What McCormack Schreiber does

McCormack Schreiber is a Chicago-based, privately-held legal recruiting firm founded in 1998 that places partners, associates, paralegals, and other legal professionals at law firms and corporate legal departments. The firm serves a client base of 200+ law firms — including AmLaw 200 firms such as Kirkland & Ellis, Skadden, Jenner & Block, Katten, and Mayer Brown, along with Chicago midsize and boutique firms — and 60+ in-house corporate clients spanning financial services, investment management, technology, healthcare, real estate, and hospitality (including Adams Street Partners, Antares Capital, CCC Intelligent Solutions, Northwestern Memorial Healthcare, Ventas, and Hyatt). Its primary service lines are law firm partner/group placements, law firm associate placements, in-house attorney recruiting, paralegal/legal professional recruiting, and contract/temporary staffing with temp-to-perm arrangements.

The firm operates as a traditional professional services business with a relationship-driven, sales-led go-to-market model. Revenue is generated primarily through contingency-based recruiting fees — a percentage of placed candidates' first-year compensation, industry-standard at 20-30% — charged to employer clients upon successful placement. Underlying technology is a legal recruiting database and candidate sourcing system used for matching candidates to open positions; no proprietary AI/ML features, APIs, or platform extensibility are disclosed. Distribution is direct-to-client engagement with law firm managing partners, hiring committees, and corporate general counsel, with no resellers or marketplace channels. The firm is co-led by Founder and Co-President Amy Leafe McCormack (a former McGuireWoods and DLA Piper labor and employment attorney with 30+ years in legal recruiting) and Co-President Gay Schreiber, supported by Managing Directors Debra L. Carlson, Liz Davies, and Shelley Dunck, and Director of Finance and Operations Rosa M. Lopez.

The firm is privately held with no external institutional or private equity ownership disclosed, no funding rounds, and no M&A activity. It operates a single mailing address in Chicago (111 N. Wabash Ave., Suite 100 #3207), serves the Midwest U.S. market, and maintains membership in NALSC, NALP, ACC, MCCA, NAWL, CALPA, and Chicago/Illinois paralegal associations. Recognition includes consecutive inclusion on the Lawdragon Global 100 Leaders in Legal Strategy and Consulting from 2022 through 2026 and the Lawdragon LD-100 Global Leading Consultants list. The firm also does business as "The Law Recruiters" (thelawrecruiters.com).

Name

McCormack Schreiber

Legal name

McCormack Schreiber

Website

https://thelawrecruiters.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

McCormack Schreiber is a Chicago-based, privately-held legal recruiting firm founded in 1998 that places partners, associates, paralegals, and in-house attorneys at 200+ law firms and 60+ corporate legal departments, primarily across the Midwest U.S.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Recruiting / Executive Search

NAICS

Executive Search Services (561312), Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131)

akta.pro primary industry

Legal & Compliance Direct Hire (BPACAFAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

C-Suite & Board Search (BPACAAAA)

Keywords

• Legal recruiting services
• Attorney placement
• Legal search firm
• Law firm staffing
• Paralegal recruiting

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Contingency-based Recruiting Fees: Traditional legal search firm revenue model where fees are charged to employer clients upon successful placement of candidates. Typically a percentage of the placed candidate's first-year compensation.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

McCormack Schreiber is a Chicago-based legal search firm that recruits and places experienced attorneys and paralegals at leading law firms and corporate legal departments. The firm provides direct, relationship-driven recruiting services covering lateral partner and group placements, associate hiring, in-house attorney placement, paralegal recruiting, and contract/temporary legal staffing for the Chicago legal market.

Product overview

McCormack Schreiber is a Chicago-based legal recruiting firm offering a unified suite of talent placement services for the legal industry. The core offerings include specialized recruiting for law firm partners/groups, associates, in-house attorneys, and paralegals, supported by contract/temporary staffing capabilities. The firm serves leading international law firms, regional and boutique firms, as well as Fortune 500 and regional companies seeking legal talent.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Law Firm Partner/Groups Recruiting

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 30 years of successful legal recruiting
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• National Association of Legal Search Consultants (NALSC)coreOthersProfessional association for legal search consultants. Amy McCormack served as elected Member of the Board of Directors from 2004-2008. The only organization that sets ethical standards for the legal recruiting profession.
• Association for Legal Career Professionals (NALP)minorOthersProfessional association serving legal career professionals and law firm administrators
• Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC)minorOthersProfessional association for in-house corporate counsel
• Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA)minorOthersProfessional association focused on diversity in corporate legal departments
• National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL)minorOthersProfessional association serving women lawyers in all practice areas and professional settings
• Chicago Association of Legal Personnel Administrators (CALPA)minorOthersRegional professional association for Chicago legal recruiting and HR professionals
• Illinois Paralegal AssociationminorOthersState professional association for paralegals
• Chicago Paralegal AssociationminorOthersRegional professional association for Chicago-area paralegals

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Latitude: Legal staffing and search firm specializing in flexible and direct-hire placements of attorneys and paralegals. Closely comparable to McCormack Schreiber's contract/temp staffing and direct-hire paralegal services.
• Major, Lindsey & Africa: The largest dedicated legal search firm globally, placing partners, associates, and in-house counsel. Directly comparable to McCormack Schreiber in core service offering, with a much broader multi-office geographic footprint that the Chicago-only firm cannot match.
• Hire Counsel: Legal staffing firm providing contract, temp-to-perm, and direct-hire attorneys, paralegals, and legal support professionals. Comparable in service mix, especially for the contract/temporary staffing line, with broader geographic reach.
• BCG Attorney Search: National attorney placement firm serving law firms and corporate legal departments across practice areas. Direct competitor in the legal recruiting space with a national scope, comparable candidate pool, and contingency-based placements.
• The Partners Group: Boutique legal search firm focused on law firm partner and group placements as well as in-house counsel. Direct competitor in the highest-value placement segment where McCormack Schreiber is strongest, including lateral partner moves.
• Special Counsel: National legal staffing and search firm placing attorneys, paralegals, and legal support professionals on contract, temp, and direct-hire bases. Directly comparable service mix including the contract/temp staffing line that McCormack Schreiber offers.
• Barker Gilmore: Legal search and consulting firm placing General Counsels, Chief Compliance Officers, and senior in-house counsel. Comparable to the firm's in-house attorney search line with particular overlap in Fortune 500 corporate legal department placements.

Broad incumbents

• Heidrick & Struggles: Global executive search firm with a dedicated Legal, Risk, Regulatory & Compliance practice that places General Counsels, Chief Compliance Officers, and law firm partners. Comparable in the in-house and partner-placement segments but as part of a much broader executive search portfolio.
• Spencer Stuart: Global executive search firm with a Legal, Compliance & Regulatory practice placing GCs and senior in-house counsel. Overlaps with McCormack Schreiber's in-house attorney search work but operates across all C-suite functions, not just legal.
• Robert Half Legal: The legal staffing and direct-hire division of Robert Half, placing attorneys, paralegals, and legal support staff nationwide. Overlaps with the firm's paralegal and associate placements and contract staffing but as part of a much larger general staffing conglomerate.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mccormack-schreiber-legal-search
• Xx.com/thelawrecruiter

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about McCormack Schreiber