Director: Lateral Partner Recruitment - Americas

Overview

Mayer Brown is an international law firm positioned to represent the world’s major corporations, funds, and financial institutions in their most important and complex transactions and disputes. We are recognized by our clients as strategic partners with deep commercial instincts and a commitment to creatively anticipating their needs and delivering excellence in everything we do.We are a collegial, collaborative firm where highly motivated individuals with an unwavering commitment to excellence receive the opportunity, support, and development they need to grow, thrive, and realize their greatest potential all while supporting the Firm’s client service principles of excellence, strategic partnership, commercial instinct, integrated strengths, innovation, and collaboration across our international firm.If you enjoy working with team members whose defining characteristics are exceptional client service, initiative, professionalism, responsiveness, and adaptability, you may be the person we are seeking to join our Commercial department in our New York office, as a Director: Lateral Partner Hiring — Americas.

The Director: Lateral Partner Hiring — Americas is a senior strategic role responsible for driving the Firm's growth across the Americas by identifying, attracting, and closing high-value lateral partner talent that expands the Firm's market position, client base, and revenue. The Director will serve as a trusted advisor to Firm leadership, translating ambitious growth objectives into actionable lateral hiring strategies with measurable outcomes. The Director will co-lead a globally integrated lateral partner acquisition strategy in close partnership with the Director: Lateral Partner Recruitment — EMEA/Asia.

Responsibilities

Essential Functions: 

• Maintains deep knowledge of the Firm's strategic priorities, competitive positioning, practice capabilities, and market dynamics to inform lateral hiring decisions on an ongoing basis
• Works with Priority Growth Area Leaders and Firm Practice Leaders to set growth goals, define target candidate profiles, and develop a lateral partner hiring strategy aligned with the Firm's commercial objectives
• Conducts proactive market mapping and competitive intelligence to build a robust pipeline of individual and group lateral partner candidates aligned with the Firm's growth priorities
• Evaluates the business case for each prospective lateral hire, including analysis of portable book of business, projected revenue contribution, practice fit, and client conflict risk
• Leads initial candidate engagement, articulating the Firm's value proposition, strategic vision, and growth trajectory in a compelling and credible manner. Assesses candidate quality and strategic fit during the recruitment process
• Develops, maintains, and manages relationships with external recruitment firms
• Negotiates fee proposals and service agreements, manages search firm spend against budget, and evaluates search firm performance against key performance indicators
• Collaborates with the sponsoring partner to select appropriate interviewers for each candidate, prepare tailored talking points, and ensure interviewers are fully briefed on the candidate's background and the strategic rationale for the hire
• Oversees the arrangement of interviews, circulation of candidate materials, and collection and synthesis of interview feedback for Firm leadership
• Coordinates with the HR and Administrative teams in each office to ensure seamless execution of all interviews and candidate visits
• Partners with the sponsoring partner to develop compelling offer packages and business cases for Management Committee review
• Works closely with the Firm's conflicts lawyers and sponsoring partners to assess and manage potential client conflict issues
• Collaborates with the Firm's due diligence providers to identify potential concerns for further analysis and consideration by Firm management
• Partners with sponsors, Firm management, and the Assistant Director of Lateral Integration to develop and execute an effective integration plan for each hire, with accountability for tracking integration success metrics including revenue realization at twelve and twenty-four months
• Coordinates with the business development team to prepare press releases, website biographies, and press outreach in connection with lateral partner announcements, ensuring a well-managed arrival and market introduction for each new hire
• Embeds diversity, equity, and inclusion objectives into the lateral hiring strategy, working to ensure the Firm's lateral pipeline reflects a broad and diverse pool of candidates
• Builds and maintains trusted advisory relationships with practice group leaders, office managing partners, and the Management Committee to ensure alignment between lateral hiring activity and Firm strategy
• Delivers data-driven reporting and strategic analysis to Firm management on the lateral recruiting pipeline, budget performance, search firm ROI, market trends, and the commercial impact of lateral hires
• Manages and develops a team of direct reports, fostering a high-performance culture within the lateral recruiting function
• May perform other duties as assigned

Qualifications

Education/Training/Certifications:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent is required. JD or MBA is preferred

Technical Skills:

• Proficiency with CRM, applicant tracking systems, and market intelligence platforms commonly used in lateral partner recruiting
• Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel)

Professional Experience:

• Minimum of ten years of professional recruitment experience in a major law firm or professional services environment, including significant, hands-on involvement with partner-level hiring
• Demonstrated track record of managing or contributing to lateral partner hiring programs with measurable growth outcomes
• Prior experience on both the law firm side and the agency side preferred

Performance Traits:

• Commercial judgment and financial acumen, including the ability to evaluate the revenue potential and strategic value of prospective lateral hires
• Executive presence and the ability to engage credibly with senior partners, candidates, and external stakeholders
• Ability to influence senior stakeholders and build consensus around hiring decisions in a partnership environment
• Deep understanding of the markets in which the Firm operates, including familiarity with the offerings, strategies, and vulnerabilities of competing firms
• Ability to translate Firm growth objectives into actionable hiring plans with clear milestones and measurable outcomes
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to articulate the Firm's strategy and value proposition persuasively
• Strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to establish credible, long-term relationships with recruiters, candidates, and colleagues at all levels within the Firm
• Resilience and persistence in managing long recruitment cycles, competitive dynamics, and deal attrition
• Ability to exercise discretion and sound judgment in handling sensitive and confidential matters
• Demonstrated problem-resolution and follow-through skills
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple active searches simultaneously
• Ability to maintain the highest standards of professionalism and strict confidentiality

Minimum years of experience:

• Minimum of 10 years of professional recruitment experience in a client-service environment, including significant involvement with partner-level hiring
• Prior experience on both the law firm side and the agency side preferred

Management Accountabilities:

• Manages processes for direct reports including performance appraisals, annual compensation, goal setting and performance counselling
• Demonstrated leadership and supervisory experience
• Operational budget analysis and recommendations
• Conducts analysis of staffing levels and participation in the recruitment process
• Able to determine and implement change processes to improve workflow efficiencies
• Process- and service-oriented with strong leadership and project management skills
• Able to set priorities and delegate in an efficient manner
• Analysis of staffing levels and requests for assistance

The typical pay scale for this position is between $285,000 and $394,000, although the actual wage or salary could be lower or higher if the candidate’s education, experience, skills and internal pay alignment are different from those specified. 

The above is a general description of the essential duties associated with this position and does not represent an exhaustive or comprehensive list of all duties.

The Firm may modify and amend this job description at any time at its sole discretion. Nothing herein creates a contract of employment or otherwise modifies the at-will nature of employment.

We offer competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits, including medical/dental/vision/life/and AD&D insurance, 401(k) savings plan, back-up childcare and eldercare, generous paid time off (PTO), as well as opportunities for professional development and growth.

Thank you for your interest in Mayer Brown. We are committed to providing equal opportunity and reasonable accommodations to applicants and employees with disabilities and disabled veterans. To request a reasonable accommodation related to the application process and/or job interview, please email uslateralrecruiting@mayerbrown.com. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.

#LI-DNI #LI-AH

Salary : $285,000 - $394,000