Hiring the Right Legal Team — What Law School Never Taught You
- deborahsolmor1
- Jul 17
- 6 min read
One of the most important—and most consistently under-taught—skills for any General Counsel is knowing how to hire.
Building your legal team is more than just headcount management. It’s a strategic decision that shapes how your function operates, how you're perceived across the business, and frankly, how sustainable your job is. Yet, much like navigating C-suite relationships or learning how to speak the language of the business, it’s one of those skills no one teaches you in law school or even in most legal careers.
If you’ve read our post on navigating the C-suite as a new GC, you’ll recognize this theme. Having good judgment and an understanding of the law are table stakes. The critical skills that will ultimately define your success in the GC role go beyond whether you’re simply a good lawyer. Success is about your ability to communicate, influence, think strategically, be a good manager and build a strong team. But these skills are almost always learned on the fly, not by design.
At RSGC, our goal is to help you develop that critical skills playbook, so you don’t have to learn it on the fly. Before you post a job or tap your favorite recruiter, here are four steps to make sure you’re hiring the right way and for the right reasons.
Step One: Before You Hire — Align Perception with Reality
If you're thinking it's time to hire, start by writing down why. What’s driving that instinct—burnout, missed deadlines, too much work, missing expertise, outside counsel overuse, growing business demands?
Then: trust your instinct but verify it. That’s what a quick gap audit does.
Look at the data.
What is your team actually handling right now and what is being outsourced?
Where are things getting stuck? Is it expertise, skills, or structure?
Could this need be addressed in another, perhaps more cost-effective way? (e.g. finding less expensive outside counsel)
A lot of hiring decisions start from a place of pressure. A gap audit helps ensure you’re solving the right problem and not just reacting to symptoms.
Step Two: Define What You Actually Need
Once you’ve done your gap analysis, take time to map out exactly what you need, not just who. Is the gap best filled by a subject-matter expert? A strong generalist? A player-coach who can lead others and give you space for more strategic work?
This is also the time to examine your team’s overall structure. Is it optimized for the size and complexity of your business? Is everyone on your team performing the right tasks and at the right level? Are roles and responsibilities clearly defined and are they still right for what the company needs now?
Before you post a job, step back. Ask yourself:
Do I have the right structure?
Can I reassign or upskill existing team members?
Do I have any team members who aren’t performing to expectations?
Would a restructuring solve the problem better than simply adding headcount?
A thoughtful mapping exercise helps ensure you’re solving the right problem and not just filling a perceived gap.
Step Three: Build the Business Case
Once you know what you need, it’s time to build the case for it. This is where all that internal credibility you’ve built matters.
If you’ve been consistently communicating Legal’s value and earned a seat at the table as a strategic partner, your ask won’t feel like adding overhead. It will feel like scaling what’s already working. That kind of groundwork makes everything easier.
Now pair that influence with data:
What will this hire allow the business to do faster, better, or more efficiently?
What’s the cost comparison between this hire and continued outside counsel use?
How does this role support business objectives, risk management, or future growth?
Also, loop in HR early. Collaborate on the job level, title, and an estimated salary + benefits range so you can present a full picture when you make the ask. Can this role be sourced from internal HR or is an outside recruiter needed?
The more specific and aligned your case is with business needs, budget realities, and strategic goals the more likely you are to get buy-in. Aligning with HR and business leaders early will help avoid surprises late in the process. Everyone should be clear about what this role is, how it fits into the team, and what growth looks like.
Step Four: It’s Time to Execute — Partner with HR to Get It Right
Once you’ve mapped the need, made the case, and aligned on structure, it’s time to execute and execute thoughtfully.
Start by partnering closely with HR and talent acquisition to:
Clearly define title, compensation, and growth trajectory for the hire, and expected legal expertise and personal attributes that will make someone successful and trusted on your team.
Tailor the job description to reflect the real work and specifics around responsibilities, scope, and level. Don’t use recycled templates or overly broad language.
Design a process that tests for the skills you expect from this hire. Don’t just evaluate what’s on paper.
Develop a plan for scenario-based interviews, writing samples, or short case studies to see how candidates think, communicate, and lead.
As you work your way through the interviewing process, remember, culture and team fit matter as much as skills. Neither is easy to define, but both can be assessed. Will this person thrive within your team’s dynamic? Do they share your department’s values and approach? Include conversations in the process that explore those questions, from both sides.
Make sure candidates meet the people they’ll work with regularly including legal peers, cross-functional partners, and anyone whose opinion will matter. This builds context for the candidate and buy-in from your stakeholders (or conversely, highlights any areas of concern or need you may not be focused on in your own interviews).
If your HR team has limited experience with legal hiring, take a more hands-on approach. Legal resumes often don’t follow standard templates and a good fit could be overlooked. Align on screening criteria and ask to review resumes early in the process and in collaboration with HR to help flag what they should be looking for in resumes and what to avoid.
Final Thought: You’re Not Just Hiring—You’re Leading
Hiring isn’t an administrative task. It’s leadership.
Every person you add changes the voice, culture, and capability of your legal team. Get it right, and you build a team that extends your reach, amplifies your impact, and gives you the space to focus where your judgment matters most.
No, law school didn’t teach us this. But it’s one of the most important lessons of the GC seat.
And to help you in your hiring journey, we’ve prepared this checklist to walk through the process step by step before you post that next role.
Hiring the Right Legal Team: Step-by-Step Checklist
Use this checklist to guide your thinking and process as you prepare to hire a new legal team member, aligned with the four key steps.
Step One: Align Perception with Reality
☐ Have I written down the reasons I believe a new hire is needed?
☐ Have I conducted a workload and skills audit of my current team?
☐ Do I understand whether the gap is one about capacity, expertise, or structure?
☐ Have I ruled out other solutions (e.g., outside counsel, flexible talent)?
☐ Does the actual data (volume, timing, complexity) support the perception?
Step Two: Define What You Actually Need
☐ Have I defined whether I need a specialist, generalist, or team leader?
☐ Do I understand how this role supports the long-term strategy of the department?
☐ Have I reviewed my current structure—is it still aligned with the business?
☐ Could reassignment or restructuring solve the need instead of hiring?
☐ Do I know how this role will enable me up to operate at a more strategic level?
Step Three: Build the Business Case
☐ Have I linked this hire to clear business outcomes or risk reduction?
☐ Do I have a cost comparison (outside counsel vs. in-house)?
☐ Have I engaged Finance and HR early to align on budget and scope?
☐ Do I have clarity on total cost (salary, benefits, title, level)?
☐ Have I connected this role to business goals, growth, or operational efficiency?
Step Four: Execute with Intent
☐ Have I clearly outlined the legal skills and attributes needed for success?
☐ Is the job description tailored to my specific needs?
☐ Have I built structured ways to assess key skills?
☐ Am I actively testing for culture fit, communication style, and values?
☐ Does the interview process include input from legal and cross-functional partners?
☐ Have I ensured diverse perspectives in the interview panel to help reduce bias?
☐ Have I confirmed alignment on title, compensation, scope, and growth trajectory to avoid last-minute surprises?
☐ Have I created space for the candidate to evaluate us, our culture, team, and expectations?
General Counsel, Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF)
Founder, Ready Set GC
Chief Legal, Compliance and Administrative Officer, Closed Loop Partners
Advisory Board Member, Ready Set GC
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