Senior Lateral Recruiting Assistant

October 21, 2026
New York City, NY, US
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Gibson Dunn is a leading global law firm, advising clients on significant transactions and disputes. Our exceptional teams craft and deploy creative legal strategies that are meticulously tailored to every matter, however complex or high-stakes. The firm’s work is distinguished by a unique combination of precision and vision.

Based in New York, the Senior Lateral Recruiting Assistant will support the lateral recruiting team by coordinating interview schedules, administering search firm agreements, and launching/ tracking onboarding items for new lateral arrivals. The ideal candidate will bring prior lateral attorney recruiting experience at a leading law firm, strong organizational skills, and the ability to manage day-to-day responsibilities with appropriate independence and sound judgment.

The Senior Lateral Recruiting Assistant will report to the Senior Manager, Lateral Recruiting.

Responsibilities include

  • Coordinating lateral attorney interviews, including proper tracking in applicant tracking system, gathering availability, preparing and distributing schedules and materials, arranging in-person and virtual logistics, greeting candidates, and managing schedule changes.
  • Coordinating post-offer visits and conducting office tours upon candidate request.
  • Serving as a day-to-day contact for candidates, search firms, and interviewers regarding scheduling, logistics, and routine recruiting inquiries; escalate substantive questions as appropriate.
  • Administering the search firm agreement process, including distributing the firm’s standard agreement, tracking signatures, and maintaining accurate records.
  • Drafting lateral attorney offer letters and maintain file of executed letters.
  • Maintaining records of lateral candidate compensation offers and market intelligence regarding compensation.
  • Administering lateral hiring offer approval processes.
  • Launching onboarding for lateral associates upon acceptance of their offers, initiating onboarding tasks and communications, monitoring completion of required documentation, and following up with incoming associates and internal departments on outstanding items.
  • Tracking prior checks for prospective candidates, documenting responses and outstanding follow-up, and maintaining confidential recruiting files.
  • Tracking and processing recruiting expenses using the firm’s accounting software system.
  • Coordinating logistics for recruiting-related meetings, events, and presentations, and provide additional support to the Legal Recruiting team as needed.

Qualifications

  • Exhibit professionalism and communicate effectively with attorneys, candidates, search firms, and colleagues.
  • Work collaboratively and demonstrate a strong commitment to candidate service and team priorities.
  • Take initiative and independently manage routine recruiting responsibilities, while recognizing when to seek guidance or escalate an issue.
  • Have excellent interpersonal and organizational skills, with the ability to prioritize competing requests and adapt to changing schedules.
  • Demonstrate strong attention to detail and follow-through while meeting deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
  • Handle highly sensitive candidate and firm information with confidentiality and discretion.
  • Ability to work overtime as needed.

Experience

  • Bachelor’s degree required.
  • 2 years of recruiting experience at a top law firm, with a focus on lateral attorney recruiting, is preferred.
  • Experience coordinating attorney interview schedules, administering search firm agreements, and initiating onboarding.
  • Strong computer skills, including proficiency in Microsoft Office.
  • Experience with recruiting databases is preferred; familiarity with ViRecruit, ChromeRiver, and iManage is a plus.
  • Familiarity with AI tools such as Claude and ChatGPT to support administrative work, with sound judgment in reviewing outputs and safeguarding confidential information in accordance with firm policies.

Gibson Dunn will consider for employment qualified Applicants with Criminal Histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of local law.

Compensation & Benefits

The annual compensation range for this position is $68-78k. The salary offered within this range will depend upon qualifications and other operational considerations.

Benefits offered for this position include health care; retirement benefits; paid days off, including sick time, and vacation time; parental leave; basic life insurance; Flexible Spending Accounts; as well as discretionary, performance-based bonuses.

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For technical difficulties with our online application, please contact us at [staffrecruiting@gibsondunn.com](mailto:staffrecruiting@gibsondunn.com). Our recruiting support team will respond as soon as possible.

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Gibson Dunn is committed to ensuring equal employment opportunities for all qualified applicants, including individuals with disabilities. We strive to ensure an inclusive and accessible hiring experience. The Firm will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities to enable participation in the application and recruitment process, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.
If you require a reasonable accommodation to complete an application, participate in an interview, or otherwise take part in the recruitment process, please contact us at [recruiting-accommodations@gibsondunn.com](mailto:recruiting-accommodations@gibsondunn.com).* Please note, this is a dedicated email inbox established exclusively to assist applicants with accommodation request related to the recruitment process. Inquiries about the status of an application or other non-accommodation matter will not receive a response.