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Dan Wilkins

Managing Director

Dan graduated from Cambridge University (Pembroke College) in 1993 with a degree in History, before attending the College of Law, Chester. He trained at Ashurst, and qualified as a litigation lawyer in 1998, before moving into law firm recruitment with ZMB in 1999. Dan stayed at ZMB/Hays Legal for eight and a half years. He became a director in 2005 and managed one of the most successful law firm recruitment teams in London until he joined Deacon in July 2008.

Together with Paul Deacon, Dan runs the business whilst remaining actively involved in placing partners and teams at leading UK and US law firms. He also helped broker one of the largest international law firm mergers in recent times. Dan has worked closely with many law firms on recruitment strategy. He has written articles, is regularly quoted in the press and has hosted seminars on legal recruitment.

Interests: Mountains: climbing up, skiing down. Football: playing, watching, trying to keep faith in Manchester United.

Surprising fact about Dan: Dan is directly descended from Abraham Zakuto, the Royal Astronomer to King John II of Portugal (1455-1495). Zakuto created the astronomical tables which both Vasco da Gama and Christopher Columbus used to navigate the globe.

Testimonials

Dan is a real pleasure to deal with, and is someone you can trust. As a qualified lawyer himself he knows what law firms need in terms of quality, skill set and experience, but he also takes the time to understand a firm’s needs in terms of cultural fit, career progression and what success looks like. This helps to set him apart in his field and greatly increases the chances of him finding candidates for you who will be successful in your firm.
Christopher Hitchins, Managing Partner, Katten