Zaira rojas
managing director
Zaira is a legal recruiter at Onward Recruiting, where she partners with attorneys navigating lateral moves and the next stages of their careers. With a J.D. and firsthand experience working inside law firms, she brings an informed perspective on the legal profession and the decisions that shape an attorney’s career - from evaluating opportunities and firm cultures to figuring out what you actually want from the years ahead.
A graduate of Cardozo School of Law, Zaira began her post-law-school career in litigation, working closely with attorneys and clients in a fast-paced firm environment. Her experience inside firms gave her an appreciation for both the demands of legal practice and how much the right environment, people, and opportunities can influence someone’s experience. Having recently navigated her own transition within the legal industry, she understands that a move that looks good on paper still has to make sense for the person making it.
Zaira’s perspective is also shaped by years of entrepreneurship and customer-facing work. Long before law school, she was building small businesses, managing customers, and learning how to connect with people from very different backgrounds. Those experiences taught her to ask good questions, listen closely, and look beyond the obvious answer to understand what someone actually needs.
Her approach to recruiting is conversational, candid, and curious. Zaira wants to understand the person behind the resume - their priorities, motivations, and what they want their career and life to look like. She believes the best career moves aren’t simply about finding another job; they’re about finding an opportunity that allows for meaningful growth.
OFF THE CLOCK
A few things that shape me:
I immigrated from Mexico when I was three and spent much of my life undocumented. That never stopped me from deciding I would go to college and, eventually, law school. I learned early how to make space for myself in rooms that didn’t quite know what to do with me. That experience still shapes how I move through the world and why supporting first-generation students and attorneys is particularly meaningful to me.
A former chapter of my life that still influences me:
I was a speech and debate kid in high school and college, and I credit it with much of the outgoing, curious person I am today. Debate taught me to listen to understand - the best counterarguments usually acknowledge what's true in the other side. Impromptu speaking taught me something else entirely: give me a topic and a few minutes, and I can probably find something to say.
A personal interest I take very seriously:
Giving my Border Collie, Barrett, an unnecessarily interesting life. He’s flown around the country (and abroad), hiked mountains, kayaked, swum with dolphins, enjoyed his fair share of bar crawls, and stayed in more hotels than some humans. Somewhere along the way, I started documenting his adventures on Instagram, where he now has his own community of Barrett fans following along.
Most people are surprised to learn:
During my senior year of college, I ran an elote stand at a swap meet. There are few better lessons in reading people, thinking on your feet, and embracing a little chaos than serving Mexican street corn to a line of hungry people all weekend.
Something I’ll probably always make time for:
Exercise! It started with hot yoga the summer after law school. Watching people well into their 50s and 60s do headstands and other wild moves in a 100 degree room made me want to see what my own body could learn to do. Now I run, lift weights, and still make yoga part of my regular routine.
Something I’ve done just for the experience:
Life should be full of “firsts.” I’m happiest chasing new experiences - whether that means trying a new restaurant on a random Tuesday, saying yes to snowboarding in Japan despite never having snowboarded before, getting a tattoo with a friend on a whim to cross it off my bucket list, or moving cross country to NYC with a border collie puppy to make life a little more interesting. There are very few new experiences I won’t at least consider saying yes to.
A small thing that brings me outsized joy:
A delicious meal with someone I love. I love food, Mexican, Korean, Indian - the spicier, the better. Add someone I can sit across from and talk to for hours, and that’s pretty close to my perfect evening.