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 going to have to fill out an LPQ. But think of it as a form of interview prep; you need to be able to be able to succinctly describe your book and practice, and this terrible Excel sheet that law firms call an LPQ will help you organize your thoughts.
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 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?
While we primarily focus on tech and startup attorneys, we actually represent attorneys from across the spectrum. And if they happen to have great credentials or a big book, we won’t complain.
Instead of focusing on regions or seniority levels, our recruiters tend to focus on practice areas and verticals. Need a fintech recruiter? We got you. Healthcare and life sciences? Ya we've got that too. Entertainment litigation? We've even got that.
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. And it was the best decision he ever made!
We’re always excited to meet people who want to hear about joining 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
