Frequently Asked Questions

We've compiled a list of all the questions we are asked on a regular basis by the law firms and lawyers we work with. Can't find an answer to your question below? Don't hesitate to get in touch and we'd be happy to help!

What law firms ask FAQs

Here's some of the questions law firms might ask when selecting a recruitment partner.

If there's anything we've not answered here, get in touch!

I've worked with recruitment agencies who have been actively targeting our employees while marketing one of our roles. Is this something you practise?

We have strict procedures in place that mean we do not specifically headhunt the team members of any of our recruitment partners. This is why it pays to work with us on an exclusive or semi-exclusive basis.

As a law firm, our response to the current talent shortage has been to increase the number of recruiters we work with. Is this the right strategy?

We're not here to tell you how to run your business, but we are experts in helping law firms attract and retain talent to achieve sustainable growth. While it may seem logical to add more recruiters to your vacancy briefing list or (if you have one) PSL, this can often be a bad idea.

The problem is that, armed with your permission (or even without it, as the case sometimes is, any old recruiter with a LinkedIn Recruiter licence can start contacting lawyers about your firm. How well they do this is often very hit-and-miss, and if the same lawyer starts hearing about your role multiple times from several different agencies, they would be forgiven for thinking, "What's wrong with this firm? Why haven't they managed to fill the position?"

We would always recommend you work with one, or a small number, of recruitment partners with an ethical approach and a clear strategy of how they are tapping into the vast talent market of lawyers who are not currently seeking a new opportunity.

What are your fees and do you offer discounts?

Our clients find our fees to be competitive in the current market conditions. As the data from our annual research shows, a very small percentage of lawyers are actively looking to move jobs and the likelihood is that the sort of person you’re looking for is not going to fall into that category, but rather is going to be quite comfortable in their current role.

Delivering quality candidates to you in the current market conditions means additional investment in our marketing channels and the nurturement of our talent pools. Our clients reap the benefits of this approach, making our fees the best value in the market. Contact us to find out more.

We have a vacancy for a legal practice area I don't see listed on your website. Can you still help us?

While we provide an incomparably specialist legal recruitment service, as each of our consultants recruits for a specific area of law, we are growing our team all of the time, adding consultants for the practice areas our clients told us they have the most demand for. In addition, our consultants are impeccably networked within the legal market. So, in short, get in touch and we will be honest about our ability to help you fill your vacancy.

How can you help our firm raise its profile in a competitive employer market?

When our clients choose us as a legal recruitment partner, we help them create clever content plans to drip-feed their employer brand to our audience of over 10,000 lawyers – or, in other words, their next potential hire. This can be in support of an open vacancy or as part of a longer-term employer brand-building campaign to support continued growth and cut down on time-to-hire.

To do this, Realm has consciously invested in building one of the largest and most skilled marketing teams in the legal recruitment space, led by a former in-house legal marketer.

We offer this as a completely free, added-value service when working with firms on an exclusive or semi-exclusive basis, or on a paid basis for other firms.

How are you helping clients combat the current talent-short legal market?

Unlike most recruitment agencies, who will only be investing in marketing to a shrinking pool of active jobseekers, we are investing in developing relationships with lawyers earlier on in their decision-making process, so that when they are ready to explore opportunities, they will come to us.

We have vast audiences across email marketing, social media and our video channels, and keep our talent pools highly engaged with content to help them with skill development and career progression. This includes events, written and filmed interviews, informative blog content, our podcast series, regular newsletters.

How many lawyers are looking for a new opportunity at the moment?

Chances are you will already have felt the impact of one of the tightest recruitment markets the legal sector has ever faced. Realm’s primary research, which we conduct each year with the sole aim of providing our clients with better market insight, shows that the percentage of the market actively exploring new opportunities has fallen from 40% in 2019 to just 10% in 2022. If it feels harder to recruit than ever before, that’s because it is. So, it is even more important than before that you partner with the right recruiter to connect you with the talent you are looking for.

How do you market my vacancy?

When you choose Realm as your recruitment partner, you gain access to one of most extensive vacancy marketing strategies in the legal recruitment space. We continually review the marketing channels we invest in on behalf of our clients to ensure you get the best value for money. When you work with us on a vacancy, you extend your reach to:

- Our established talent pools – we speak to over 275 lawyers every day
- Several carefully selected premium job boards, where the cost to you to advertise the role directly would be up to £2500
- Several premium CV databases
- Thousands of followers across our social media platforms
- Our highly-engaged email database of almost 10,000 lawyers
- Paid advertising campaigns across Google Ads and social media

Our best-in-class marketing strategy ensures that your vacancies are easily found by active candidates searching for opportunities in your region, and those who aren’t actively looking to move but could be persuaded for the right opportunity.

What lawyers ask FAQs

Speaking to a recruiter can feel like a big deal, but it needn't be! We're here to put you at ease - after all, it's all about you, your career, your success.

My job satisfaction has fallen recently, but I'm not exactly sure if I want to look for a new job or hold out for a promotion or pay rise at my current firm. Can you still help me?

The short answer is - yes, absolutely. We're not 'just' recruiters. Because we chat with hundreds of lawyers and law firms every day, we know what people are being paid, what skills are in demand, and how to maximise your value as a professional - whether with your current firm or a future firm. Ask for a chat with us and we'll offer you nothing but friendly, unbiased advice without the sales talk!

I'm unsure if I'm being paid fairly. Can you help me benchmark my legal salary?

Realm uses its unrivalled breadth and depth of market expertise to put together Salary Guides for the legal market every year. Lawyers use these to get a sense of how far below or above the market average their pay actually is, and what their future earning potential looks like. What's more, our guides are broken down by practice area and PQE level, which makes our Salary Guides the most accurate and detailed on the market. Request your copy here.

If I agree to work with you, where will you send my CV?

Unlike some recruitment agencies, we believe in a completely ethical approach and would never send your CV to a law firm(s) without your permission. We'll work closely with you to identify the firms that are best suited to your experience and ambitions, and then represent you in the best way possible.

Will our conversation be confidential?

100%. We will never disclose to your employer that we've ever had a conversation with you and we will always ask you before putting your CV forward to any specific firms. We deal with these situations all the time, so don't let that put you off speaking to us about your career.

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Can’t find the answer you’re looking for?

If you have any questions about working with us that you've not found an answer to here, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Our experts are hear to help you via telephone, email, face-to-face or via an online meeting.