Partner, team and office-launch search — delivered when it matters most.
Connecting you exclusively to the very best legal talent worldwide, with uncompromising standards and precision.
Private Practice Legal Hiring
H&P Exec is a legal executive search firm that partners with international and independent law firms on their most strategic hires — from individual partner appointments through to full team moves and new office launches. Since 2019 we have placed over 300 legal professionals worldwide, and 91% remain with the hiring firm. Our headhunters are embedded specialists, each working a defined practice and geography. That depth — and the long-standing relationships behind it — gives us access to the partners and teams who move rarely and quietly, and the judgement to know when an approach will land.
Trusted Partnerships
Trusted by market leaders across every major jurisdiction, we are known for delivering some of the most significant and commercially sensitive legal placements in the market.
Trusted Partnerships
Trusted by market leaders across every major jurisdiction, we are known for delivering some of the most significant and commercially sensitive legal placements in the market.
Who We Place
We advise law firms across every level of seniority where the stakes are highest.
We advise on:
- Equity Partners and Income Partners — including confidential, single-partner mandates
- Partners and full team moves — coordinated multi-hire lifts across offices and jurisdictions
- Counsel and Of Counsel
- Senior Associates and Associates
- fice-launch and practice build-out leadership — the hires that open a ma
How We Work
Partner and team moves are rarely straightforward. Reputation, culture, remuneration structure, conflicts and the portability of a following all have to align before a move is credible — and every conversation has to stay confidential until the right moment. We manage that process end to end.
We work on retained, exclusive and contingent bases depending on the sensitivity and complexity of the mandate. For pivotal or confidential appointments, a retained search gives you a dedicated team, real-time market intelligence — salary benchmarking, competitor positioning and candidate feedback — and a committed delivery timeline. For lateral hires at pace, our exclusive and contingent models flex to fit.
Practice Coverage
Our private practice specialists cover:
- Antitrust
- Capital Markets
- Compliance
- Corporate and Transactional
- Data and Privacy
- Employment
- Energy
- Financing
- Insurance
- Investment Funds
- Life Sciences
- Litigation and Arbitration
- Public Law
- Real Estate
- Restructuring
- Tax
Practice Coverage
Our private practice specialists cover:
- Antitrust
- Capital Markets
- Compliance
- Corporate and Transactional
- Data and Privacy
- Employment
- Energy
- Financing
- Insurance
- Investment Funds
- Life Sciences
- Litigation and Arbitration
- Public Law
- Real Estate
- Restructuring
- Tax
Global Reach and Local Mastery
We deliver private practice mandates across the UK, US and Europe, with consultants who know their local markets first-hand and handle cross-border moves as a matter of routine.
Testimonials
"Within twelve months, H&P was able to succeed on two challenging assignments helping us staff both a Principal and a Senior Associate. Their existing relationships, ability to canvas the market, and persistence contributed to the outcomes. We’ll continue to partner with them.”
– BVG
“We had a great experience working with H&P. They were professional, detail-oriented, and presented us with several high-quality candidates who could be a good fit for the role. Most importantly, H&P understood what we needed and were able to be very strategic and bespoke, saving our team time during an important process.”
– LONGWATER OPPORTUNITIES
"We have been working with H&P for almost two years now, and they have indeed become our number one partner when it comes to legal recruitment. We can also always rely on their strong search knowledge, advice, and professional work. Together we managed to fill several challenging legal positions over the past two years – thank you for the very successful and trustworthy cooperation."
– TALENT MANAGEMENT, BANKING
Discuss a legal hire in confidence
Speak with our Legal team about your next senior appointment.
How do you keep a partner move confidential?
Confidentiality is built into every stage. Approaches are made discreetly and on a no-names basis where needed, we control who sees what and when, and nothing is shared with a client until a candidate has agreed. For sensitive mandates, we run the search on a named-lead basis so a single point of contact manages all information. You’ll notice we have a few live vacancies on our website, but the majority of our mandates are confidential and never publicly published.
How do lateral partner and team moves work?
A lateral move turns on more than the individual: the portability of their following, conflicts, remuneration structure and cultural fit all have to align. We map the market, test genuine appetite privately, and manage the commercial and practical detail — including coordinating multi-partner team lifts across offices.
How do you assess a partner's portable business?
We work with you to understand realistic, transferable client relationships versus institutional ones, and we pressure-test that picture through the process rather than taking headline figures at face value.
When should retained search be used instead of contingent?
Retained search suits pivotal, confidential or hard-to-fill mandates where you want a dedicated team, committed timelines and full market coverage. Contingent works for less sensitive lateral hires at pace. We’ll advise which fits your mandate.
How is partner compensation structured, and do you advise on it?
Partner remuneration varies widely — from lockstep to merit-based models, and across equity, fixed-share and guaranteed arrangements — and it is often the deciding factor in whether a move happens. Live compensation benchmarking is built into our retained search process, so both firm and candidate can shape an offer that is competitive and realistic for the practice area and market.
Why partner with H&P for private practice hires?
Because partner and team moves demand access, discretion and judgement — not a database. Our headhunters are embedded specialists in their practice and market, with the long-standing relationships that reach partners who move rarely and the experience to manage a confidential process end to end. The results hold: a 98% success rate on retained search, and 91% of placements still in role.
We’ve provided simple and clear answers to some common queries about private practice hiring and our services.