>You as a company can't cold call developers at your competitor and convince them to work for you, you can however pay a recruiter who does it at an arms length.
Aside from just getting a bad reputation, is there some legal reason why you couldn't do precisely that? If this question seems a little naive, it's because I absolutely am (naive, and asking is how I learn).
There is nothing illegal about poaching talent from your competitors, either directly or through a recruiter. I've had clients (recruiter here) tell me what companies have the talent they are seeking. I wouldn't say it is even unethical to try and get talent from other companies directly - it's just business, the same way you want to attract your competitor's customers.
A few companies do it. A lot of companies have internal recruiting. I don't think it's necessarily bad form if the offer is tasteful and customized (eg I find it fun to talk to a CTO who has actually read my LinkedIn page and wants my specific skillset). But if you're just spamming people (like a lot of recruiters do), you can damage your reputation pretty quickly.
There's a variety of reasons, for example recruiters can engage in activity of legal dubiousness such as buying employee lists off disgruntled employees or using phishing techniques to get the same.
It's also much cheaper for the recruiter because they're representing a range of different businesses. If the person they're calling isn't interested in a particular role they're pitching, they can pitch another role hence the ROI of each call is much higher for the recruiter than for an individual business.
Forgive me if I'm being naive, but what is legally dubious about purchasing employee lists off of former (or current) employees? I'm in an industry where the "employee list" is published regularly (game development, employees listed via product credits) hence my curiosity.
Aside from just getting a bad reputation, is there some legal reason why you couldn't do precisely that? If this question seems a little naive, it's because I absolutely am (naive, and asking is how I learn).