Agency Recruitment Leader of the Year: Amy Hambleton reflects on her legal career and in building the RedLaw business ahead of the Recruiter Awards

With one week to go until the glittering Recruiter Awards finals, we caught up with RedLaw's Owner/Director, Amy Hambleton, who is up for the 'Agency Recruitment Leader of the Year' category. We talked about her personal journey from law into recruitment, some of her greatest achievements within the legal recruitment industry and what makes her most proud of the agency she's built over the last 15 years.

Amy, you started your career as a lawyer. Talk us briefly through your leap from law into recruitment.

I was a Senior Associate at Allen & Overy, practising employment law. I was a lawyer who dreaded going into work. But in trying to work out what else I wanted to do, was flummoxed. What else would keep me connected to the law, but play to my strengths of business development, meeting people and building relationships – as well as allow me to earning levels similar to being a lawyer? Something that was more commercial and didn't require late nights and cancelled holidays?

I moved into legal recruitment, co-founding RedLaw in 2009, and have never looked back. Now I have the privilege of meeting and supporting hundreds of lawyers each year, all with their unique motivations and drivers behind what they want in their next step within their careers; their moves can often be a real life changer for many and it's so rewarding to play a part in their new futures.

Was there a specific moment which made you decide to leave the law?

Waking up with 'Sunday Night Dread' every day – and walking up to the office one day and having to will myself to go in. It wasn’t so much a very conscious decision to leave the law, but more that I couldn’t continue dreading going to work, when I had a long career ahead of me. I enjoyed employment law, but had found the constant law changes and long hours had ground me down. I decided to do something different – not even thinking that it would be a long term career choice – in an area where I could still have a connection with the law, but was focused on meeting people, being commercial and not getting bogged down in huge letters of advice! I was approached with job offers to go back into the law consistently for a good couple of years after having made the transition, but have never looked back.

You work on the Partner team recruiting Partners for law firms as well as team moves and law firm mergers. What was it about recruitment and specifically headhunting that appealed to you?

I wasn't aware of the differences between headhunting and other recruitment methodologies so I went to speak to people already doing the role as well as different types of recruitment firms: pure executive search (which didn't appeal due to the long, project based nature and my shorter attention span), contingent recruitment and also those doing a mixture. The idea of cold calling people did not appeal to me at all, but the legal market has changed and we at RedLaw headhunt on specific strategic briefs. Headhunting is now an expected and often welcomed methodology to fill a client's brief and to have sensible conversations about the market and opportunities within it.

Amy, you work within the areas of high-profile introductions of partners, team moves and even law firm mergers all of which have an important long-term impact on the legal sector, and indeed change the landscape of the market in the intensely competitive London private practice legal sector. What have been your proudest recruitment moments?

There are so many moments. Having such a direct impact on the success of our client law firms with our strategic hires is such a rewarding part of the job; helping them make substantial contributions to their firms; diversify their offerings, build reputation in existing and new areas, creating practice areas, leading firms to be ranked in legal directories, as well as supporting their diversity hiring agendas.

I've also helped to make some career changing opportunities for partners which gives a great deal of personal satisfaction seeing how careers have developed. Assisting partners to realise their true potential, being instrumental in crafting life-changing moments within their legal careers, securing the salary they deserve, heading up a practice, achieving a better work/life balance, and many more personal situations.

What are your best achievements in your role leading the RedLaw team?

It's not just about fees. Helping others and giving back is part of our culture. We’ve sponsored five Kenyan children through their secondary education and supported a homeless charity with CV/interview workshops.

Spearheading the growth of RedLaw and our rise to become a prominent legal recruiter with a brilliant and supportive team makes me hugely proud. I am the mum of two children and am a strong proponent of leading by example: to encourage women that it is possible to have a successful and rewarding career as well as juggling home life. I am proud to have built a business where personal working patterns have been available for my own employees for over a decade.

My passion for the sector in which I work and drive to make a difference in our market is at the heart of my philosophy in leading the team. It gives me great satisfaction assisting lawyers to excel within their professional lives and in making ground-breaking introductions for law firms to grow their practices. I am also very proud of each of my team in constantly seeking to improve both as legal recruiters and as team members to create a good place to work, always looking to make a difference – both in recruitment but also in the wider world.

There is a real team spirit and a genuine desire to assist colleagues without the ‘sharp elbows’ that exist in many recruitment cultures. We respect and value individuality and achieving an environment where each person’s uniqueness is a positive rather than a negative is ingrained in RedLaw. Success is always celebrated and hard work continually recognised and rewarded.

What traits do you think make you stand out from the crowd and how does your approach at RedLaw differ from other headhunters working in the legal sector? What factors would you attribute to your success?

We focus on providing honest, positive and knowledgeable career advice, to assist lawyers in making the right career choices. We focus on the service that we provide and not on the short term fee. I work tirelessly on behalf of lawyers I work with and law firms I represent. I often hear that we are different as we aren’t ‘sellers’ but partner with people and are passionate about giving the proper advice for lawyers and law firms alike.

What does a typical day look like for you?

There is no typical day, which was a big change from my career as a lawyer. I can meet a lawyer or law firm for breakfast or coffee, have various conversations on the phone with lawyers, go in to law firms to discuss their recruitment needs, advise on business plans and processes, prepare partners for meetings, negotiate offers, present internal training sessions, prepare pitches, amongst other things. The day flies by!

What advice would you give to someone looking to move into headhunting/recruitment?

It's a fantastic profession for someone who is seeking a merit-based career – with no limit on earnings, a chance to have a real impact on someone’s career and the opportunity to meet a huge array of people. It is a career where you need to be self-driven and able to motivate yourself too.

What are the 3 most essential qualities a person needs to have if they are considering a career in recruitment?

1. The ability to listen and make considered judgements
2. An interest in people and consequently the ability to build relationships
3. Perseverance

What’s the best piece of advice ever given to you and who gave it to you?

"Do the right thing and the rewards will follow" - too many recruitment professionals focus on short term fees and I truly believe that if I give the right advice for lawyers and for law firms, then this will pay off in the long run –as now proven by being nearly 15 years in business.