How We Work
Frequently Asked Questions
Questions about working with Onward Recruiting? Here's how our search process works, covering how we structure engagements, our approach to exclusivity, confidentiality standards, NALSC membership, and what to expect at every stage.
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Every engagement starts with a genuine intake. Not a form, not a checklist. We invest time upfront in understanding the role beneath the role: your firm's structure, what success actually looks like in this specific environment, what has and hasn't worked in past hires, and where the real difficulty in this search will be. For newly created roles, that process often helps clarify what the position needs to look like before we go to market. We don't source a single candidate until we're confident we know what we're looking for.
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After intake, we move into research and outreach: identifying the specific candidates who fit the profile, reaching them directly, and having real conversations about the opportunity before anything gets presented to you. What you receive isn't a resume dump. It's a curated slate of candidates we've already spoken with, assessed against the role, and believe are worth your time. From there, we manage the interview process, facilitate feedback, and stay involved through offer and close.
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You'll know where your search stands at every stage. We communicate proactively, not just when there's good news. If the candidate pool is thinner than expected, if compensation is out of step with the market, or if the role needs to be repositioned to attract the right talent, we'll tell you that directly and early. You won't be left wondering.
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Onward Greenlight is our proprietary search methodology for roles where the strongest candidates are passive, specialized, or hard to reach through standard outreach. It flips the traditional model: the firm drives the targeting criteria first, candidates are identified and approved before any outreach begins, and when contact is made the candidate knows they've been specifically chosen. The process is tracked through a real-time client dashboard so you know exactly where things stand without chasing us for updates. We use it for niche, senior, and newly created roles where standard recruiting approaches fall short. Ready to start a conversation about your search?
FEES & ENGAGEMENT STRUCTURE
THE SEARCH PROCESS
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We work on both structures depending on the nature of the search. Fee structure is something we're happy to discuss once we understand the role. What matters more to us, and to the outcome, is whether the search is structured exclusively.
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An exclusive search means one firm is working the role. No competing recruiters, no parallel outreach campaigns, no three other agencies sending the same candidates a slightly different version of the same message.
It matters because the best candidates notice. When a passive attorney or legal professional gets approached about the same role by multiple recruiters in the same week, the opportunity stops feeling curated and starts feeling like a volume play. The firm looks disorganized. The candidate's instinct, often correctly, is that something is off.
When we run a search exclusively, we can reach those candidates with the care the search deserves. They feel found, not spammed. That changes the quality of the conversations we're able to have, and ultimately the caliber of the slate we deliver.
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Yes. We understand that not every firm is ready to commit to an exclusive arrangement, and some roles have already been in market before we're brought in. We can work in those conditions. We'll just be honest with you upfront: when a search is already saturated with recruiter outreach or visible on job boards, the candidate experience is harder to control, and the strongest passive candidates are often the least likely to engage. We'll tell you what we're working with before we start.
CONFIDENTIALITY
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We don't share a candidate's information with any client without their explicit knowledge and consent at each step of the process. That means no resume is sent, no name is mentioned, and no introduction is made without the candidate knowing exactly who will see their information and why. If a candidate is currently employed, that fact is protected throughout. Confidentiality isn't a footnote in how we work. It's foundational to the relationships we build with candidates over time.
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We conduct confidential searches routinely. We can go to market, engage candidates, and run a full search process without disclosing your firm's name until you're ready to move forward with a specific candidate. The details of how confidentiality is managed are discussed and agreed upon at the start of every engagement.
COVERAGE & SCOPE
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We recruit nationally across the U.S. legal market, with particular depth in major legal hubs: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington D.C., Boston, Houston, Dallas, Miami, and other leading markets. Most of the roles we fill are based in these cities, though we regularly conduct searches for firms with offices in secondary markets and for roles structured as hybrid or remote.
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We work across firm sizes, from global AmLaw 10 firms to mid-size regional practices and boutique firms. The nature of the search changes by firm size: what a senior associate hire looks like at a 30-lawyer boutique is a different search from the same title at a 2,000-lawyer firm, and we approach each accordingly. What doesn't change is the rigor of our process or the quality of candidates we present.
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Onward Recruiting places attorneys and legal business professionals across the full spectrum of law firm hiring. On the attorney side: lateral associates, senior associates, counsel, lateral partners, and in-house attorneys for corporate legal departments. On the business professional side: legal technology and AI roles, marketing and business development professionals, and legal support and operations staff including paralegals, legal assistants, and executive assistants. Our affiliated practice, Onward Legal Innovation, focuses specifically on legal tech, AI, and innovation roles.
NALSC & PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS
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NALSC is the National Association of Legal Search Consultants. Membership requires adherence to a formal Code of Ethics that governs how searches are conducted, how candidates are treated, and how client relationships are managed. It's a meaningful standard in a profession that doesn't otherwise require formal credentialing. We are proud members and hold ourselves to those standards in every engagement, for firms and candidates alike.
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It means you're working with a recruiter accountable to a formal professional standard, one that governs everything from how we handle confidential information to how we manage candidate and client relationships throughout a search. It also means you have recourse if those standards aren't met. In a market where anyone can call themselves a legal recruiter, that's a meaningful signal.
ONWARD RECRUITING & ONWARD LEGAL INNOVATION
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Onward Legal Innovation is the dedicated innovation practice of Onward Recruiting, focused specifically on legal technology, AI, innovation, and law firm marketing and business development roles. Onward Recruiting's core practice handles attorney search and broader legal business professional placements. Both practices are part of the same firm and share the same standards, but operate with distinct teams and networks. If you're looking specifically for legal tech, AI, or innovation recruiting, you can find that practice at onwardinnovation.ai.
Work With Us
Whether you're looking to hire or looking to make a move, it starts with a conversation. Tell us what you're working toward and we'll tell you what's possible.