Smart Match Network · Retained Legal Recruitment
A standard, retained recruitment service for solicitors who want a salaried position — and for firms who'd rather hire well than hire fast.
For Solicitors
If you'd rather have the security of a salary, a fixed structure, and a defined career path than the autonomy of running your own practice, this is a genuinely different conversation — and it gets treated that way.
Smart Match Network is paid by the hiring firm. There is never a cost to you, at any stage.
You're introduced when there's a genuine fit — not put forward for every open role to see what sticks.
Your current firm is never approached or informed without your explicit consent, at any point in the process.
For Law Firms
A retained search is a commitment to finding the right person, not the fastest one. Legal-only, confidential, and run by someone who understands the difference between a CV that fits a role and a person who fits a firm.
This isn't a generalist agency working ten sectors at once. Every search is legal, every candidate is properly vetted for the practice area.
Time is spent finding the right person for your specific brief, not recycling the same shortlist across multiple firms.
One person handling your search from brief to placement — not a rotating account team.
The Process
The same process, whichever side of the table you're on.
A proper conversation — role, practice area, and what actually matters for the fit, not just a job spec.
Direct, targeted sourcing within the relevant practice area — not a mass send to an existing database.
A small, genuinely relevant shortlist — with context on both sides before the first conversation.
Support through offer and onboarding, so nothing gets lost in the final stretch.
Nick Starbuck
Founder · Smart Match Network
Nick runs Smart Match Network's legal recruitment practice — covering fee-share partner placements, referral introductions, and this retained search service, all handled personally rather than passed through a team.
Whether you're a solicitor deciding what's next or a firm trying to fill a genuinely important role, the approach is the same: proper conversations before any introduction is made, on either side.
Get In Touch
Complete the form for a confidential, no-obligation conversation.
Prefer to send your CV directly? nick@limelight-networks.com