Carpenter Legal Search, Inc. (CLS) is a nationally recognized, woman-owned, boutique legal and compliance recruiting and consulting firm that has spent more than three decades helping corporations strategically build high-performing legal teams. What distinguishes CLS from many search firms is its Focused on the Fit® methodology, which goes beyond evaluating credentials and technical experience to assess the broader factors that drive long-term success, including leadership style, communication skills, emotional intelligence, career motivations, organizational culture, and team dynamics. We believe that successful hiring is not simply about matching a resume to a job description, but about identifying professionals who are most likely to thrive within a specific organization and contribute meaningfully to its future growth.
CLS serves public and private corporations across the United States, conducting specialized searches in virtually every major industry for a broad range of legal and compliance positions including Chief Legal Officer, Chief Compliance Officer, General Counsel, Deputy General Counsel, Associate General Counsel, Assistant General Counsel, and Senior Counsel. We also provide consulting and market intelligence to help clients navigate organizational growth, succession planning, team-building initiatives, and other strategic talent challenges.
At the core of every engagement is CLS' highly personalized, consultative process. We invest significant time in understanding each client's business objectives, culture, leadership expectations, and long-term talent needs before representing the opportunity to prospective candidates. Through extensive candidate assessment, in-depth interviews, and ongoing communication with both clients and candidates, we deliver thoughtful recommendations grounded in our Focused on the Fit® approach. This disciplined process enables organizations to make informed hiring decisions while helping lawyers identify opportunities that align with their skills, aspirations, and values.
Founded in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and serving a nationwide client base, CLS has built a reputation for handling complex, difficult-to-fill legal and compliance searches with integrity, transparency, responsiveness, and exceptional client service. By combining deep industry knowledge, an extensive professional network, and a disciplined focus on long-term fit, we help clients build stronger legal and compliance teams while supporting sustainable organizational success.
Our longstanding goal has been to recruit with respect and tenacity, leading our clients to find the most qualified attorneys to augment their legal teams and our candidates to take the next successful step in their legal careers. We view ourselves as positive agents for change, facilitators in making a difference, and spark plugs that keep conversation firing and flowing so that strong employer-employee relationships can be forged. Is it challenging at times? Yes. Do we love it? Absolutely.
Contact Us
CLS, and Lori in particular, take immense pride in matching candidates with companies that reflect their personal values and offer opportunities for growth and challenge in their legal careers. They achieve this through a deep understanding of the legal landscape, working closely with clients to understand their business and hiring goals, and taking the time to know candidates on both a personal and professional level. This approach has proven incredibly effective for all parties involved. As a candidate, Lori ensured I was well-prepared and a strong fit for The Hillman Company. As a client working with CLS to recruit for my team, I was impressed by their thorough industry knowledge, their ability to identify candidates who matched both our technical needs and cultural fit, and their personalized, strategic approach to the recruitment process.
– Jeffrey A. Robinson, The Hillman Company
The biggest benefit of engaging Carpenter Legal Search to recruit top legal talent is results! CLS placed three attorneys with us with the necessary skill sets and the fit I was looking for, and they are tremendous additions to our Legal Department. The challenges I faced were timing and seeking to fill two roles concurrently, and CLS understood the pressure to fill the positions expeditiously and worked diligently to get us through the process successfully. I highly recommend engaging CLS as my experience with was positive on all fronts: responsiveness, timeliness, level of due diligence and understanding what I was looking for candidate-wise. I think the personal approach that Lori Carpenter has, her vast network, and CLS’ attention to responsiveness sets CLS apart.
- Alexander J. Reyes, Former Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, CNX Resources Corporation
In terms of what I believe separates the search firm from so many others is the fact that from the outset of search, the team was there to answer and support all of my needs. The firm provides superb coaching and preparation at all stages of the executive search and was available at just about all hours of the day to help me through the rigorous job selection and interview process. I would highly recommend anyone seeking to make a move to utilize the expertise of the firm.
- Jeffrey S. Roberts, Former Senior Legal Counsel Commercial Transactions, Assistant Corporate Secretary, FlightSafety International
We understand that hiring is challenging. Let us focus on finding the next fit for your team.