Legal Staff Recruiters in NYC

I'd appreciate any tips/advice/information on quality legal recruiters in the NYC area. I've been looking at Filcro (among others) and their "openings" seem quite voluminous - don't know whether this is a true representation of the jobs that are actually available or not. I currently live in Denver but am looking to move east. I'm a transactional secretary (public finance, real estate, corporate) with high word processor skills and I don't have any problems working 2nd or 3rd shift. Thanks!

Sara C in Denver, Colorado said: I'd appreciate any tips/advice/information on quality legal recruiters in the NYC area. I've been looking at Filcro (among others) and their "openings" seem quite voluminous - don't know whether this is a true representation of the jobs that are actually available or not. I currently live in Denver but am looking to move east. I'm a transactional secretary (public finance, real estate, corporate) with high word processor skills and I don't have any problems working 2nd or 3rd shift. Thanks!

Hi. I'm an experienced legal secretary of 31 years, and have worked in major NYC law firms the whole time. I have dealt with Filcro and have had no results with them whatsoever in the past. Lots of jobs listed in papers or online, but when you go to their office, where are all the jobs? Like many of those places, the jobs just aren't there once you enter their offices. Of course, I don't do overtime anymore and some of the jobs call for it, so that could be one explanation (thousands of us commute from the Poconos in PA to NYC by bus, that's overtime for us, LOL). But right now, consider NYC a desert for legal secretarial jobs, the firms all have hiring freezes in place. I've been out of work since January. Two friends are still out, once since October. He does word processing and is certified, so he's good and he's had 2 temp jobs since Oct. His wife is a legal secretary, out of work since March. Another friend, again with many years experience, out since October. Another, out since February. Whatever jobs are out there are combat pay positions, and there's not many of those, either. I've started school in order to change fields. After 31 years of law firms and lawyers, I've had enough anyway. I'd recommend Lease & LeBeau or LaBeau, I think they're on Fifth Avenue, midtown NYC. They are a quality legal recruiter and they deal with quality firms. But, a friend has always dealt with them, and they've had nothing.

Oh, when I say friends have been out since October up above, I mean since October 2008, so they're out of work already for a year! I wouldn't advise making a move from out of state to NYC, the unemployment rate has not eased, many of us who worked in NYC are still out of work, and NY state is awaiting an additional emergency extension for unemployment benefits due to the continued high unemployment rate.

I've been a legal secretary for 14 years. I moved from Chicago to New York City in October of 2009 and met with Filcro in Nov. They sent me on 3 interviews that were real matches, they respected my time and they made sure I was qualified. Two of the firms were of real interest to me and I ended up getting a job that I really like with a litigation partner who used to work for my Chicago firm in their Los Angeles office. Their screening process is tougher than any of the other agenices I went to and another person testing with me the same day said the same thing to me. Filcro also really interviewed me and went through every aspect of my work history. I went to another agency and they did not test me or even ask anything in detail about my work history or my skills and they sent my resume to a firm without speaking to me first. Filcro was really a more professional experience for me and better then the other agencies. The secretarial supervisor of the firm I'm working for now told me two things that were very intersting during the interview. Filcro has never wasted their time and half of the secretaries in the firm came from them. She was stern but very fair and she let me know the firm is not for so-so legal secretaries. Getting a job in this market was very hard for me and Filcro did get me a good job with a solid national firm. My advice to other legal secretaries looking is that you have got to be prepared. Years ago you would go to an agency and they had tons of jobs and screening was not as detailed as it is now. Do your homework on the firms you're going to. I've met other legal secretaries looking in this market and they lack a lot of what a good firm requires today. I saw one woman in tennis shoes. What worked 10 years ago is not the same at the agencies or the law firms. Everyone at the agencies have many legal secretaries looking in this economy. I was lucky but I also think I had a good agency and I did the right thing. Hope this help.. Jod

Jodi - thank you so much for your reply. This is very helpful information. Sara