About Five Star Placements
We work exclusively in legal, and it shows in the candidates we send.
What we solve.
Have you ever been sent a family law candidate for a personal injury role? A plaintiff-side employment attorney for a defense-side litigation seat? A tax controversy attorney for a transactional tax role? A patent prosecutor for an IP litigation role, from a recruiter who thought patent prosecution counted as litigation experience? We hear stories like these from clients every week about recruiters they've worked with before. We built our process around practice-area expertise so the candidates you see match the role you described.
How we work.
Exclusively legal
We recruit for law firms and legal departments and nothing else. That means we understand the difference between practice areas that look similar on paper, and we know what you mean when you ask for a specific kind of attorney.
Sourcing
Most recruiters find candidates with keyword searches, which surface the same people everyone else is contacting. We use proprietary tools to uncover attorneys who match your criteria but don't turn up in a standard search, in addition to identifying candidates we already have a relationship with through our referral network, so we can present you candidates other firms aren't seeing.
Outreach
How a role is presented decides who responds. We write our outreach to each attorney individually, putting the opportunity in its best light while being honest about what makes the candidate a fit. That care is why strong attorneys respond to us and why they take your role seriously.
Screening
Every candidate we send has spoken with us on a call before you see them. We present the role, learn what is driving their search, and vet their experience: credentials, bar status, the matters they have handled, and how their work matches what you are looking for. By the end, they have confirmed their interest in your specific role, and we have verified that they meet the criteria you set.
Meet our team.
Josh Stockton
Co-founder & CEO
Josh built the recruiting function at a fast-growing private company, growing headcount 2.4x in a year, before starting his own agency to bring the same methods to other employers. When he founded Five Star Placements, he spoke with companies across half a dozen industries to find the biggest pain points. The most frequent complaints about recruiters came from the legal industry. Over and over, law firms told him the candidates recruiters sent had little to do with what they'd asked for, so he made it his mission to close that gap with Five Star.
John Woodliff-Stanley
Co-founder & COO
John led customer success at a national real-estate company, where he managed a team of ten and set the standard for customer service. During his tenure, the company's Google rating rose from 3.8 to 4.8 across three hundred reviews, and it became the top-ranked real estate agency on Trustpilot with more than 2,500 reviews. John then joined Josh to found Five Star Placements, with the goal of applying that same standard of client service to his own business. He now oversees the full client and candidate journey at Five Star.
CJ Ohm
Senior Legal Recruiter
CJ came to Five Star with more than a decade of senior management experience, including roles as customer success team lead, strategic account manager, and chief of staff. He applies that experience to managing each search from first call to accepted offer.
Daniel Blake
Senior Legal Recruiter
Daniel worked as a real estate agent and later managed a twenty-person team at a real estate company before moving into legal recruiting. He brings that same drive and leadership to running searches for our clients.
Sain Rhodes
Account Manager
Sain spent five years in customer success management, leading a team of more than ten, with additional experience in operations. As Account Manager, she will be your point of contact throughout the search.
Andrea Madrigal
Legal Recruiter
Andrea spent four years as a paralegal before joining Five Star Placements. She's worked inside law firms, so she knows how they're built, what partners actually want in a hire, and how the work differs from one practice area to the next.
Ana Plazola
Legal Recruiter
Ana works with attorneys and paralegals nationwide. She takes seriously the responsibility that comes with finding the right fit for each candidate and every client.
Ana Tellez
Legal Recruiter
Ana joined Five Star in 2026. She was drawn to legal recruiting by the chance to help attorneys find a firm where their practice can grow, and she now works on candidate outreach across our searches.