ABOUT VIRTUS LEGAL SEARCH

Integrity. Excellence. Collaboration in Legal Recruitment.

At Virtus Legal Search, we don’t just connect lawyers with firms or fill vacancies; we help shape careers and build teams with precision, discretion, and expertise.

The name “Virtus” is derived from Latin, meaning excellence, integrity, and strength. These principles define our approach to legal recruitment and our values as people. To us, Virtus means showing up with honesty, treating people with respect, and always striving to do our best—no shortcuts, no compromises. This isn’t just a philosophy—it’s the way we work, every day. We believe that personal relationships and trust are at the heart of successful recruitment.

WHY CHOOSE VIRTUS?

We have been immersed in the legal market for over 20 years. We offer a boutique, highly personalised and collaborative service to elite legal professionals and top-tier law firms. Our core values define us and the service we offer:

Tailored Recruitment: We provide a bespoke and consultative approach, ensuring the perfect fit for both firms and lawyers.
Discreet & Trusted: We handle every conversation and every move with complete confidentiality.
Industry Expertise: With deep market insight, we advise both clients and candidates on strategic legal hires.
Quality Over Quantity: We present only the most relevant and aligned talent—the needs of each individual firm and lawyer are always prioritised.
Exceptional Service: We are always contactable, communicative and responsive. Whether you want to move jobs or fill a vacancy today or in a year, your time is valuable, and we won’t keep you waiting.
Longstanding Relationships: This is a people business, and we take pride in acting as a trusted advisor to both clients and candidates. We are not trying to get a quick win. We want to find the right person for the right role at the right time.

At Virtus Legal Search, we believe that legal recruitment is more than just filling roles. It’s about developing careers and teams with integrity and purpose.

WHAT WE DO

Partner Search

We have significant experience representing individual Partners and teams from the leading US and UK law firms. We have long-standing relationships with the management and recruitment teams of the major law firms – meaning we are ideally positioned to make discreet enquiries and highly confidential introductions.

A Partner might be proactively looking to move firms or just assessing their options. We provide honest, strategic, confidential advice and support at every step along the way. Whether a Partner is looking to maximise remuneration, improve access to management opportunities and/or find the right “fit”, our experience ensures that we can provide the best possible advice in our role as a trusted advisor. We want people to find the right firm for them and will always focus on long-term career advice rather than a short-term result.

Associate Search

At each stage in an Associate’s career there might be different priorities or strategic needs. We want to build long term relationships and help people to maximise their potential and realise their career aspirations. We work towards helping our Associate candidates of today become our Partner clients of tomorrow.

We always work diligently and honestly to provide the best career advice and support. In addition, we will help guide Associates through all the practicalities and challenges that a recruitment process can sometimes entail including initial consultation, market analysis, CV preparation, interview coaching, negotiations and resignation. Our aim is to make a job move as smooth, seamless and stress-free as possible.

Clients

Our clients are at the heart of everything we do. We take pride in being trusted advisors to our clients and their ambassadors in the market. The more aligned we are, the smoother everything goes. We know that every client is unique, so we offer a bespoke high-quality service tailored to each one.

Whether it’s a specific type of candidate or a preferred way of working, we aim to collaborate and facilitate. We are commercial, consultative, communicative, and responsive—always striving to improve and act as honest brokers. We’re not afraid of difficult conversations and work hard to understand what candidates are really thinking, so there are no surprises.

PLEASE GET IN TOUCH

TESTIMONIALS

"Nick has helped me successfully move firms twice—first as a senior associate directly into partnership at a City firm, then to a US-headquartered firm where I’m now an equity partner and head of department. Both times, he presented excellent opportunities to advance my career and guided the process with calm, expert support."

Commercial Disputes Partner, US Law Firm

“Nick has placed many lawyers at Fladgate over the years and has always acted with honesty and integrity, adding real value to the recruitment process. Nick is a pleasure to work with and does an excellent job of balancing client and candidate needs while maintaining a personal and professional approach at all times.”

Grant Gordon
(Managing Partner),
Fladgate

"I have enjoyed working with Nick on a professional and personal level. His market knowledge, guidance and insight were greatly appreciated as I made my first major career move and made the whole process far smoother than anticipated. I would gladly work with Nick again and recommend him to other lawyers."

Joe Barnes
(Real Estate Associate),
White & Case

"I highly recommend Nick. He was persistent, communicative, and always accessible. Nick thoroughly explained the recruitment process, researched the individuals with whom I would be interviewing, and provided reasoned and balanced advice. His support continued well beyond my placement, ensuring a smooth transition and ongoing success."

Eloise Robson
(Competition & Antitrust Associate),
Clifford Chance

"Nick is one of the rare recruiters who truly puts the candidate first. He’s responsive, thoughtful, honest, and genuinely invested in finding the right fit—not just filling roles. From early in my training contract, he’s been a constant, supportive presence, offering sound advice and real insight. We’ve kept up a strong relationship ever since. It often feels like he’s been by my side throughout my career."

Private Equity Associate,
Silver Circle Firm

"I've worked with Nick for over 15 years, and he's consistently been a trusted advisor and a strong ambassador for Onside Law. He has an excellent track record of placing top associates and partners, having taken the time to truly understand our culture and needs. His candidates are always a great fit, and he remains one of our most reliable and highly recommended talent partners."

Adam Leadercramer
(Sports Partner),
Onside Law

REFERRALS

We value personal recommendations highly and believe that loyalty should be rewarded. If you introduce us to someone who we then successfully place in a permanent legal role, then you might be eligible for £1,000 worth of vouchers somewhere of your choosing.

The person in question must be looking for a permanent legal role in the UK and not already be registered with us. They then must be placed in a new role by Virtus Legal Seach and successfully complete their probation. Once we have been paid by the firm for the placement, we will be in touch to sort out the vouchers.

Just remember to let us and your friend know that you are making the referral, and we will take it from there!

GET IN TOUCH

020 3996 1300

If you have any questions or would like to submit a CV, please email it to