However, Michelle also realized that genuinely helping her candidates required more than simply helping them find their next job. She wanted to give attorneys more than just opportunities — she wanted to provide valuable insights that would help propel them forward in their careers.
To bring that vision to life, Michelle launched The Foster Group, a legal recruiting firm built upon a “career counseling” approach.
“Instead of simply connecting attorneys with a viable position, a career counseling approach seeks to help attorneys map out their future and to play a role in identifying and securing each step along the way,” Michelle explains. “The best approach to recruiting is relational rather than transactional. It requires engaging with clients to understand their goals, values, and preferences.”
The power of strategic relationship building
The team at The Foster Group knows a career move is one of the most significant decisions an attorney will make. To ensure they can provide the insights and expertise needed to navigate that decision, they adopted core practices, allowing them to acquire a deep knowledge of firms and their search processes. At the heart of these processes is a commitment to building and maintaining solid relationships with top law firms around the world.
“Having cultivated deep relationships with top law firms and corporations, we are able to provide insights that are not readily available to attorneys when considering a move,” shares Elaine Oh, Senior Legal Recruiter at The Foster Group. “We routinely meet with key leadership folks who share their strategic priorities and growth plans with us to better understand what drives their hiring demand. This, in turn, allows us to better assist our clients and guide our candidates towards the right opportunities to achieve long-term success.”
Essentially, The Foster Group has access to critical information that is unavailable to the average job seeker. This allows them to give their candidates an inside look into other firms, providing key insights into what defines a firm and how to navigate its unique application and hiring process.
“The relationships we have built with firms give us access to exclusive opportunities and retained searches that are not shared publicly or available to a broad pool of candidates,” shares Drew Foster, Managing Director at The Foster Group. “These roles usually offer substantial career benefits, such as an accelerated path, a leadership role, robust compensation, and succession opportunities.”
Insider information isn’t the only benefit that flows from the relationships The Foster Group has built with law firms and corporations. The trust Michelle and her team have gained through those relationships also adds value to the legal recruitment services they provide to their clients.
“Key decision makers trust our insight on candidates because of the successful work we have done for them in the past,” Michelle explains. “As a result, the candidates we submit get a real ‘look’ from the firm, which means they are much more likely to get an interview. We are also better able to prepare our candidates for their interview because we have a lot more information to share, so our candidates are more likely to receive a strong offer.”
The value of fresh intel on market movements
In addition to firm-specific insights, clients who come to The Foster Group also get expert insights on the latest developments in the legal field and their effects on career opportunities. Michelle and her team closely track market movements, utilizing specialized tools and databases, a broad range of legal publications, and the myriad of relationships they have with attorneys across the legal spectrum.
“Staying up-to-date on the legal market’s movements is a part of my everyday routine,” Elaine shares. “I think it’s important to take time to educate yourself on the big legal headlines, lateral movements, and broader legal landscape that affect the hiring market.”
By staying constantly in the mix, The Foster Group is also among the first to find out when new opportunities arise, which are then immediately evaluated in terms of their clients’ needs. If a match seems evident, a connection can quickly be made.
“Sometimes, we talk with candidates who we can’t assist immediately,” says Drew, “Still, we take the time to understand what is important to them, keeping the relationship top of mind. As we continue to engage in the market, more often than not, we can circle back to those candidates with tailored opportunities. It’s an approach that serves both attorneys who are looking for top law firm career opportunities and firms who are looking for a skill set that aligns with their practice area.”
To stand out in today’s highly competitive legal market, attorneys need more than just skills and experience. They need a guide and an advocate, someone who will understand their vision and help them to achieve it. The Foster Group plays that role through its career-counseling approach to legal recruiting, leveraging the power of connections to help its clients advance in their careers.