Associate Recruiting Manager - Lateral Associates

About Latham & Watkins

Latham & Watkins is one of the world’s leading global law firms advising the businesses and institutions that drive the global economy. We are the market leaders in major financial and business centers around the world. Our investment in people, commitment to innovation, and focus on the future empower you to build an incredible career and thrive as an exceptional professional in a supportive culture.

If you aspire to be the best, and work with the best, this is where you belong.

The Associate Recruiting Manager - Lateral Associates is an integral part of Latham’s Associate Recruiting team. This role offers an opportunity to shape how the firm attracts and hires exceptional lateral associate talent while working closely with practice, department, and office leaders across the firm. As a trusted advisor to key stakeholders, you will provide market intelligence, develop tailored recruiting strategies, and lead searches from initial planning through successful hire.

You will also manage and develop members of the recruiting team, strengthen relationships with external search firms, and identify opportunities to make our recruiting approach more effective, informed, and responsive to the needs of the business. This is an ideal opportunity for an experienced legal recruiting professional who enjoys combining strategy with execution, building strong relationships, and helping a talented team succeed.

This role will be located in either our New York, Chicago, or Washington D.C. office. Please note that this role may be eligible for a flexible working schedule that allows for a hybrid and in-office presence.

Other key responsibilities include:

• Partnering with practice, department, and office leaders to understand hiring needs and develop thoughtful, tailored lateral associate recruiting strategies
• Serving as a trusted advisor by providing market intelligence, candidate insights, and practical guidance throughout the recruiting process
• Leading lateral associate searches from initial strategy and candidate identification through interviews, offers, and successful hiring
• Identifying and capitalizing on opportunities to recruit qualified lateral associate candidates through direct sourcing, attorney referrals, search firms, and other recruiting channels
• Building and managing productive relationships with external search firms and vendors, including evaluating performance, negotiating fees, and improving processes
• Preparing and communicating comprehensive recruiting statistics, market updates, and progress reports, ensuring alignment with practice group needs
• Organizing, delegating, and coordinating staff work, managing workflow and conducting performance evaluations, ensuring experienced leadership
• Protecting and maintaining any highly sensitive, confidential, privileged, financial, and/or proprietary information that Latham & Watkins retains

We’d love to hear from you if you:

• Possess excellent leadership and interpersonal skills, including organizing, planning, problem-solving, decision-making, and effective interaction with all organizational levels
• Enjoy advising senior stakeholders and translating business needs into practical recruiting strategies
• Display proficiency in PC applications, including MS Office, database management, and applicant tracking systems, with the ability to conduct thorough analyses and reports
• Demonstrate the handling of confidential and sensitive information with appropriate discretion

And have:

• A bachelor’s degree or an equivalent
• A minimum of seven (7) years of experience in legal recruitment, preferably with ownership over lateral associate recruiting
• A minimum of two (2) years of experience leading, supervising, or developing others, whether through direct management or project leadership
• Experience using data and market information to identify trends, assess progress, and support decisions

Successful candidates will not only be provided with an outstanding career opportunity and welcoming environment, but will also be provided with a generous total compensation package with bonuses…