Manager, Legal Recruiting - Intellectual Property

Job Description

At K&L Gates, we are looking for smart, imaginative and hard-working people with diverse backgrounds, experiences and ideas to join us.  Perhaps our search for talented visionaries and your search for important and impactful work lead to the same place.

We are seeking a Manager, Legal Recruiting to join the Chicago office. This position will be responsible for managing all aspects of lateral associate and law student recruitment for the Intellectual Property (IP) practice area across all U.S. offices. Primary responsibilities include management of lateral associate recruiting efforts, coordination of lawyer on-boarding and orientation, and student outreach and hiring for the IP practice area. Additional responsibilities include working with legal search firms, facilitating lateral associate placement agreements and communicating with and marketing the firm to lateral candidates.

Duties and Responsibilities:

A.  Lateral Associate Recruiting

• Collaborate with Practice Area Leaders (PAL), Practice Group Coordinators (PGC), Office Managing Partners (OMP), IP Practice Operations Director and others to strategically identify lateral hiring needs for IP lateral associates, Patent Agents, Patent Technical Specialists, etc. for Firm’s U.S. offices
• Develop relationships and maintain regular contact with search firms focused in Intellectual Property hiring to stay informed about market trends
• Following the Firm’s Lateral Hiring Protocol, develop and submit business case for any new hires through Metastorm and monitor approval process
• Manage advertising of open positions, including drafting and distribution of job description on Firm’s website and other applicable external job boards, and providing regular updates to search firms
• Regularly communicate on status and strategic direction of open positions with key practice area and firm leaders involved with active IP lateral searches
• Review resumes received from candidates and search firms and, in collaboration with PALs and PGCs, select candidates to move forward in the interview process; manage related follow-up tracking and correspondence
• Oversee applicant data tracking process while maintaining accurate applicant data in Firm’s internal systems
• Facilitate decision-making process and conduct follow-up with candidates or search firms
• Manage the lateral associate offer process, while adhering to the required pre-employment checks (conflicts, background)
• Manage orientation, on-boarding and integration of all lateral associate new hires for IP practice area

B.  Law Student Recruitment

• Together with PALs, PGCs, and local office leadership, identify desired IP summer associate class size by office and determine recruiting strategy, including pipeline-building initiatives and identification of appropriate target school/interview programs
• Develop law school relationships and work with schools and students groups with a focus in IP to increase awareness of the firm and build the candidate pipeline; develop and manage IP-specific outreach events for 1Ls
• Coordinate 1L IP interviews, including interviews for the Firm’s 1L diversity Power of Partnership Program, when applicable
• Manage IP specific on-campus (OCI) and job fair interview programs, such as the Loyola Patent Interview Program, including pre-OCI law student communications, interviewing lawyer communication and training, facilitation of interview programs, planning and management of pre-OCI events or receptions, oversight of callback interview process, working closely with firmwide Legal Recruiting team and local office Hiring Committees to determine and deliver IP summer associate offers
• Oversee IP practice area summer program work assignment process, working in conjunction with local office Legal Recruiting team members to ensure appropriate staffing of IP summer associates across the firm
• Collaborate with Professional Development department and practice leaders to identify practice-specific training opportunities for IP summer associates
• Manage the Chicago office Summer Associate Program, including development and implementation of orientation and training programs and social events and coordination of midpoint and final evaluation meetings and offer decisions
• Serve as the IP practice area contact with outside organizations involved in the summer associate recruitment process, including the National Association for Law Placement (NALP), local city group(s), and law schools

C.  Other Responsibilities:

• Collaborate with Legal Recruiting team members on position needs, candidates and potential hires
• Collaborate with Legal Recruiting team on pre-hire needs for IP entry-level associates, including former summer associates and 3L hires, prior to their arrival
• Manage IP-specific aspects of orientation and onboarding for new IP entry-level associates
• Assist with interview training as needed
• Prepare and monitor annual IP and Chicago student recruitment and summer program budgets as needed
• Collaborate with members of Legal Recruiting team on firmwide initiatives and projects as needed
• Participate in office hiring committee meetings as needed
• Develop relationships with lawyers within the IP practice area
• Provide strategic advice on hiring and market trends to key practice area leaders
• Perform other tasks, as assigned

Education and Experience:
• 4-year, accredited college degree (required)
• A minimum of 5 years of recruiting experience (required) preferably in a law firm or law school environment and a minimum of 3 years recruiting lawyers in the Intellectual Property space preferred

Skills:
• Requires excellent interpersonal and communication skills, good judgment, a professional and friendly demeanor, confidentiality, and strong professional and ethical standards.
• Must be highly motivated, creative, flexible, results-oriented and possess the ability to work independently under pressure with demanding deadlines.
• Must work well with all levels of firm personnel and must be able to establish effective working relationships throughout the firm.
• Must possess strong organizational, administrative and word processing skills.
• Must have proven working knowledge of MS Office, Excel and Outlook.
• Must be proficient with applicant data tracking software, preferably PeopleSoft Recruit Workforce.

Physical and Mental Demands:
• Must be able to deal with stress associated with a fast paced work environment, including handling multiple tasks on a daily basis.
• Must be able to make judgment decisions and handle daily, routine responsibilities.• Must be able to adapt to changing work situations and grasp and apply new ideas.
• Must be able to communicate with various personalities at all levels of management and staff.
• Must be able to accommodate a flexible work schedule that will frequently require long hours and periodically weekend work.

Working Conditions:
• Desk type position which requires a combination of sedentary and standing activities.
• Daily use of personal computer and associated software systems.

Any information contained on this form represents the usual method of accomplishing the duties in this job. Reasonable accommodations will be considered in appropriate circumstances. However, as the nature of an accommodation may vary depending on the needs and desires of an individual with a disability, it is impossible to describe in advance specific accommodations that will be considered.
NOTE: Nothing in this job description restricts management's right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this position at any time.

Base Salary $100,000-$150,000/year

ABOUT THE FIRM

K&L Gates is a fully integrated global law firm with lawyers located across five continents in more than 40 offices. We have experienced dramatic growth in the past decade and now rank among the largest U.S. based law firms in the world.  We take pride in constantly striving for innovation, imagination and an entrepreneurial spirit. We come up with big ideas and then roll up our sleeves to get the job done, guiding our clients through their most complex issues in a variety of industry sectors and across multiple regions of the world. 

The industry recognition the firm has garnered emanates from the foundation of a global community aligned on behalf of our clients. The people at K&L Gates are committed to working together to create a legacy for each other, the firm, our clients, and the communities in which we serve. We thrive in an inclusive and socially conscious environment that embraces diversity and takes a holistic approach to the career evolution of all our professionals.

For more information or to view other job opportunities, please click here to go back to our careers page.

Notice: We participate in E-Verify in certain Firm locations for purposes of verifying employment eligibility.

BENEFITS

We offer a dynamic work environment and excellent benefits.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

The Firm is an equal opportunity employer. All employment decisions will be based on merit, qualifications, competence, and business need. Employment practices will not be influenced or affected by a person’s race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related conditions), national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, disability, genetic information, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. This policy governs all aspects of employment including, without limitation, recruiting, hiring, compensation, benefits, promotion, assignment, and dismissal. In addition, it is the Firm’s policy to provide an environment that is free of all unlawful harassment including, without limitation, that based on sex, race, age, disability, or national origin. The Firm complies with federal and state disability laws and makes reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities. If you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, interviewing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please contact askHR@klgates.com.