Director of Law Student Recruitment

The Firm

As a leading international law firm, we are dedicated to excellence through impactful communication, collaboration, and community involvement. Our company culture has earned us the designation as one of the "100 Best Companies to Work For" for 27 consecutive years. This honor, along with many others, highlights our commitment to innovation and professional development. At Alston & Bird LLP, our foundation is made of trust, reliability, and compassion.

About the role

Under the direction of the Chief Legal Talent Partner, oversee strategic law student and entry-level attorney recruitment initiatives for all offices including summer associate, entry-level, and judicial clerk hiring.

Essential Duties

• Manages firmwide recruitment team with respect to law school engagement and summer associate, entry-level, and judicial clerk hiring. Provide day-to-day work direction and professional development. Conduct periodic performance evaluations and annual reviews for the department. Work closely with the Director of Attorney Hiring, with shared responsibility for hiring, training and evaluating all members of the department.
• Support the Chief Legal Talent Partner and Hiring Partners in all offices as needed with information gathering and procedural guidance.
• Formulate, administer, and maintain recruiting policies, operational procedures, and practices consistent with the goals and objectives of the firm as they relate to law school engagement and summer associate, entry-level, and judicial clerk hiring.
• Oversee firmwide law school recruitment efforts including 1L and 2L hiring, on-campus engagement efforts, relationship development with CSO personnel, and firmwide on-campus entertainment.
• Serve as the primary advisor on law student recruiting trends, judicial clerk hiring strategies, and competitive market intelligence.
• Identify opportunities to enhance the firm's visibility, reputation, and attractiveness among top law schools and judicial clerk candidates.
• Guide and manage law student recruitment efforts to implement new technology, software programs, and more efficient processes.
• Identify legal requirements and regulations affecting recruiting policies and procedures and ensure compliance.
• Execute the strategic planning for summer program recruiting, entry-level hiring, and judicial clerk hiring in all offices.
• Communicate with practice group leaders firmwide to determine size of incoming summer associate and fall classes and to assess pipeline hiring needs.
• Review descriptive information provided to law schools and applicants, including NALP Forms, firm resumes, questionnaires, and other reports.
• Create, implement, and manage a plan for the use of social networking in our firmwide recruitment efforts. Work closely with Marketing & Business Development and Human Resources to ensure alignment with firm practices and policies.
• Maintain excellent relationships with attorneys and staff in all offices.
• Assist in developing and maintaining oversight of the firm's on-campus recruitment strategy including ensuring appropriate firmwide representation on engagement teams.
• Coordinate the firmwide management of client referrals and prior contacts in all offices and at all schools.
• Manage the firmwide recruitment budget, ensuring compliance and good financial stewardship across all offices.
• Maintain the recruiting section of the website to keep the content fresh and relevant.
• Manage relationships with key vendors such as Vault, Flo Recruit and Chambers Associate, among others.
• Oversee the completion of survey information as requested by Business Development, Finance, and the Diversity & Inclusion team.
• Establish and maintain collaborative relationships with other departments including Human Resources, Attorney Professional Development, Marketing & Business Development, Finance, Practice Management, and Practice Innovation.
• Conduct industry research to keep the firm's recruitment practices fresh and on par with its peers.
• Sit as a member of the Executive Staff.
• Serve as a member of the National Association of Law Placement.
• Travel as needed between offices as needed.
• Other duties as requested by the Chief Legal Talent Partner.

Skills Needed to Be Successful

• Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.
• Ability to establish effective working relationships throughout the Firm.
• Ability to effectively handle telephone contacts with candidates and agencies.
• Thorough knowledge of Firm standards, practices and procedures to effectively meet Department needs.
• Thorough organizational skills for prioritizing workload and recruiting efforts.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, ability to work under pressure and deal with demanding deadlines; strong attention to detail and team-oriented attitude.
• Thorough command of the English language, including excellent spelling, grammar, punctuation, forms and syntax.
• Maintain a cheerful, friendly disposition both within and outside the firm.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree required.
• Sufficient work experience, together with personal leadership abilities to enable individual to plan for, implement and supervise various recruiting functions and staff.
• Minimum of 10 years' previous law firm experience or related professional experience required.

Pay and benefits

The salary range for this position is $275,000 - 315,000 and represents the Firm's good faith minimum and maximum range for this role at this time of posting. The actual compensation offered to a candidate will be dependent on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, the candidate's experience, qualifications, and locations. This range is specific to our New York City office and may not be applicable to other locations.