MLA's In-House Recruiting Practice is Unmatched

When searching for a General Counsel, Collaboration Between Our Clients and In-House recruiters is Key

If you are a CEO, VP of Human Resources, or other senior executive faced with the task of recruiting a first or new General Counsel for your company, you need experience and expertise of the highest order from someone who works every day with senior-level lawyers. You are probably not faced with this task frequently, and perhaps have never had to conduct such a search before. The members of MLA’s In-House Counsel practice, many of whom are former GCs or other experienced in-house lawyers themselves, have the relationships and expertise you are seeking.

MLA’s In-House recruiters have been conducting General Counsel Search for 30 years, from companies in the Fortune 500 to companies hiring their first inside lawyer. We have the market knowledge, contacts and deep understanding of the complex nuances of the GC role to assist you in searching for the candidate who brings the right mix of legal, business and interpersonal skills to this crucial role – and is the right cultural fit for your senior management team. When only the best candidate for the GC job will do, call on MLA.

Our in-house counsel recruiters, many of whom are former lawyers and in-house counsel themselves, take the time to understand the needs and requirements of each client's business, and are therefore able to find the perfect General Counsel candidate for each situation. We know that our clients need lawyers who not only possess superior legal skills, but will mesh with corporate culture, are problem solvers who can address a broad range of legal issues and craft solutions to any company's specific business goals. Our in-house counsel recruiters look beyond the candidate's CV to delve deeper – to find an outstanding General Counsel who will make a significant contribution to the client's success.

We are committed to working with our client companies in every way we can. For example, MLA can collaborate closely with human resource staff and other executives to carefully craft position descriptions that are clearly defined yet open enough to allow for a pool of qualified candidates. Our HR partners find our capacity to conduct searches locally, nationally and globally, and our grasp of worldwide competitive compensation and benefits particularly helpful. Our General Counsel recruiters are equally well versed in the specific needs of a wide range of industries – financial services, manufacturing, technology, entertainment and energy, to name a few (check out our representative list of in-house counsel placements and clients). It all adds up to a unique ability to target exceptional legal talent compatible with our clients' corporate culture and business goals – something that makes MLA stand out from other in-house recruiting firms.

Our GC Search clients know we are much more than a service provider – we are a partner and recruiting consultant. We provide candidates who are carefully screened on a number of succcess factors appropriate to the company's interests and criteria. And we match those candidates with the most desirable General Counsel positions in the marketplace.

Engaging Major, Lindsey & Africa is the first step in Building a World-Class Legal Department

For the General Counsel or other senior lawyer responsible for building a company’s in-house legal team, MLA has the recruiting talent, market knowledge, systems, and research services that enable us to identify an outstanding lawyer who will make a significant contribution to the company’s success.

Major, Lindsey & Africa specializes in working closely with General Counsel and other corporate leaders to help them bring specialized legal talent into their organizations. The practice of law is so different from other professions that a generalist recruiter is often at a disadvantage when trying to discern the right training and credentials in a candidate and persuading the candidate of the best legal career path. Only a specialist with substantive depth and reach can serve this highly specialized need.

Many of MLA’s search consultants are former in-house counsel, giving us a rare understanding of what it takes to meet your needs. We understand in-house specialties, roles, what makes in-house practice different, and most of all, where the talent is. Having placed many GCs and AGCs, we help them complete their teams with lawyers that display complementary skills and dispositions, as well as a diversity of backgrounds and points of view. Many successful legal departments have been structured, organized and staffed through a close collaboration with MLA’s in-house recruiting team. We have followed many legal careers from law school to retirement, and know the training, capabilities, and temperament of candidates. We reach candidates who are in the market, as well as those who aren’t actively seeking new opportunities. The call from MLA is considered extremely important, as we have guided thousands of successful careers. We can also consult General Counsel on staffing.

We work with General Counsel, HR executives and other senior managers to assure the best match from a carefully vetted slate of qualified talent. We can also assist with succession-planning needs in the legal function, and any other needs in the area of legal staffing and human capital solutions for the legal department.