Why the best lawyers are not looking.
Reaching passive senior counsel is a matter of relationships and discretion, not a job posting.
By Elena V. Marlowe, Partner
The best candidates are rarely looking. That single fact ought to reshape how a senior legal search is conducted.
A job posting reaches the people who are already in motion, and the strongest counsel, by definition, are not. Reaching them is a matter of relationships, timing, and discretion.
Why discretion is not a premium
A search that respects confidence will never circulate a name without consent. This is not an upgrade we offer; it is the condition under which the work is possible at all. A partner exploring a move cannot afford for the market to know before they are ready.
Discretion is not a service we add. It is the condition under which the work is possible at all.
The firms that treat candidate discretion casually find the door closed the next time they call. We take the longer view.