Senior Manager, Lateral Attorney Recruiting

Wilson Sonsini is the premier legal advisor to technology, life sciences, and other growth enterprises worldwide. We represent companies at every stage of development, from entrepreneurial start-ups to multibillion-dollar global corporations, as well as the venture firms, private equity firms, and investment banks that finance and advise them.

The firm has approximately 1,200 attorneys in 19 offices : 14 in the U.S., three in China, and two in Europe. Our broad spectrum of practices and entrepreneurial spirit allow our staff exceptional opportunities for professional achievement and career growth.

Wilson Sonsini is seeking an experienced Senior Manager to lead our firmwide talent acquisition initiatives focusing on lateral non-partner hires for the Corporate, Litigation and Regulatory departments.

In collaboration with the Senior Director of Attorney Recruiting, Managing Partner, Department Leaders, Practice Group Leaders, and Chief Practice Officers, design and execute recruitment strategies to attract, hire and retain top candidates.

Key Responsibilities :

• In collaboration with the Senior Director of Attorney Recruiting, Managing Partner, Department Leaders, Practice Group Leaders, and Chief Practice Officers, design and execute recruitment strategies to attract, hire and retain top candidates.
• Manage the lateral offer process, including requisition approval memos, offer approval memos, offer letter language and terms.
• Oversee due diligence and compliance with risk management policies and procedures.
• Contribute strategically and creatively to discover novel lateral hiring sources beyond traditional search firms and referrals.
• Oversee the entire onboarding journey of new attorneys, from initial orientation to seamless integration and facilitate regular interaction between new hires, partners, associates, and the Career Development team.
• Establish and maintain strong and constructive relationships with other firm departments to identify, recruit and retain talent.
• Collaborate with the Diversity Equity and Inclusion team to progress the firm's diversity hiring strategies and initiatives.
• Mentor and supervise the non-IP lateral recruiting team, cultivating a diverse, inclusive environment.
• Manage staffing, work hours, time off requests, and ensure policy compliance of direct reports.
• Manage the annual lateral recruiting budget and conduct cost-analysis for new recruiting initiatives.
• Keep abreast of market trends, competitive data, and best practices to inform recommendations.
• Establish and nurture robust and collaborative relationships with search firms.

Desired Skills and Qualifications :

• A bachelor's degree with at least 7 years of legal recruiting experience, with a minimum of 3+ years in a management role.
• Acute knowledge of attorney recruitment best practices, policies, procedures, unconscious bias, and legal employment issues.
• The role requires a highly organized, detail-oriented individual with strong project management skills, superior client service orientation and relationship-building skills with demonstrated leadership ability that promotes and environment of collaboration, teamwork, and culture of high performance.
• Ability to follow and report on market trends in diversity, legal recruiting, and retention.
• Sophisticated analytical and quantitative abilities (e.g., able to collect and use data to make decisions, including ability to use tools such as Excel at a high level).
• Superior creative problem-solving skills, and an ability to meet deadlines while handling multiple and shifting priorities under time constraints.
• Excellent communication, collaboration, facilitation, influencing, and organizational skills, with the ability to work proactively to obtain information and develop the consensus needed to make sound business decisions.
• A strong commitment to continuous improvement and adaptation to business changes and trends.
• Excellent interpersonal skills (both listening and speaking) with the ability to communicate effectively and appropriately with multiple constituencies.
• Demonstrated leadership ability that promotes and environment of collaboration, teamwork and culture of high performance.
• Proven ability to build trust and gain buy-in from firm leaders and other key stakeholders.
• Ability to follow and report on market trends in diversity, legal recruiting and retention.
• Possess superior judgment and able to respect, protect, and maintain highly confidential and sensitive information.
• Ability to understand unconscious bias and its effect on recruiting and hiring.
• Ability to work extended and / or weekend hours, as required.
• Proficient with MS Office and applicant tracking systems, preferably Workday and viRecruit.

The primary location for this job posting is in Palo Alto, but other locations may be listed. The actual base pay offered will depend upon a variety of factors, including but not limited to the selected candidate’s qualifications, years of relevant experience, level of education, professional certifications and licenses, and work location.

The anticipated pay range for this position is as follows : San Francisco and Silicon Valley : $163,200 - $220,800 per yearAustin, Boston, Boulder, District of Columbia, Los Angeles, New York, San Diego, Seattle, and Wilmington : $147,050 - $198,950 per yearSalt Lake City and all other locations : $130,900 - $177,100 per year

The compensation for this position may include a discretionary year-end merit bonus based on performance. We offer a highly competitive salary and benefits package.

Benefits information can be found here. Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE).