Get to know the top legal recruiters in Denver. With the Legal Recruiter Directory, legal professionals can explore a full list of boutique recruiting firms in Denver, along with larger regional and national players serving the area.
Mestel & Company
Mestel & Company provides comprehensive legal recruiting services in Denver, in the Mountain West Region, and across the country, focusing on attorney placement of all levels. With a nationwide network and local expertise, they cater to law firms and corporations seeking top legal talent.
Corporate Associate – M&A
A national law firm seeks a corporate associate with strong drafting and negotiation skills to support M&A, finance, and general business transactions.
Litigation Associate
Firm seeking associate with strong credentials to join a practice handling complex matters, offering mentorship, competitive compensation, and long-term career growth.
Experienced Attorney – Let’s Work Together
If you’re sharp, driven, and ready for a new challenge, contact us to learn more about how we can help advance your career.
Other Verified Denver Area Legal Recruiters
Beacon Hill Legal
Frontline Source Group
H3 Counsel
KornFerry
Major, Lindsey & Africa
Newhouse & Noblin
Quaero Group
Reaction Search International
StevenDouglas
Targeted Legal Staffing Solutions
The Advocates
The Lawt
All Other Denver Area Legal Recruiting Firms:
Working with a Legal Recruiter in Denver
For employers, the city’s strong economy, fueled by industries like energy, real estate, and technology, often creates urgent demand for attorneys with highly specialized expertise. However, hiring managers find the pool of qualified candidates too limited, particularly in high-demand areas such as environmental law, energy regulation, and construction. Legal recruiters draw from a broader network of attorneys, including those working in other regions who may be interested in relocating to Denver. Their careful screening ensures employers see only candidates who meet both skill and cultural fit requirements.
For attorneys, Denver’s job market can feel crowded and competitive, especially for those seeking positions at the city’s top firms or with in-house legal teams at one of the 10 Fortune 500 companies headquartered here, such as Western Union and DaVita Dialysis. Recent graduates from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and attorneys moving from out-of-state often struggle to break into roles that match their long-term goals.
Recruiters help candidates navigate this landscape by highlighting strengths in practice areas like intellectual property, real estate, or renewable energy law, and by connecting them with opportunities that are often not advertised publicly. With Denver’s growing and evolving market, having an advocate who knows the city’s employers and practice demands can make all the difference.
Employers
Competition for legal talent is fierce. Gain the advantage and hire with confidence.
Candidates
Your next big opportunity is here.
We can help you find it.
Job Opportunities
Thousands of lawyers serve the Denver area while practicing at one of its 100s of law firms, government agencies and corporations. The average attorney in the Mile High City earns a salary of $179,748 and enjoys professional growth and development opportunities through these organizations:
- Denver Bar Association
- Colorado Bar Association
- University of Denver Sturm College of Law
- Many other local and state bar associations based on practice specialties, ethnicity, race, gender and interests
Explore the legal market and job opportunities in Denver with these in-depth guides:
Requirements to Practice Law
To be admitted to the Colorado bar, you must first earn a law degree from an ABA-accredited law school and then pass the Colorado bar exam. If you did not graduate from an ABA-accredited school, or you are already practicing law in another country, you may still be eligible to take the Colorado bar exam once you’ve met several criteria and paid a $710 application fee. Attorneys seeking to practice law in Colorado must:
- Earn a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from an ABAaccredited law school.
- Pass the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) with at least a 270 on exams
- Achieve a passing score of 85 or higher on the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE)
- Complete the Practicing with Professionalism course before admission
- Submit a comprehensive application and pass a Character and Fitness evaluation through the Colorado Office of Attorney Admissions
Other ways to be admitted to the Colorado bar include:
- Passing the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE). If you passed the UBE in another state between 3 and 5 years ago, you could be eligible for admission to the Colorado bar without taking the state’s bar exam.
- Admission on Motion. If you’re already licensed to practice law in another jurisdiction, you may submit an Admission on Motion request for the Colorado bar if all other criteria have been met.
All lawyers who are accepted into the Colorado bar must pay a $40 licensing fee, and then take and sign an oath of admission before the Clerk of the Supreme Court. Maintaining a law license in Colorado requires the completion of 45 MCLE hours every 3 years, including 7 hours in legal ethics. For more info, please visit: www.lawyeredu.org.
Licensing and Bar Admission for Out-of-State Attorneys
Attorneys licensed in another state can apply for admission to the Colorado bar without sitting for the full exam if they qualify through the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) transfer or Admission on Motion pathways. UBE scores earned within the last three to five years may be accepted, while Admission on Motion requires that the applicant has actively practiced law for a set number of years and meets all additional criteria. Others may need to sit for the Colorado bar exam, which includes a $710 application fee.
Once approved, all attorneys must pay a $40 licensing fee and take an oath before the Clerk of the Colorado Supreme Court. The process can take several months, so planning ahead is vital for out-of-state lawyers considering a move to Denver. For guidance, attorneys should consult the Colorado Bar Association, which also provides networking opportunities to ease the transition into the state’s legal community.
Frequently Asked Questions
Denver’s legal market is thriving, supported by a strong presence of both national and regional law firms, as well as a growing number of boutique firms and individual practitioners specializing in various legal areas. The city offers a vibrant legal scene that attracts a diverse array of legal professionals, from recent law school graduates to seasoned attorneys. This rich mix is facilitated by local law schools such as the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, which contributes to the steady stream of new lawyers entering the Denver legal market.
Denver’s legal market is particularly robust in areas like environmental law, reflecting the region’s focus on energy and natural resource management. Lawyers specializing in energy, both from traditional fossil fuels and renewable sources, are in high demand due to the region’s regulatory landscape and ongoing environmental initiatives. Additionally, the real estate sector, driven by Denver’s expanding urban landscape, creates a constant need for legal expertise in land development and construction law.
The legal landscape in Denver is significantly shaped by several key industries. The technology sector is a major contributor, fostering a need for legal services in intellectual property and tech-related legal matters. Energy, both renewable and traditional, also plays a critical role, necessitating specialized legal expertise in regulatory compliance and environmental law. These industries not only drive the demand for legal services but also shape the specialization and career opportunities available to legal professionals in the region.
The legal industry in Denver, like much of the United States, is experiencing significant transformations driven by advancements in technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI). AI is increasingly integrated into various legal processes, enhancing productivity and efficiency, but also bringing challenges such as ethical considerations and job displacement concerns. Firms are also grappling with issues around environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG), which are influencing client decision-making and the types of legal expertise in demand.
Remote and hybrid work models have become more entrenched in Denver’s legal sector. This shift has prompted law firms to adopt new technologies and cloud-based solutions to maintain efficiency and data security. Compensation patterns are also evolving, with a noticeable shift towards performance-based fees and alternative fee arrangements, reflecting a broader trend towards more flexible and transparent billing practices.
Diversity and inclusion continue to be significant focus areas within Denver’s legal community. Law firms are actively working to improve their diversity policies and practices, not just to better reflect societal values but also to appeal to a new generation of lawyers who prioritize ethical and moral considerations in their employment choices. This is part of a broader trend where legal professionals are increasingly evaluated based on their contribution to diversity and corporate social responsibility initiatives.
