A Few Law Firms Pay Lower Recruiter Fees for Laid-Off Associates
A handful of law firms are paying lower recruiter fees for laid-off associates, and one managing partner says it was the recruiters’ idea.
The standard commission in major markets is still 25 percent to 30 percent of the associate’s starting pay, the Am Law Daily reports. But the publication spoke to mostly anonymous sources who said these firms are paying less:
Herrick, Feinstein has offered a 12.5 percent fee.
• Kirkland & Ellis has told recruiters it will pay only a 20 percent fee outside New York.
• Duane Morris has sought a 20 percent fee for some associate hires, but it’s not a bright-line rule.
• Morrison Cohen is paying some of its preferred recruiters a 15 percent fee, according to managing partner David Scherl. Recruiters themselves suggested the lower fee, Scherl told the Am Law Daily. “It was just a capitalist market coming to grips with reality,” he said.
• Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp, paying 15 percent.
The Am Law Daily says the lower fees aren’t an indication of “a tidal wave of change,” although they may be “evidence of a burgeoning trend.”
