The Significance of Legal Staffing in Houston
Legal staffing in Houston is at an all-time high, and for good reason. As one of the fastest-growing cities in the US, Houston is a magnet for top legal talent ranging from lateral associates to seasoned attorneys and paralegals. And while this influx is certainly welcomed in today’s competitive job market, maintaining a steady flow of qualified candidates isn’t always easy.
This is where legal staffing agencies come in. Legal staffing agencies in Houston help law firms and legal departments meet the demand for top legal talent by connecting them with highly qualified candidates quickly and efficiently. In doing so, they allow firms to control costs as well, ensuring that staffing needs are met in a way that’s cost-effective for the firm and advantageous for the candidate.
Filling a permanent position within the legal sector can prove problematic, especially when you’re looking to hire a permanent staff member. Legal staffing agencies are designed to supplement your firm’s existing staff with experienced, qualified candidates who bring legal staffing experience to the table .
At Adam Appelbaum Legal Search, we focus on finding the right legal staff for a wide range of positions. From commercial real estate and business litigation to corporate transactional, insurance coverage to intellectual property, our team has the expertise to help you find the right match for your firm. Even better, we have the resources to make it happen – quickly.
Finding a legal professional is only half the battle. Finding someone who’s compatible with your firm is an entirely different matter. That’s why we take the time to get to know you, your staff, and your specific culture. This allows us to match you with a legal professional who’s not just qualified for the position, but fits in with your team as well. And as you know, having a mutual fit isn’t just important, it’s imperative.
Legal staffing in Houston will continue to expand in the years to come, which means the race for highly skilled professionals will be tight. But at Adam Appelbaum Legal Search, we have the tools needed to keep your firm on the cutting edge of legal staffing. Are you ready to get started?
Leading Legal Staffing Firms in Houston
CORDANT SEARCH
Founded in 2010, Cordant Search provides a range of recruiting services for companies operating in technology, including legal, financial services, medical devices, and telecommunications companies. Headquartered in Houston, it is widely acknowledged as one of the top legal staffing agencies in Houston. The agency has a strong roster of clients that include R&D institutions, Fortune 500 organizations, large law firms, and media conglomerates. The range of services offered by Cordant Search includes executive search consulting, compensation benchmarking, market analysis, as well as corporate board services.
CONTINGENT LEGAL STAFFING
A national staffing firm with more than 30 years of experience in the business, Contingent Legal Staffing specializes in the temporary placement of legal professionals in private and corporate law firms across the US. Based in Houston, the agency also covers regions like Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio. The agency has a few recurring clients such as BakerHostetler, Duane Morris LLP, LyondellBasell, Williams Mullen, and Williams & Connolly to name a few. Apart from contingent legal staffing, the agency also provides legal consulting, professional placement, and project services.
GSF LEGAL RECRUITERS
As the name suggests, the agency is exclusively a legal headhunting firm. Specialized in the recruitment of lawyers, GSF Legal Recruiters recruits for both law firms and companies. The agency spends the majority of their time involved in recruiting efforts in highly competitive markets like legal search and corporate counsel search. Their clientele includes big players such as Baker Botts, Hughes Watters et al, and Bracewell LLP. The agency is based in Houston and specializes in positions ranging from managing partner to mid-level general counsels.
SEARCH ENTERPRISES LEGAL RECRUITING
With over 35 years of experience in the staffing industry, Houston-based Search Enterprises Legal Recruiting is a dedicated agency for the recruitment of legal and corporate professionals of all kinds. Their list of specialties include attorney, paralegal, and legal support staffing. They provide services to a range of clients including law firms, corporate legal departments, and energy companies. Some of their prominent clients include Fulbright & Jaworski LLP, Vinson & Elkins LLP, Fulkerson Law, and Baker Hughes Inc. The agency also has a presence in Atlanta and New York City.
TRAK SERVICES INC.
Offering a range of staffing solutions that includes business process re-engineering and application development, TraK Services Inc. has been around for more than two decades. Their Houston office was originally founded in 1998 and has provided staffing solutions to various legal departments. The agency specializes in the placement of corporate attorneys, paralegals, and E-Discovery specialists. Some of the sectors they have provided staffing solutions for include accounting, administrative, engineering, hospitality, information technology, legal, management, and many others. The agency is also a subsidiary of Robert Half International Inc.
Services Provided by Legal Staffing Agencies
The services offered by legal staffing companies cover a spectrum and are generally adaptable to the client. For instance, if you are a law firm or in-house counsel looking to evaluate and hire a new partner or general counsel, there are legal search firms that specialize in permanent placement. They will work with you to identify what you want from your new partner or general counsel. They come up with a profile of a law partner or general counsel which can include bar admissions, educational background and previous big law experience. Based on that profile they find possible candidates and screen for fit. If you want oral communication skills, legal search firms can review public speaking videos. Once they came up with an individual or more they set up interview schedules, both at lunch or breakfast and for an interview at your office. If your need is more about temporary staffing, there are a large number of options also. With a temporary staffing firm, you pay by the hour and are not subject to tax. Temporary staffing is like medical temping in that you can have individuals oversee document review, project management and court filings. The consistent theme with legal staffing agencies is their ability to provide staffing solutions to meet the variable demand of legal employers. For the law firm manager, staffing agencies help to relieve pressure and bring about efficiencies.
Selecting the Right Legal Staffing Agency
Choosing the right legal staffing agency in Houston can be a pivotal decision for your law firm or legal department. The recruitment process is not merely a checklist of qualifications but a strategic partnership that can significantly contribute to your firm’s success. So, how do you choose the agency that best meets your needs? Here are some criteria to guide you:
Specialization: With an array of legal staffing agencies out there, finding one that specializes in your area of need is essential. Some agencies have specific focuses, such as criminal law or corporate law staffing. By finding a specialized agency, you ensure that your specific needs are understood and catered to.
Success Rate: A legal staffing agency’s success rate is a critical factor. You want to engage with a company that has a strong track record in placing candidates that suit your requirements . Some agencies provide statistics on their success rates; others offer insights into their fill ratios.
Client Testimonials: An agency’s past clients can offer a wealth of information. Ask for client references and follow up with them. Google reviews can also be a good source of information about an agency’s reputation.
Cost-effectiveness: Legal staffing can be costly, and you’ll want to know that you’re getting value for your investment. Discuss pricing models openly and ensure that they make sense for your firm. Be cautious of pricing that seems too good to be true, as this could be an indication of sub-standard service.
By evaluating potential legal staffing agencies using these criteria, you can find the right fit and ensure that your firm is supported by top-notch staff.
Trends Impacting Legal Staffing in Houston
The trends influencing legal staffing in Houston
As in many other large markets, the legal staff jobs in Houston are being affected by the latest industry shifts. Technological capacities, once unthinkable to those in the industry a few decades ago, are now at the forefront of what formatting requirements are in Houston. As younger employees begin to move through the ranks at Houston firms, remote resources and digital tools are rapidly becoming the expectation rather than the exception for legal staff.
Indeed, assistance once reserved for paralegals is now extended to administrative staff members and junior lawyers as well. Remote work opportunities are among the most sought after when candidates are looking for paralegal jobs in Houston, and even more general legal support positions in the Houston area. Programs like Cleo, in which remote services like online legal research and transcription are available through a high-speed Internet connection to California’s Bay Area, puts firms in and around Houston in high competition for paralegals, legal assistants and legal support staff members who can offer these services to clients.
As the United States population grows and the average age of Houston-area residents increases, flexibility will become even more important in the hiring practices of local firms and corporate legal teams. Candidates who can demonstrate a willingness to fit well into the culturally diverse areas of Houston and its surrounding communities will win the most attention from recruiters.
Future Outlook for Legal Staffing in Houston
The future of the staffing industry is certainly bright in Houston. Following the national trends of job growth seen going back to mid-2011, legal jobs in Houston have continued to grow. And according to the 2013 Legal Employment Outlook published by the Robert Half Legal, job growth should continue for the long-term. The report predicts a 12.4% growth rate in legal jobs in Houston between 2013 and 2017, and a 31.1% growth rate in support staff between 2013 and 2015.
But with the recovery of the economy, we’ve seen a higher demand for top talent – and a shortage of that talent. As a result, agencies are facing fierce competition for high-quality candidates, and so in turn are law firms and corporate legal departments. For this reason, agencies need to maintain their relationships with the very best legal professionals, and to maintain their strengths in both recruiting and client relationships. Along those lines , it’s extremely likely that we may see another wave of mergers and acquisitions among staffing companies – in order to achieve a strong footing within both spheres (i.e., recruitment and client management), as well as in the legal sectors they serve.
As the market continues to expand at an enormous rate, we have only noted the beginning of the challenges the industry faces; chief of which is being able to connect the right candidate with the right position. However, with these challenges comes opportunity. As the number of positions available continues to grow, we will see an increasing demand for top-tier talent, and in turn an increase in the quality of jobs being made available to candidates. This bodes well for candidates, as they are likely to see an increase in the number of clients willing to move beyond the billable hour.