Definitive Consulting

Definitive Consulting specializes in client-led lateral partner searches, team hires, office launches, and M&A in the global professional services and consulting markets, with over 90% of assignments being retained or exclusive searches.

Operating from offices in London, Dubai, Singapore, Tokyo, Sydney, Melbourne, and New York, we support Accountancy, Consulting, and Law firms on their senior strategic hires across Advisory, Assurance, Consulting, Legal, and Tax disciplines.

We build long-term relationships, acting as strategic advisors to a select group of clients and candidates.

Partner, APAC

Just Legal K.K.

Tokyo-based legal & compliance recruiter focused on the Japan market. Admitted as a lawyer in New Zealand and previously practiced at a law firm specialising in commercial and public law.

Just Legal is a specialized search firm headquartered in Tokyo that connects top legal and compliance talent with law firms and international and Japanese companies. With deep knowledge of Japan's legal and compliance market, founded on decades of collective experience, Just Legal delivers for clients on their most crucial legal and compliance hiring challenges.
 
This means a tailored, customer-focused approach to recruitment; not based on the numbers of CVs sent out to hiring managers but rather founded on market knowledge, professional integrity, a solid methodology and hard work – all with the goal of trying to make customers happy and more successful.
 
www.justlegal.co.jp

Founding Partner

Talent2

Member of the most dominant legal recruitment team in Tokyo. Assisted clients - law firms and companies - in hiring legal counsel and compliance professionals. Most of our team left and established Just Legal KK after Talent2 was acquired, and they moved away from legal recruiting.

Senior Consultant, Legal

Wall Street Associates

Returned to Wall Street Associates (since renamed en world Japan) to start a legal recruitment division. Did so successfully, beating billing targets in the first full quarter, while developing new clients and candidates, and hiring and training staff.

Business Manager

Te Nahu Lovell & Co Ltd

Public litigation (focused on Treaty of Waitangi), commercial and civil matters, including representation of clients at tribunals, court, and other forums.

Solicitor

As a Partner in the APAC Legal practice at Definitive Consulting, I specialize in partner search mandates and team moves for law firms in Japan.

With over 16 years of senior search experience and a background in law, I support international and Japanese firms in securing key strategic hires within the Tokyo market.

I take a tailored, client-focused approach, emphasizing integrity and quality in every search, and I am able to leverage our global network to connect clients with a diverse range of top legal talent.

Contact me at: paul.cochrane@definitive-consulting.com

Tokyo’s law firm associate market isn’t easy.
But two of my Just Search Group colleagues make it look that way.

I focus on partner searches for Tokyo law firms, but when it comes to non-partners, two people dominate.

Edgar E. Salazar 🇲🇽
If you’re looking for foreign associates or counsel-level lawyers, there’s one name that always comes up: Edgar. He is the market.

Edgar knows everyone, shares helpful insights on LinkedIn (partners tell me so!), and recently launched a Substack that you should definitely check out.

If you don’t know Edgar, change that.

Aida Wang 🇹🇼
She places more bengoshi associates with international firms (and globally minded Japanese firms) than anyone else.

Somehow, Aida finds Bengoshi, no one even knows is looking - including the lawyers themselves.

I won’t share her secrets, but her results speak for themselves.

They also epitomise team play at Just Legal, always looking out for colleagues' interests, as well as their clients' and candidates'.

If you’re hiring at the non-partner level in Tokyo, speak to Edgar and Aida.

Paul Cochrane

Partner Recruitment for Law Firms in Tokyo | CEO, Just Search Group

What a year it has been!

Thank you, Just Search Group team, for all of the work you've put in this year.

Next year is going to be even bigger and better! 🙌

A fitting way to wrap up a huge year! 🎉

We held our Just Search Group bonenkai last week - a much-needed opportunity to step away from the office, share some food and drink, play some darts, sing a little karaoke, and reflect on what’s been a fantastic year.

Some highlights from 2025:

• We grew significantly, from 8 to 21 people.

• Just Legal had another strong year across the private practice and in-house markets, while adding four new members.

• We launched Just HR under Jason Lewis' leadership, and the business is already working on critical, senior HR searches, including exclusive mandates.

• Scott Wallace joined as COO and has already made a significant impact, bringing structure and clarity to our operations and training, focusing on what clients want and need.

• Definitive Consulting Japan has gone from busy to frantic (in the best way), completing several key searches, launching a new Tokyo-focused newsletter, and getting ready to welcome another team member in the new year.


The celebration was well earned, but it’s back to work now, with a busy end to the year ahead.

We exist to serve our clients, and we’re massively grateful for the trust placed in us this year. 🙇‍♂️

We look forward to delivering even more value in 2026!

You don’t need a massive number of clients. 


Just a few good relationships - and the discipline to double down on them.

I recently spoke with a partner who’s leaving his firm - and the real losers aren’t the partners. They’re the clients.

And it all comes down to ego.

He’s been at the firm for years. Built a strong practice. Still likes the place.

But another partner - someone he should be collaborating with - refuses to play ball.
Works in a silo. Thinks he can do it all himself.

Technically, he’s not wrong.

But as my contact put it:
“He’s limited. He’ll never scale. And the clients suffer.”

The firm has real depth in this area. But the internal dynamics are waaay off. 

Missed cross-sell opportunities.
Work they can’t service properly.
Frustrated clients.

Not the first time I’ve heard this story. Won’t be the last.

Firms love to talk about platform, profitability, growth.

But none of that matters if your partners won’t work together - and your clients pay the price.

Culture remains so key. 


(Also reminds me of a book I just started on ego… but that’s for another day.)

If ‘I’m fine’ has become your default, 


maybe it’s time to remember what you actually want.

📞 My second-favourite call in recruitment?

The one where someone says no.
(Give it to me straight. I can take it!)
 
Okay! Clarity. We move on.
 
One thing you learn quickly in headhunting:
Most of your job is trying to reach people who aren’t reachable.
 
They’re in meetings.
They’re travelling.
They’re dodging calls (for now…).
 
Calling someone 8–10 times before you get them?
Totally normal.
 
Of course, we’re not doing that in a day (we try not to be a nuisance).
 
But that level of persistence is the norm, not the exception.
 
In theory, it’s simple: “Contact this person about this opportunity.”
 
But the reality can often be weeks of voicemails, silence, near-misses, and patience.
 
So when someone finally picks up and says, “Sure, I can talk,” it's already a good call.
 
And no matter how the conversation pans out, we can both get on with our day. 😊

We decline more searches than we accept.


Most recruiters won’t admit that.


They’ll take anything with a pulse and a fee and then… hope for the best.


That’s how you end up with the stuff partners gossip about:
– Approaches to the wrong candidates
– Searches that ignore market reality
– Months of drift
– And a recruiter quietly blaming “the market” instead of their own due diligence


The Tokyo market is too small and too interconnected to say yes to everything.

And with conflicts, you often can’t say yes even if you want to.

So we say no more than we say yes.


Not because we’re difficult. Because taking on a search we can’t confidently deliver damages everyone involved.


When we do take something on, it’s because:
1. The mandate is clear
2. The client is committed and realistic
3. The “why” behind the hire is compelling
4. The person the client wants actually exists — and is reasonably gettable
5. We can run the search in a way that protects everyone’s time, confidentiality, and credibility


Saying no is part of the job.


Saying yes selectively is how you get results in this market.

What does a partner search really look like?

Many firms think it’s just a chat with a couple of recruiters, review some CVs, meet a few people, hire. 

Not even close.


An effective partner search takes 9–12 months. Sometimes longer.


Here’s why:

1. Mapping – Identify the target pool. (Weeks of research)
2. Approach – These are passive candidates. Outreach has to be smart.
3. Screening – Multiple conversations to assess interest and fit.
4. Interviews – Usually 7–12 rounds (a scheduling nightmare - partners on both sides are slammed).
5. Comp discussions – Rarely simple. It’s way more than base + bonus.
6. Partner votes – Yes, there’s politics.
7. Conflicts – Clients, deals, matters (Things can absolutely fall apart here…)


All of that—for one hire.


Firms often ask: “Can we fast-track this?”

You can try. But skipping steps or avoiding the hard conversations - like client portability or comp structure - often means it falls apart later.


This isn’t hiring an associate.


You’re asking a senior partner to take on serious risk - betting their book, their team, and their future.


It takes time, energy, and a structured (not ad hoc) process that respects the stakes.
But when firms commit to doing it right, it’s transformative.


We’ve seen partner hires bring practices back to life, open new markets, and generate 8-figure revenue.


But only if you treat the process with the commitment it deserves.

If you’re a law firm partner, you’re only as mobile as your client relationships.

Doesn’t matter how good your practice looks on paper.
If clients don’t follow you when you move, that “book” shrinks fast.

Maybe you don’t think you’ll ever leave.
But you probably didn’t predict the last merger, leadership shakeup, or practice group blow-up either.

Things change. Quickly.

That’s why you need to stay close to your clients.
Quietly. Consistently.

Not with a panicked, “Will you come with me?” call after you move.

But in every meeting, every call, listen.
For signs of loyalty. Satisfaction.
Whether the relationship is with you or the firm.

You don’t need to push. But you do need to keep your finger on the pulse of the relationship.

Ask how things are going.
What could be better?
Whether they see you as their trusted advisor or just today’s face on an institutional account.

Because you don’t want to find that out after you’ve moved.

Busy doesn’t mean safe.

If you’re not building your own practice, you’re at risk.

Partner Pressure?

Japan plays by different BD rules.



Here’s what works here.
👇🏻

BD Advice

This is really helpful, not just for associates shooting for partnership, but for any partner who wants to improve.

As discussed, focussing on more than just one’s own interests and having an owner’s mindset is the key.

Editor-at-Large @ Bloomberg Law | On the Merits Podcast Host

For those who are up for consideration for partnership next year, legal business developer at stage, Megan Senese, and Goodwin litigator David Cross have this excellent article about how to build your case. 

The key is the ownership mindset, Megan and David write. They urge lawyers to think like owners as law firms--even Big Law firms--are more like small businesses than large corporations. 

"Like small business owners, partners are required to 

⚖️Market and sell the firm’s services

⚖️Provide those services themselves

⚖️Recruit, manage' and train the other lawyers and professional staff who also provide those services

⚖️Strategize and plan the firm’s future

⚖️Manage client relationships

⚖️Review and collect on invoices

⚖️Help with day-to-day operations, ranging from opening new offices to selecting the artwork on the walls."

Their article linked below (outside the paywall) details how an associate can show they are ready to take on this responsibility.

Open article: Your Partnership Submission Is a Business Case, Not a Résumé by news.bloomberglaw.com

Your Partnership Submission Is a Business Case, Not a Résumé

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