Recruitment firms agree that mid-level legal professionals are in short supply; leading a number of Hong Kong and Singapore law firms to hold back from using just on-line recruitment methods to find graduates. In Hong Kong, it has become the norm for law firms to use the services of legal recruitment specialists to access the small pool of suitable specialist candidates, according to Tim Smith, a director with JLegal based in Hong Kong.

While there may not be any shortage of graduates, those with a few years’ experience and established specialisations will get interviews with multiple firms, which can all be dealt with by the same agent, Smith said. “An experienced legal recruitment consultant will not only be able to advise on which firms are recruiting, they can also manage the interview and offer process.”

When a consultant manages that process, the main advantages are that a recruiter can be treated as a direct line to the hiring partner, and can vet CVs to ensure that candidate receives a proper hearing, according to Ash Raivadera, a founding consultant with boutique legal recruitment business ATR & Associates in Singapore. An agent will also understand the firm’s culture and reputation within the market and offer an unbiased perspective on these, according to Smith.

Other benefits include having a higher probability for a CV getting before the hiring partner, and the chance to have a recruitment agent act as a ‘verbal advocate’ and give hiring partners a more complete picture. Raivadera also mentioned that those factors can help a recruiter ensure that both the candidate and client get the right package in terms of salary and benefits. “Our knowledge of market norms becomes invaluable in getting the right deal for both parties.”

In terms of benefits for firms themselves, the difference in cost between on-line and executive agents is vast, according to Andrew Keith, director of human resources at Baker McKenzie for Hong Kong, China and Vietnam. "With an on-line approach there is a fixed cost but there is no guarantee of the service quality. With an agent working on contingency you only pay when there's been a placement,' he added. Keith's Singapore counterpart, Mich Gorrospe, agreed, "good agents who are proactive, interview their candidates at length, understand their clients’ needs and make two recommendations, both of whom met your criteria, they are worth their weight in gold."

Whether or not a firm uses a recruitment agent very  much depends on the agent, according to Keith. "We try to work very closely with agents to help them understand us. I think recruiters are probably going to have to find some added value in the near future though," he said. He also said that there is a greater propensity for firms in Hong Kong to use agents than in the UK and the US. In those areas he noted that the use of on-line recruitment methods is significantly higher, adding that firms do need to have a reasonable size team to be able to successfully run on-line recruitment campaigns. "It requires being pro-active," he said.  Keith did agree that lawyers in particular form all over the workd have a preference for using a third party to recruit staff. "Engaging recruiters or agents can be costly but the fees could be worth the value they can contribute to the process." When the choice was between a candidate via an agent and one on-line, Gorrospe said the choice was clear,"A good direct candidate is always more attractive than an agency candidate, in our opinion."