Why Deacon
Gita Odedra

Gita Odedra

Consultant

As a people business, our people are vital to us. We wanted to share some of the stories of our consultants and why they chose to work in legal recruitment at Deacon.

Gita Odedra is a Consultant at Deacon in London. She joined in 2018 and is an experienced partner recruiter focusing on US and international firms in London.

Like many of our consultants, Gita has a background in law. She graduated with a law degree then completed the LPC, before gaining experience as a litigation assistant in two major City firms. Working on complex High Court litigations gave her a great deal of client contact which she enjoyed, but she found that she did not really enjoy the actual application of law. It was then that she started to think of other ways in which she could use her legal experience – such as in public relations or marketing. Seeking guidance from a well-known national legal sector recruiter, she was then called back in to ask if she was interested in joining them. She spent the next eight years there, initially recruiting for in-house lawyers in banking and finance. “I always really liked the sales and marketing aspect of being in a law firm so I found that recruiting came naturally to me.”

In 2010 she joined the boutique legal recruiter Abrahams Russell, which became part of Fox Rodney following a merger in 2013, and began recruiting partners for international and US law firms.

“I found that my law firm experience—how they function, the different personalities, and the clear need to provide clients with a service in order to earn money—was really helpful in building up a rapport with partners looking to move firms. I’ve always been able to establish relationships quickly, assessing what candidates want and directing them to the right firm for them in terms of their personality and practice area.”

Ultimately she feels the key to a successful placement is working with her partner candidates in the way that they work with their clients – know the practice area well, provide a bespoke service, and work in partnership with them. “They can tell if you’re bluffing or don’t have the experience you claim. It’s a really important part of building a relationship of mutual trust.”

In 2018 she was introduced to Paul Deacon by a former colleague and they hit it off immediately. “Deacon was a known brand and I found Paul to be honest and likeable. They had a proven track record and long-term, well-established relationships with law firms with unrivalled access to senior management of many key firms, which really helps to gain access for our partner candidates.”

Gita was attracted to the mature, entrepreneurial culture at Deacon and the chance to run her own desk. It also helped that she had worked with Deacon’s Dan Wilkins before. “Unlike many recruiters, at Deacon there is no ownership over law firm relationships, which enables everyone to work collaboratively and means that partners get the full range of options on the market. We are candidate-driven but still invest significant time in getting to know firms and their practices so we can leverage these relationships for the benefit of our partner contacts.”

Gita celebrates her fifth year at Deacon in 2023, and says that the last year has been her best in her recruitment career to date. “My proudest personal achievement was helping a leading US firm  establish a new practice area in a highly competitive market with a team hire. It was a long process with many complexities but it is all working out really well.”

When working with partner candidates, Gita becomes a trusted adviser to them. “It’s an equal relationship rather than a supplier-customer relationship. Personal contact is so important and I found I have stayed in touch with partners after the hire is completed and we become friends.”

Gita’s past partner candidates agree. One said: “I thought Gita was an excellent recruiter. She has a good handle on the market without being patronising or indiscreet. She was helpful at critical points – for instance she had some minor comments on my business plan and just made the tweaks herself which kept up momentum on the process. She is very likeable and, most importantly, I felt I could trust her. I would definitely recommend her.”

If you are an established recruiter looking to grow your platform, or a lawyer looking to leave practice but keen to stay within the legal sector in an exciting and fast-paced environment, do get in touch for a confidential chat.