Prime Legal
Our Legal Experts
Prime Legal, a part of The Richmond Group USA Companies, is exclusively focused on supporting law firms and corporate clients hire top legal professionals.
Focused on the Mid-Atlantic Region Prime Legal is annually voted within the legal community as the most outstanding legal recruiting and search firm. What sets us apart is our personal experience in the legal profession and our ability to quickly deliver on our clients’ needs and expectations.
We want to improve the lives and careers of every candidate we work with throughout their working years. We are experts in helping candidates better understand what is in their best interests now and in the future.
Successful Searches
Where legal talent & opportunity connect.
- Lateral Attorney Recruiting
Prime Legal is proud to represent small 5 attorney or less law firms to AmLaw100 firms throughout the Mid-Atlantic Region. We recruit top talent for our clients through our extensive network and proprietary database of attorneys and paraprofessionals.
Moving quickly on open searches Prime Legal takes pride in presenting talent our clients are eager to connect with about their opportunity. Candidates recruited are specific to each client firm or legal department and interested in a conversation to learn more.
- Corporate Counsel
As more and more companies look to move talent in-house, we’ve seen an increase in the amount of these openings in our market. We’ve successfully completed searches for: Corporate Counsel, Associate General Counsel, Contract Attorneys, Corporate Paralegals. We have extensive experience fulfilling Corporate Counsel and paraprofessional roles in a range of industries from higher education, healthcare, manufacturing to publicly-traded companies in growing their internal legal teams.
Every Candidate we present will be specifically recruited for your firm or legal team. We work with Direct Hire, Contract to Hire, or temporary staff needs.
- Paralegal Recruiting
Our recruiting support works to identify the unique needs of your practice. We search for candidates with experience in a broad range of areas including Commercial Real Estate, Litigation of many varieties, Estate & Trust, and medical backgrounds. We use our proprietary database to uncover a wide variety of hidden talent in the legal market. Every Candidate we present will be specifically recruited for your firm or legal team. We work with Direct Hire, Contract to Hire, or temporary staff needs.
- Staff Level Support
We cover recruiting needs for all law firm positions. By utilizing our legal expertise and experience, we service all levels of support from Firm Administrator positions to Receptionist needs. We have successfully recruited diverse positions, such as Legal IT specialists, Billing Coordinators, Marketing Directors, Legal Librarians, Executive Directors, and others with prior legal experience.
Reach out to us today!
Meet The Team
Francie Mann
Sr VP, Attorney Search, Practice Leader
Francie joined Prime Legal in 2016 as a legal recruiter after recruiting for a contract recruiting company for two years prior. Francie earned her Juris Doctorate degree from the Charleston School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Virginia. She is licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth of Virginia, District of Columbia, and South Carolina. As an attorney, Francie understands the legal market and how to help candidates find that perfect position to move their career forward. As a boutique recruiting agency, we are motivated to help candidates find the right long-term fit for their career. This helps us build lasting relationships with both our law firm clients, corporate clients, and candidates alike.
“I love being a part of peoples’ lives involving one of the most important aspects of their life – their career. Maintaining relationships with our candidates throughout their career and watching them thrive in an opportunity that I had a small part in is the most rewarding aspect of my job.” – Francie Mann
You can find Francie volunteering at Wings of Hope, a local Christian ministry that offers therapeutic horseback riding to at risk youth, walking her goldendoodle Riley with her husband, Ed.
Christine Tommasino
Vice President, Prime Legal Staff Corporation
Christine Tommasino leads Prime Legal’s staff-level recruitment for clients and candidates across the Mid-Atlantic region and beyond. Since joining Prime Legal in 2019, she has built an extensive network of clients and legal support professionals, dedicating herself to matching firms with top-tier talent.
Christine, originally from Newport News, Virginia, moved to Richmond in 2011 and is a proud graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University. Since 2021, she has been an instructor with VCU’s Paralegal Certificate program, leading the Career Preparation course. In this role, she equips students with essential career skills, including résumé writing, interview techniques, job search strategies, and market insights such as salary expectations, career growth, and the impact of different legal practice areas on a paralegal’s responsibilities.
“Your career is such a big part of your life, and having a recruiter in your field creates a valuable connection for now and years to come. Connecting with legal professionals daily allows me to support their long-term goals, and I’m grateful for every opportunity to bridge the gap between candidates and clients—helping each person succeed.” – Christine Tommasino
Sarah Snowman
Recruiter & Project Coordinator
Sarah is a Legal Recruiter for Prime Legal. She is a graduate from the University of Lynchburg and moved to Richmond in 2021. She has prior background in medical sales and was thrilled to join the Prime Legal team to build long-lasting relationships with legal professionals and law firms. Her favorite thing about recruiting is that she is able to help candidates reach their career goals while helping businesses grow by having the right people on their team.
In Sarah’s downtime, she enjoys reading, spending time with her chocolate lab Trigger, going to theme parks, and exploring Richmond, VA!