Recruiter Series: Zsaleh Harivandi

You’ve had an extensive and impressive career in law and recruiting! Previous to recruiting you worked as an associate in BigLaw and as a law clerk to two federal judges. How did your experience as a law clerk help you in your law career, both in terms of skills acquired and future firm opportunities? 

Clerking was hands down the highlight of my career as an attorney, and I’d recommend a clerkship to any associate who’s interested (including transactional associates!). Both of my judges were phenomenal mentors, and I learned so much about the practice of law from being in their courtrooms and their chambers. I also grew as a writer with both judges (I still hear Judge Tauro in my head when I’m tempted to use a semi-colon, asking me why it’s necessary!), and I’m a firm believer that good writing will help your career no matter what industry you’re in. And of course, the clerkships have opened doors for me professionally at every career juncture I’ve had.

Continuing on clerkships: what advice would you give an associate interested in clerking? At what point should an associate consider clerking in their career? What transferable skills should they aim to leave a clerkship with? 

I can’t imagine that there’s really a wrong time to clerk, although I think for most associates, it makes sense to clerk earlier rather than later in one’s career - both because the skills you gain in a clerkship are so valuable to have as a junior/mid-level associate, and because as you get more senior, it can be harder to take a break from your practice. That said, a clerkship is always a great way to make a career transition - for example, from a firm to government work, or from one firm to another.

While clerking, clerks should try to do everything that they’re invited to do. In addition to the work the judge asks for, go to other courtrooms and observe other proceedings; go to the events in the courthouse to which you’re invited; introduce yourself to clerks for other judges and have lunch with them. You’re not just learning how a judge thinks and works and writes. If you approach a clerkship well, you can leave with connections and friendships and insights that you’ll have for life. Immediately after my clerkship, lawyers (including partners!) at my firm approached me and asked about how other judges in the courthouse felt about a certain sort of approach to a motion hearing, or discovery, or settlement, and when I was able to answer (or had a friend at the courthouse I could call and ask), I was creating tangible value for my firm. But even now, a decade out, I still value the relationships I built during my clerkships. Another judge’s clerk and I became close family friends (his very talented wife made our baby announcements and is one of my best friends); one of my former co-clerks (now a BigLaw partner on the other side of the country) and I have hours-long check-in calls about every year.

In addition to clerking, as mentioned - you worked as an associate in BigLaw. When and why did you make the shift from attorney to legal recruiter, and how has your experience helped you in guiding associates interested to make the next move in their career? 

To make a long story short: I made the switch from attorney to recruiter when I became a mom. As most new parents know, it is really, really hard to be the primary caregiver for a child and also a lawyer. There are many different approaches to handling that, and leaving the practice of law entirely obviously is not the only answer. I’m always so impressed by parents who continue to practice and learn to manage family and work simultaneously. In fact, as a recruiter, I love working with attorneys who are parents and are looking for new opportunities that will allow them to juggle their myriad responsibilities more easily, because I understand that struggle so well. For me, a career in the legal field but not as an associate was the best way to balance that equation. I’ve loved identifying what factors I think new parents might want to consider when looking for their next position, and chatting with people about what’s important to them. It’s different for everyone!

What do you enjoy most about being a recruiter, and about working for Swan Legal Search?

At its core, I think recruiting (good recruiting, anyway) is about helping people. I love learning more about the lawyers I work with—about their priorities, their stresses, their successes—and helping them decide what the next step should be. We work with so many wonderful firms and companies, so I love that when I talk to an associate who explains what the perfect job would look like for them, I can sometimes say, “Oh my gosh, I have just the position for you!” I love when I catch up with an associate I’ve placed and they say something like, “This firm is the perfect place for me. This is my forever firm.” I think that most people agree that your career isn’t your whole life, but most lawyers spend a lot of their time at work, and I want the people I work with to love their work.

And Swan Legal Search! I could wax poetic. There are so many unscrupulous recruiters out there (ask me off the record about it!). It is a joy to work with people who believe in doing things the right way, for their candidates and their clients, and who have fun doing it. Let’s put it this way: if I ever wanted to go back to law firm life, I’d use SLS to get me there, and I don’t think there’s really any higher praise.

Outside of SLS, what do you enjoy doing in your free time?

My three sons (ages 8, 6, and 3) keep me laughing, wrestling, playing board games, reading books, cheering at baseball games, and snuggling most of the time. They also keep me cooking—in my house, someone is always hungry. If I’m lucky, I’ll have at least one little helper in the kitchen.

My passion, outside of work and my kids, is writing. It’s my creative outlet and my favorite thing to do late at night when everyone else is asleep. My most recent manuscript is in the revision stages with my agent, but if you connect with me on LinkedIn, I promise I will shout (virtually) all about it when it’s available to order.

Read Zsaleh’s full bio and get in touch with her here.