Case Study: Exclusive Search for an Associate Director, New York
Helping an Am Law 10 firm hire a market facing Associate Director for Corporate Finance
The brief
Opus Resourcing was retained on an exclusive basis to support a leading Am Law 10 firm with a critical commercial hire in New York.
The mandate was to identify an Associate Director to drive business development and market positioning for the Corporate Finance practice across both Capital Markets and Corporate Funds.
This was a high-impact role with significant visibility, working closely with senior leadership to help shape growth strategy in one of the most competitive areas of the legal market.
The search was led in close partnership with the firm’s CMO and Director, giving us direct access to decision makers and allowing for a highly aligned and consultative process.
The challenge
This was not a standard legal business development search.
The client needed someone who could operate credibly within a top tier global law firm environment while also bringing the commercial judgement, stakeholder management skills, and market insight to help drive growth across complex practice areas.
The successful individual needed to combine:
- strong business development leadership experience
- credibility across Corporate Finance, Capital Markets, and Corporate Funds
- the ability to influence senior partners and practice leadership
- experience working in a sophisticated, high performance professional services environment
- a clear understanding of how to position elite legal expertise in a highly competitive market
Because the firm sits at the top of global league tables for M&A, Capital Markets, and Private Equity, the brief demanded exceptional calibration. The bar was high on technical relevance, executive presence, and cultural fit.
Why the client engaged Opus
Opus Resourcing was selected as an exclusive search partner because of our consultative, data centric search model, our ability to execute specialist mandates across the US, and our track record of delivering high quality shortlists for senior and niche appointments. Our broader approach is built around bespoke search strategy, talent insights, market mapping, and a strong repeat business model.
Our approach
We treated this as a targeted executive style search rather than a broad recruitment campaign.
1. Discovery and mandate calibration
We began with a detailed briefing process with the CMO and Director to understand:
- the commercial objectives behind the hire
- how the Corporate Finance practice was structured
- the nuances between Capital Markets and Corporate Funds coverage
- reporting lines, stakeholder landscape, and measures of success
- the type of profile most likely to succeed in the culture and pace of the firm
This initial discovery stage is central to the Opus model and reflects our consultative process of understanding role scope, soft skills, culture, and business context before going to market.
2. Market mapping and talent intelligence
Once the brief was calibrated, we built a focused target map of relevant organisations and talent pools.
Rather than relying on job board response, we used a market led search strategy to identify individuals from:
- peer Am Law and global law firms
- top tier professional services environments
- adjacent firms with relevant Corporate Finance and funds exposure
- high calibre business development leaders with strong partner facing experience in New York
Our work was informed by Opus’ broader search methodology, which combines recruitment data insights, target company mapping, specialist search tools, and evolving Boolean search strategies to uncover talent that may not be visible through traditional channels.
3. Bespoke outreach and candidate engagement
Senior legal business development talent is rarely actively applying for roles.
For that reason, we ran a discreet, high touch outreach process designed to attract passive candidates. This included carefully tailored messaging around:
- the quality and profile of the firm
- the strategic importance of the role
- the opportunity to influence growth across premium practice areas
- the visibility of the position with senior stakeholders
- the scale and complexity of the work
Our candidate messaging followed the same principles we use across search assignments: clear positioning, consultative communication, and a personalised approach that respects the credibility of the audience.
4. Shortlisting and candidate assessment
We screened for more than experience on paper.
The shortlist criteria included:
- depth of Corporate Finance business development exposure
- evidence of impact across Capital Markets and Corporate Funds related mandates
- ability to operate with senior partners and firm leadership
- communication style, commercial judgement, and influencing skills
- motivation for moving and long term alignment with the opportunity
This ensured the client received a focused shortlist of credible, relevant individuals rather than volume.
5. Process management and close partnership
Because this was an exclusive search, we were able to work as an extension of the client team throughout the process.
That meant:
- regular calibration with the CMO and Director
- live feedback loops on profile quality and market response
- refined targeting as the search evolved
- hands on interview coordination and candidate management
- close management of momentum through to final stages
Our aim in every search is to reduce noise for the client, improve decision making, and ensure the process stays aligned, efficient, and candidate friendly.
The Opus difference
For this assignment, our value came from combining executive search discipline with practical market execution.
We brought:
- a bespoke, non transactional search strategy
- direct partnership with senior stakeholders
- targeted access to passive talent in New York
- data informed market mapping and search methodology
- careful candidate briefing and process management
- a quality first approach suited to a high profile brand
This reflects the wider Opus Resourcing approach, built on consultative partnership, specialist technology, talent insights, and the ability to tailor each search to the realities of the market.
Outcome
We delivered a targeted search process aligned to a highly specific brief, supporting the client on an exclusive basis for a strategically important New York hire.
If you would like, this section can be finalised with the agreed outcome details, such as shortlist delivery, time to shortlist, placement confirmation, or broader impact on the Corporate Finance practice.
Looking to make a critical legal commercial leadership hire in NYC?
Opus Resourcing supports clients across executive, commercial, and specialist search mandates in the UK, Europe, and the US.
If you are hiring for a strategic business development, revenue, or leadership role and need a consultative search partner, we would be happy to discuss your brief.
With over 50 years of combined recruitment experience, we’ve helped companies scale business development teams and capabilities to drive innovation, transform business development operations and processes, automate tasks, introduce AI enhancing decision-making and customer experiences.
Please get in touch with our managing consultant, James Shenton, for a discovery session to discuss your hiring needs and fuel your growth.