"Not all recruiters are created equal": Experts at Lateral Link give us the inside scoop on what red flags candidates should look out for when working with a recruiter.
Love is a beautiful thing: the butterflies, the anticipation of seeing them again, the feeling that there’s nobody else in the world but the two of you. What could make a relationship even sweeter, you ask? Knowing that you were the one who orchestrated it all! For recruiters and matchmakers alike, there’s no better feeling than setting up two people… successfully. But anyone who fancies themselves to be a professional wingman knows there are bound to be a few alarm bells that go off when you learn more about a potential match; whether it be their drink order, their favorite band, or their star sign, everyone has a list of hard no’s when it comes to dating.
The same goes for the world of legal recruitment, which is a little like the Wild West; there are good guys and bad guys who might all look the same on the surface, but once you dig a little deeper and know what to look out for, you will quickly realize that “not all recruiters are created equal,” as Vered Krasna, a managing director and the regional leader for the Northeast markets, puts it. Candidates looking to make a move must be discerning about who they choose to work with, because just like everybody else, recruiters have red flags too… but luckily for us (and you!), Lateral Link’s recruiters don’t. Seasoned professionals Zain Atassi, Wendy Boone Jaikaran, Vered Krasna, and Marion Wilson give us some insider tips on red and green flags in legal recruitment, and how to find the right fit for you.
A healthy relationship
Before we dive straight into the red flags, it’s important to understand how our recruiters see their roles. Wendy Boone Jaikaran, a senior principal based in Houston, tells us, “I see myself as a matchmaker! I have candidates that want good jobs, and I have firms that want to hire great people.” Finding that compatibility sounds simple enough, but don’t be fooled. Matchmaking is no easy feat – see Celine Song’s Materialists (2025) for further reference – as “legal recruiting involves countless moving parts. It requires a high level of organization and the ability to juggle multiple priorities at once, including individual candidates and firm needs, etc.,” Boone Jaikaran continues. She contemplates, “It’s like a big puzzle when you’re considering where someone’s going to fit depending on firm culture, their practice area, partnership, compensation, and everything else.” Marion Wilson, a managing director and the regional leader for the Southeast markets, notes that recruiters are much more than simply matchmakers: “We act as an advisor, a counselor – both a career counselor and sometimes more like a therapist – whether it’s about family dynamics or law firm dynamics. We’re a confidant, strategist, and advocate for the candidate across the various firms or companies where they apply.” From start to finish, “we’re a support system throughout the search and interview process,” Wilson adds, “and we serve as market experts.” Essentially, recruiters are tasked with shouldering a lot of a candidate’s burden during their job hunt, and “it goes a long way to have a recruiter who’s paired well with the firm or company to help some of those awkward conversations” around topics like bonus payments, signing bonuses, or paternal leave policies that are bound to happen, says Krasna.
“...more focused on advancing your legal career than on the commission.”
That sure is a whole lot of hats to wear for one person. Part of what helps this along is engendering a good working recruiter-candidate relationship. In practice, this involves “having a really strong relationship with your clients and candidates,” Boone Jaikaran, who has been recruiting for almost 15 years, enlightens us. These relationships go a long way, she says: “I talk to candidates these days that were baby attorneys when I first started working with them, and now, they’re equity partners at the top law firms!” Also important are the fundamental values of “honesty and transparency,” Zain Atassi, a Chicago-based principal, mentions, because “if you don’t feel like you can be open and honest with your recruiter, or you don’t think your recruiter has your best interests at heart, then that’s never going to be a good working relationship.” She goes on to say: “A good recruiter will give you the full picture, including being candid about any challenges – providing a consultative approach instead of a sales pitch.” Wilson seconds this, underlining that a recruiter should foster a healthy dynamic by being “more focused on advancing your legal career than on the commission.” According to Wilson, recruiters are there to “help you explore your options – whether in your current market or a new city – by educating you on the available firms, highlighting roles that are open now while tracking the market for future opportunities, and helping you evaluate them. We often start by presenting a few roles that seem like a natural fit with your credentials and experience,” he details, “and then step back and listen, making adjustments based on your feedback to find the best matches.”
Red flags
Much like dating, there may come a time when you realize that the vibe’s not quite right. Maybe something feels a little off, or perhaps you just don’t feel the same way you once did. It’s only human to have hyper-specific telltale signs that someone isn’t for you. In recruitment, there are some pretty universal red flags to look out for. “Someone who overpromises, pushes you to make decisions quickly, or who’s too much of a salesperson” is something to steer clear of, Boone Jaikaran begins, elaborating: “Anyone who says, ‘I’m going to find you a job, this is a no-brainer, and I’ll do it in three weeks.’ That is very unrealistic and rarely happens that fast. The process takes time.” On this note, Atassi attests that “if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Some recruiters will overpromise simply to get candidates to submit a resume. It’s a classic bait and switch.” Poor or inconsistent communication was also highlighted by all our interviewees as a major issue, and Krasna specifies that candidates should avoid “someone who doesn’t get on the phone with you. They should not just be taking your resume and throwing it everywhere.” We’ll speak more about submitting resumes later in the article, as this has become a huge, unprecedented problem in the recruitment space.
Wilson states that he would be “concerned if the recruiter I was working with was super pushy about a particular role.” But to be clear, “that is to be distinguished from someone who has concrete information, or a legitimate reason a role could be a strong fit,” he notes. For example, choosing a specific opportunity could really advance a candidate’s career, saving them from compromising for a role that would force them to take a step down or limit their exit opportunities down the road. Recruiters can also have helpful insider knowledge about particular practice groups and their dynamics. So, as Atassi explains, candidates should notice if a recruiter “doesn’t listen, ignores what you say, and doesn’t really present relevant opportunities for your stated goals – both short and long term.”
That leads us to a big red flag: a total lack of communication. Just like dating, you should not feel like you are getting ghosted by your recruiter, because “communication in recruitment is a must,” Krasna nods. Wilson expands on this, recognizing that the type A nature of lawyers plays a part in wanting constant updates, so “if your recruiter isn’t constantly reaching out to you to say, ‘Hey, the update is that there’s no update,’ I wouldn’t be as concerned about that.” The real difficulty arises when candidates reach out to their recruiters to no avail. “I aim to get back to my candidates the same day; certainly within 24 hours,” Wilson conveys, “so if you’re reaching out to your recruiter and not getting a reply, that’s the red flag.”
"If you’re reaching out to your recruiter and not getting a reply, that’s the red flag.”
Another problem when vetting recruiters is coming across those who “don’t have real market insight, can’t answer basic questions about firms, or can’t provide intel about billable targets, promotion rates, firm culture, etc.” Atassi lists. Market knowledge is also location specific, which Boone Jaikaran lays out for us: “In associate recruiting especially, it’s crucial to work with someone who is local to the market. By living in the area, I’m able to regularly meet with these law firms and stay in constant close contact with them. Because of this, I’m able to gather far more insight than I could from a distance.” She then states, “I’ve practiced in Texas. I’ve been in the legal industry since 2005. I don’t want to work in another market. I could do that here in Texas, but I want to be an expert in my field – in Austin and Dallas and Houston, where I am.” It is common for recruiters to live in a different region to where they are looking to place a candidate, Wilson caveats, especially at an international recruiting agency like Lateral Link where “we have offices in all the major legal markets in the US, as well as folks who have practiced and/or done a lot of research into a particular market. We at Lateral Link pride ourselves on sharing information,” he points out, “so if you’re working with one Lateral Link recruiter, you’re going to get the benefit of everyone at Lateral Link and all our collective knowledge.”
Boone Jaikaran goes on to clarify that “there are also some excellent independent recruiters and smaller, boutique recruiting shops that do outstanding work.” The issue is moreso that “most of these shops are not based in Texas. They read an article that says ‘Houston’s legal market is hot.’ They immediately start reaching out to attorneys in Houston, and they do not know what they are doing because they are unfamiliar with the market,” observes Boone Jaikaran, “They don’t know the practice areas, or the particular cultures of individual offices and, unfortunately, they aren’t able to give the best advice to the attorney looking to make a move.”
Similarly, Wilson cautions against recruiters who “have no understanding of associate life, or what it means to be a lawyer in that practice area or specialty.” He advises candidates to be choosy when deciding to work with non-lawyer legal recruiters: “I know plenty who have been in the industry for a long time and done the work to educate themselves – they’re great! But as a general rule,” he urges, “I would probably be hesitant if I was working with a recruiter who wasn’t a lawyer and was new to the practice. You see fly-by-night recruiters pop up when the legal market is hot.” It’s true: during the pandemic when lateral hiring reached a fever pitch, “you would see these brand-new recruiting firms appear,” Wilson reminisces, “and these folks had recruited in some other profession, but they didn’t know what they were doing for lawyers.” Those fly-by-night recruiters Wilson mentions are also on Krasna’s radar, and she reflects, “There’s a lot more recruiters and agencies that exist now than there were years ago when I got into this, so I take a very diligent approach. I would hope everyone does, but at the end of the day, they don’t.”
Unethical practices
Speaking of diligence, we were surprised to find out that not every recruiter holds themselves to such a high standard. “Some recruiters give us really bad names. All they care about is making the placement to ultimately make the money,” Boone Jaikaran sighs, “so they get a resume and send it to every firm in town without the candidate’s authorization.” These “bad apples” have no regard for confidentiality, says Wilson, and he shares his methods to ensure the utmost discretion: “The first thing I tell my candidates is, ‘If you would like to send me your materials, I’m happy to review them. I promise I will keep these materials confidential and will not submit them to any firm or potential employer without your prior express permission.’ I’d encourage candidates to tell their recruiter something similar, even if their recruiter doesn’t raise it.” In response to receiving resumes from candidates who did not provide their express consent, “some firms have unfortunately cracked down” on recruiters, Krasna divulges. She goes on to share: “It is more legwork for us because we have to show proof; it can’t just be a phone conversation. Some firms now require proof of authorization when you’re submitting because there have been issues.” So, word of advice from Boone Jaikaran: “Do not send your resume to anyone you do not completely trust because once it’s out, it’s out.”
Another less popular but nonetheless alarming phenomenon that has been permeating the industry is some recruiters pretending to have exclusive roles that lead nowhere. “Oftentimes, less credible recruiters will get desperate and go on a fishing expedition to see what they can catch by being deceptive,” details Atassi, “so they’ll create fake jobs, or claim a job is exclusive to them just to attract candidates. It’s another bait and switch, and candidates should be wary of this tactic.” These exclusive roles are “actually few and far between,” Krasna reveals, “and I do get a lot of unposted leads. But it’s very relationship driven, and I’ve been doing this for over a decade. So, it’s a little sneaky and silly for them to try.”
When asked about this, Wilson contemplates: “It’s a little tricky because what could seem like a fake job post isn’t.” How come? “Jobs open and close, and if you’re working with a good recruiter, they have access to the best databases in the industry,” he tells us, “So, I could call someone based on a job that’s open when we have the conversation. By the time I get off the phone, I could receive an email alert that the opening’s just been closed, and it could appear as if I had a fake job.” He does go on to acknowledge that those who are fabricating job postings are likely to be the more “high pressure, salesy recruiters who are out there trying to make a quick buck.”
"If they’re willing to lie to you about that, what else will they lie to you about?”
If you’re like us, you may be thinking: what on Earth could be the benefit of faking job postings? In that scenario, the recruiter fails to make a placement, and the candidate does not receive a job offer. It sounds like a lose-lose situation… right? Wrong, as Wilson reveals: “The benefit is that if it’s a good candidate, they know they can probably place them elsewhere. It’s almost like a hook to get them on the phone. It’s just dishonest. And if it were me, while that could be perceived as a white lie, you have to think: if they’re willing to lie to you about that, what else will they lie to you about?”
So, what do you do if you find out your recruiter has been participating in any of these unethical practices, or if you get the sense that they don’t have your best interests at heart? First step: don’t panic – it’s more common than you think, as Atassi puts it: “I often have attorneys come to me after having a bad experience with another recruiter, and I have to undo the damage that’s been done. I have to reassure them that the experience working with me will be different. It is unfortunate, but there’s a lot of noise in the legal recruiting market. There are many legal recruiters out there, but there are only so many that are quality recruiters.” The next step: a soft breakup. “Thank the recruiter for their time, let them know that you’re going to put your job search on hold, and ask them for a complete list of where they’ve sent you,” Wilson advises. Then, “tell them that to the extent that you’ve given them authorization to submit to certain firms, they’re no longer allowed to do that,” he continues. The key thing about the soft breakup that all our experts underlined was that this must be done in writing. Step three: “just be a decent human,” Krasna shrugs, “Be courteous and have manners” despite whatever feelings you have towards that recruiter. “You don’t owe anybody anything for sure,” she adds, “but you should still be thoughtful and responsive.”
A good recruiter’s role
On a brighter, final note, we asked our interviewees to give us some immediate green flags in a recruiter that can help candidates decipher their gut feelings. Krasna advises to look out for whether the recruiter is “listening and asking the right questions – maybe even questions you didn’t think of asking that they’re anticipating.” Candidates “should be seeking a recruiter who is invested and aligned to the candidate’s search criteria, offers valuable intel, and leverages their network to the candidate’s advantage,” Krasna shares. Then, she tells us, ask yourself: “Are they ethical? Do they seem to have a direct, no-nonsense approach? Do they seem honest?” If the answer to all those questions is yes, then you’re on the right track.
On that topic, Wilson speaks to his green-flag approach to recruitment: “I pride myself on working with my attorney candidates over multiple years,” he says, “I really try to invest in them. Yes, I need to make a living, but I didn’t leave a decade in BigLaw to chase quick placements that won’t work out long term.” The ideal recruiter “finds it very rewarding to help someone advance their career and help firms fill active needs,” he continues, “When I can find a diamond in the rough and elevate them to the level of firm they should be at, it’s a win-win situation. That’s what I pride myself on.” So, if you’re a candidate and “you don’t sense that your recruiter has that mindset – and that your interests come first – be cautious.”
The biggest thing for Atassi is trust, as she relays that after candidates have a bad experience with a recruiter, “they’re jaded, and they’re guarded.” So, “I just have to work that much harder to earn their trust and reassure them. I’ve been a legal recruiter for over 13 years; I was a lawyer before that and made a few lateral moves myself” – all attributes that are green flags according to our experts. “Candidates quickly realize that I know what I’m doing, and that trust does eventually come. They learn through working with me that I’m someone they can trust and rely on,” Atassi shares.
To Boone Jaikaran, what’s paramount is working with a recruiter who has “a very good pulse on the market,” and not feeling like “it’s about getting your resume to as many firms as possible as soon as possible.” Overall, the consensus among our interviewees, as Boone Jaikaran sums up, is that a recruiter must “take the candidate’s life and career into consideration – that should be the most important thing.”
