Senior Lateral Recruiting Manager

About the role

The is responsible for owning the end-to-end lateral recruitment lifecycle for the firm's most critical practice groups. This role serves as the primary strategist and executor of national hiring plans, ensuring that the firm's talent pipeline aligns with long-term business objectives. The hire will analyze evolving market needs and translate them into actionable sourcing and staffing initiatives across all office locations. They will act as a direct advisor to practice group leaders, providing data-driven insights and creative approaches to complex hiring challenges. This position owns the design and implementation of innovative assessment strategies to identify the best-fit candidates. The role further requires ownership of the full candidate journey from initial outreach through onboarding and performance monitoring. Collaboration with the Chief Recruiting Officer ensures that lateral efforts support the firm's overarching growth strategy. Ultimately, the Senior Lateral Recruiting Manager drives the quality and speed of lateral placements that define Gibson Dunn's reputation for excellence.

Key facts

What you'll do

Develop, launch, and execute national hiring plans and processes for key practice groups, monitoring needs, advising practice group leaders and sourcing/screening and creating interview schedules for qualified candidates.

Organize and drive lateral hiring logistics on a national level through standardizing offer processes and paperwork to ensure consistency and compliance.

Generate ad hoc reports that provide actionable insights into lateral hiring trends, pipeline health, and time-to-fill metrics.

Collaborate with practice group co-chairs and managers to identify needs, preferred candidate profiles, novel assessment strategies, and success metrics that align with business goals.

Oversee and promote existing openings across all channels to maximize visibility and engagement with top legal talent.

Monitor candidate onboarding, integration, productivity, and performance to ensure successful assimilation and early retention.

Drive sourcing efforts, interviewing, and hiring processes for certain non-associate positions, including staff attorneys and visiting attorneys (referred and through job fairs).

Oversee all hiring processes, including interview scheduling and onboarding, for specific practices as needed to address urgent or specialized demands.

Explore innovative avenues and means for promoting our career opportunities to differentiate the firm in a competitive market.

Compile market data and analyze internal hiring and compensation trends to inform strategic decisions and benchmarking.

Engage with search firms on a national and local basis, identifying and promoting key partnerships to satisfy acute and perennial needs.

Monitor search firm fee agreement execution and compliance to ensure adherence to firm standards and budget controls.

Participate in broader legal recruiting community through local legal professionals group and NALP to stay current on best practices and regulatory changes.

Support the Chief Recruiting Officer by planning and generating reports, initiatives, and other content for stakeholder meetings to drive alignment and transparency.

Maintain pulse of competitive landscape and market trends and drive initiatives accordingly to ensure the firm remains an employer of choice.

Collaborate with Lateral Partner Recruiting Department to anticipate associate and of counsel needs in conjunction with partner hires for seamless integration.

Track onboarding process and notifications, including conflicts clearance, reference checks, and background verifications to ensure a smooth and compliant workflow.

Manage Lateral Recruiting Coordinator by delegating tasks, monitoring execution, and providing support and mentorship to develop team capacity.

Requirements

A four-year college degree is required as the foundational educational benchmark for this role.

Ideal candidate must have initiative, ability to multitask and prioritize under tight deadlines to handle the demands of lateral recruiting cycles.

Must have the ability to work in a fast-paced environment, handle high volume, and be a team player to support cross-functional collaboration.

They must also exhibit good judgment and be detail oriented to manage complex hiring processes and sensitive candidate information.

8+ years of legal recruiting experience, including 4-5 years of significant lateral experience, preferably in a large, national or international law firm environment.

Experience with an applicant tracking software (preferably ViRecruit) is preferred to ensure efficiency and consistency in managing workflows.

Proficiency in the Microsoft Office suite, particularly Microsoft Excel is a must for data analysis, reporting, and process management.

Gibson Dunn will consider for employment qualified Applicants with Criminal Histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of local law.