Eve was born in Brooklyn, New York and moved throughout the United States until she was in seventh grade, when she settled in the San Francisco Bay Area. The legal recruiter attended San Francisco State University and graduated cum laude with a B.A. in psychology. She is very proud of working full-time to put herself through college and she made the Dean's List each semester. Eve was a member of the Golden Key National Honor Society while enrolled at San Francisco State. She earned her J.D. from University Southern California and was fortunate to have been offered a full tuition scholarship.
The recruiter's number one priority outside of work is her family. She has been married for twenty five years and has two wonderful daughters, ages 16 and 19. Eve admitted she has two very different daughters. The older daughter is in college and out of the house while the younger teenager is still in high school.
When Eve is not working, she enjoys the beach, skiing, hiking, traveling, and spending time with her family. Her favorite places to ski are Telluride, Colorado, and Park City, Utah. Eve said Telluride is “exquisite. The crowds are lighter and the view is breathtaking.” The recruiter's top places to hike are Malibu, Switzerland, and the Canadian Rockies. Eve explained how she traveled with her husband to the Canadian Rockies, where a helicopter dropped them off with their tour guide at a remote lodge. They ate “gourmet food” and went hiking during the day before they headed back to their lodge.
Eve is an avid reader and her favorite book is As I Lay Dying, written by the American author William Faulkner. She is currently reading HHhH, a novel written by Laurent Binet. The recruiter is a frequent visitor at Gjelina, an American Restaurant in Venice. She also loves Sushi and eats Tapas.
Eve's Mentor, Volunteer Activities, and Professional Associations
Eve gave credit to Sheila Garb for being her mentor. The humble recruiter said, “Sheila Garb was the owner of my company until she retired in 2002. Sheila felt that legal recruiting would be the perfect job for me and she convinced me to try it. She was absolutely right. Sheila taught me the business and I took over as President of the company when she retired. If it wasn't for her, I definitely would not be where I am today.”
The recruiter works with non-profit organizations. Her company “just finished a search for a non-profit organization in the education sector. We loved working with the organization and we introduced them to many incredible candidates who shared a passion for their cause.”
Eve also devotes her time by volunteering in her community. She stated, “Giving back to the community is very important to me. As a family, we participate in a variety of community service activities with our kids and I have also been involved with Everychild Foundation, AIPAC, Young Angels of America, a variety of schools including USC where I went to law school, and our temple, Kehillat Israel.”
Eve's Successful Career Path and Tips for Legal Recruiters
Eve was asked what does it take to become a legal recruiter and how do you embody these characteristics personally and professionally? She replied, “Being a lawyer is enormously helpful because we understand the nuts and bolts of our candidates' practices as well as the dynamics and politics of working in a law firm. It's important to have an outgoing, warm personality and the desire to actually improve candidates' work life.”
The legal recruiter continued to say, “I think my candidates respond to me because I actually listen to them and only try to place them in positions that are right for them. I get tremendous satisfaction when I place a candidate in a job where I know they will be happy. My candidates have been very generous with their referrals of their friends to me which is the greatest compliment.”
Eve practiced corporate insolvency and bankruptcy law for seven years before becoming a legal recruiter. After she graduated from law school in 1989, Eve joined a law firm called Gendel Raskoff Shapiro & Quittner that dissolved when she was a third year associate. The recruiter explained, “Gendel was widely regarded as one of the best bankruptcy firms in California. When it dissolved, I was invited to join the largest group of attorneys from the firm to open up a new Los Angeles office of a San Francisco-based firm called Murphy Weir & Butler. Murphy was later acquired by Winston & Strawn but, before that, I left to join another bankruptcy boutique which was later acquired by Kirkland & Ellis.”
The bankruptcy attorney added, “As a result of the firm mergers and dissolutions, the attorneys with whom I practiced during my legal career are now scattered at different firms throughout the state which actually provide great contacts for me and my candidates in my career as a legal recruiter.”
Why practice corporate insolvency and bankruptcy? Eve contemplated real estate law or family law because of her psychology degree, but became interested in insolvency and bankruptcy after a friend recommended this area of the law. Eve also enjoyed being in court and negotiating deals while practicing corporate insolvency and bankruptcy.
So what motivated Eve to work as a recruiter? She stated, “I was always active in recruiting while practicing law and I served on my firm's recruiting committee, interviewed on campus, and helped to run the summer program. I loved recruiting and, coupled with my undergraduate degree in psychology, I felt that legal recruiting would be a natural fit for my background and personality.”
Eve discussed what she was known for professionally. The former bankruptcy attorney acknowledged that “all of our active recruiters are attorneys who graduated from top schools and practiced law in California. Our ethics and integrity are unparalleled which sets us apart from much of our competition. The legal recruiting industry has no ethical guidelines or regulations and I hear stories from my candidates on a regular basis about recruiters who have sent attorneys' resumes around town without the candidates' knowledge or consent.”
Eve pointed out her company's process of finding the right candidate and matching them with her clients' needs. She described that “each firm or company has a different culture and different requirements. We screen our candidates carefully and meet them all in person to be sure that their qualifications and personalities are a fit for our clients' needs.”
The recruiter also talked about what makes a great candidate. She claimed, “The answer to the question depends on the legal market. Currently, our economy is still recovering and there aren't as many positions for associates as there were a few years ago. Consequently, the firms tend to be flooded with applicants and, with fewer positions open, firms are able to attract a much higher caliber of candidate than prior to the recession.”
The candid legal recruiter elaborated by saying, “It has become more difficult to place associates from second tier schools and who do not have experience working at top firms. Thus, right now, the candidates with the highest likelihood of success in their search are those who graduated from top law schools and have experience working at large firms or at smaller firms that are widely recognized. Employers are always looking for candidates with a ‘fire in the belly' with a passion for their career and a motivation to develop their own clients.”
Eve described her recipe for a perfect match. The business woman said her company takes “pride in getting to know our firms well and understanding not only their practices but their personalities. In fact, we are personal friends with many partners in many firms through our years of practice and contacts in the community. We meet our candidates personally and take time to learn about them and their desires for their career.” The legal recruiter concluded, “That way, we are able to make intelligent and insightful introductions and, hopefully, both the firm and the candidate will be excited about each other.”
The business woman gave her advice to new recruiters. Eve kept it simple but was very honest when she announced, “Listen to your candidates and be true to their goals.” She emphasized listening to candidates and said her motivation is to improve their work lives and make their careers better. Eve made it clear that her motivation wasn't money, but to facilitate the betterment of her candidates' professional careers.
Eve firmly believes “it's a wonderful feeling to improve someone's life dramatically by helping them obtain a great job. We help our candidates to chart a new course for their professional life. It's extremely rewarding.” The legal recruiter recognized that “being a recruiter is like playing matchmaker but for people's careers rather than their love life. It is exhilarating when I match my candidates with jobs that will make them happy, hopefully for their entire careers.”
Eve proclaimed that being a legal recruiter is the perfect job for her. She declared, “I actually loved practicing law and, as a bankruptcy attorney, I constantly had a lot of different balls in the air and was negotiating and litigating a variety of matters at the same time. My favorite part of being a lawyer was working with the clients, attorneys in my office, and other attorneys involved in my cases. This career combines all of the aspects that I liked about my legal practice minus the litigation and much of the stress.” She added, “It's also great being my own boss.”
Being her own boss allowed Eve to manage her own hours and spend more time with her family, something she couldn't do while practicing law at a high level as a bankruptcy attorney.
Many readers want to know where Eve sees the field in the next five years. The straight shooting recruiter noted that “firms have become a lot more cautious about hiring since the recession, which is a good thing. They don't want to be in the position again of having to lay people off as a result of overly optimistic hiring. Therefore, firms are making hiring decisions more slowly right now. As the economy improves and firms begin to take comfort in knowing that work is continuing to flow, I see them relaxing a bit more on their hiring but I do not anticipate the gangbuster salaries and hiring sprees of earlier this decade happening again.”
Eve clarified what she meant by saying “happening again.”She revealed that the legal market changed for the better and now has adopted a different approach, where it will not grow without control. Salaries will not be across the board for sometime. Eve confessed that rate sensitivity will not go away anytime soon.
Has Eve learned something of value from her mistakes? She asserted, “Of course, I try to. Even though I've been recruiting for over ten years, every week something new happens or a new scenario is presented that we haven't seen before. No matter how long I may be recruiting, there will always be more to learn.”
The business woman has accomplished so much in her life in a short amount of time. Where does she derive her confidence? Eve admitted “as a kid, we moved a lot and I was constantly starting fresh at a new school. I had to put myself out there in order to make new friends. I feel that experience gave me the ability to approach new people and situations with confidence.”
Indeed, Eve's confidence only became stronger as she got older since she “attended eleven different schools in nine years. It gave me resilience, a desire to succeed, and a hunger for a ‘normal' life. I worked full-time to put myself through college and was fortunate to have been awarded a full scholarship so that I could attend law school.”
Confronting Obstacles, Favorite Quote, and Future Goals
How does Eve tackle obstacles? She said, “I like to have as much information as possible about the situation so that I can think about it from all angles and gain a greater understanding of the obstacle. Then it's a matter of putting one foot in front of the other, moving forward, and dealing with it rather than sticking my head in the sand.”
Perhaps the best part of the interview was when Eve told me her favorite quote: “This, too, shall pass.” She explained, “I work every day with attorneys who are unhappy in their situations and, sometimes, feel desperate to get out. While we explore job options together, I try to help them to focus on the big picture of their careers and not make hasty decisions that won't be in their best interest long-term, to ease the stress they currently feel, and to give them comfort that it will pass soon.” In addition, the business woman likes the quote “because it reminds her to stop and savor the good things in life because they, unfortunately, will also pass with time.” Eve read the quote in a college text book twenty years ago and thought it was “so potent” because the passage gives you patience in life through the hard times.
Does Eve have any future goals? She stated she was professionally happy with her company, clients, and with her co-workers. She personally wants to travel more, but said things are good in her life and she is very grateful. Eve even likes her dog, Cody.
