By Jim Knott, Founder

Most recruiting agreements are short, and the terms that matter are easy to miss. Before a firm signs one, it should have a clear answer to each of the questions below. These are also the questions Bound expects to be asked.

Fees

  • What is the fee, and what is it calculated on? Base salary, total cash compensation, or something else?
  • Is there a retainer or any upfront payment?
  • When is the fee due, and what is the payment term?
  • How are partner hires charged, and how is compensation defined for a partner?

Guarantee

  • How long is the replacement guarantee?
  • What triggers it? Resignation, termination, or both?
  • Are there exclusions?
  • Is the replacement free, or does it carry a reduced fee?

Ownership and tail terms

  • If you already know a candidate the recruiter introduces, what happens?
  • If you hire a candidate you were introduced to, but later, does the fee still apply? For how long?
  • How does the recruiter record each introduction, and will you receive that record?

Exclusivity

  • Does the agreement make the recruiter your only source for the role?
  • Are there restrictions on the recruiter approaching your own attorneys or the firms you do not want contacted?
  • Can you end the agreement, and how?

Who runs the search

  • Who will I speak to at the start, and will it be the same person throughout?
  • How do you find candidates, and how do you decide who to present?
  • Do you send resumes widely, or only to partners whose practice matches?
  • How do you protect confidentiality when the search is quiet?

How Bound answers

  • The fee is 25% of base salary at every level, on contingency, with no retainer and no upfront cost.
  • The fee is payable within 14 days of the candidate's start date.
  • A hire who leaves or is let go within 90 days of the start date is replaced free.
  • Exclusivity and off-limits arrangements are agreed in writing before a search starts.
  • If you have already seen a candidate Bound introduces, you tell Bound at once, and Bound keeps a dated record of every introduction.
  • One person runs each search from the first call to the signed offer. Bound approaches attorneys on your behalf without naming your firm until you agree, and the list of attorneys stays with Bound.

The full terms are on the how Bound works page. Whichever recruiter you use, get the answers in writing.