If I’m Willing to Take a Pay Cut, Wouldn’t an Employer be Interested?

Many applicants are disappointed when they are willing to take a pay cut and a lower position, but the prospective employer is still not interested. Why wouldn’t the company want a good deal and get a great lawyer for cheap? Some concerns I have heard from the prospective manager: 

1. If someone is too senior for the scoped role, he/she will soon be bored and leave.
2. The department is staffed by people who are at appropriate levels, and the manager does not want to send out mixed signals about the course of development, or disrupt harmony.