This page sets out how a Bound search runs and what it costs, so you can decide before you pick up the phone. Bound recruits for US law firms of roughly 5 to 200 attorneys, and one person runs each search from the first call to the signed offer.
If you already know what you need, submit a search.
Six steps, in this order.
A call with you or the hiring partner. Bound asks about the practice area and level, the billable expectation, the base salary range, who decides, and how soon you need someone. If the search is confidential, that is agreed here.
Bound identifies the attorneys in your market who fit the practice area and level, and approaches them on your behalf. The list stays with Bound. You see the candidates who are interested, not the full list.
Bound sends a short list, not a stack of resumes. Each candidate comes with a written summary of their practice, class year or experience, bar admissions, and what is driving their interest. A candidate is introduced only with their approval for your firm.
Bound schedules the interviews and collects feedback from both sides, so neither the firm nor the candidate is left guessing.
Bound manages the conversation between you and the candidate, covering base salary, start date, and the chance that the candidate's current firm makes a counteroffer.
Bound stays in touch with you and the new hire through the first 90 days. The replacement guarantee covers the same period.
Bound works on contingency at every level. There is no retainer, no upfront cost, and no fee unless you hire.
The fee is 25% of the candidate’s base salary, whatever the salary level. It is calculated on base salary only. Bonuses and benefits are not part of the calculation.
The fee is payable within 14 days of the candidate’s start date. Before that date you owe nothing.
As an example of the arithmetic, a hire at a base salary of $100,000 produces a fee of $25,000.
If a candidate Bound places leaves or is let go within 90 days of their start date, Bound replaces them at no additional fee. The replacement search follows the same steps as the first one.
The 90 days are counted from the start date, the same date the payment period runs from.
Bound does not charge a retainer, so it does not ask for a retainer-style commitment. If you want Bound to work a search exclusively, or want certain firms or people placed off limits, those terms are agreed in writing before the search starts.
Quiet searches are common for partner and practice group hires, and for any role where the incumbent has not been told. Say so at the intake call.
Bound then approaches candidates without naming your firm until you agree, and shares details of the search only with the people you name. Candidates are treated the same way in the other direction: a candidate’s name goes to your firm only after that candidate approves the introduction.
A search runs faster when these are settled at the start.