Law Firm Hiring · Bay Area & National
Scale Up Counsel provides retained and contingency legal recruiting services to law firms seeking to hire lateral partners, senior associates, and counsel-level attorneys. We serve Cravath-scale firms, AmLaw 50 firms, AI-native law firms, and elite legal technology companies across the San Francisco Bay Area and the broader national market.
Our recruiting services are built on a simple principle: the best legal recruiters are the ones who have actually practiced law. Our team brings firsthand BigLaw experience to every search, allowing us to evaluate candidates the way a hiring partner does, not just as a résumé screener.
We identify and recruit associates at comparable or peer firms with the exact practice group background, deal experience, and academic credentials your team needs. We assess fit across culture, deal flow, and compensation expectations before introducing candidates.
Partner-level searches require a different process. We work confidentially to identify partners with portable books of business and the practice fit your firm needs to grow. We understand the economics of partner transitions, including compensation structures, origination credits, and integration timelines, because we have lived them.
For firms building out specific practice groups or handling surge hiring needs, we provide targeted counsel-level and senior associate searches with fast turnaround.
We use proprietary agentic technology to score candidate-role fit across dozens of variables before any introduction, reducing time-to-placement and improving retention outcomes.
Law firms that use Scale Up Counsel report fewer wasted interviews, better cultural fit on placements, and faster processes because we vet deeply before making introductions.
Our employer network currently includes 20+ top-tier firms and legal organizations, all of which have worked with us on active searches. We maintain ongoing relationships rather than transactional placements.
Scale Up Counsel works with Cravath-scale and AmLaw 50 law firms, AI-native law firms, and elite legal technology companies. We focus on lateral placements at the associate, counsel, and partner levels.
We combine our existing network of BigLaw attorneys with outbound search using our AI-assisted fit-scoring technology. Candidates are vetted before introduction, and all outreach is handled discreetly.
We work on both structures depending on the nature of the search and the firm's preferences. Contact us to discuss which model fits your hiring need.
We can begin most searches within days of engagement. Our current network allows us to surface relevant candidates quickly for common practice areas.
Use the contact form on our website or email jobs@scaleupcounsel.com with a brief description of the role. A member of our team will follow up within one business day.
Tell us what you're looking for and we'll respond within one business day.
Email: jobs@scaleupcounsel.com
Headquarters: Palo Alto, CA · Serving the San Francisco Bay Area and nationally
