The Growth and Development of the Legal Industry
Posted in Latest News on 14 May 2015
Looking back over my 4 year long career in legal recruitment I am amazed at the changes that I have witnessed, to name but a few: the property crash, the Jackson Reforms, LAPSCO, I could go on but in 3 short lines I have probably already driven you close to the brink.
To the untrained eye you would be forgiven for assuming the legal world is on its knees and the future of our lawyers is a bleak one. But thankfully I can confirm that this is not the case and in actual fact, those who box clever have a brighter future ahead of them than ever before.
The job of a recruiter affords us a candid insight into the perceptions of lawyers into their own profession. We see them through their highs (receiving amazing job offers) and of course their lows (facing redundancy) and it is through these extremes that we really see the changes that the legal sector has undergone. Speaking to seasoned PI lawyers they often recount the days of £500k+ profit costs billed on a caseload of Fast Track RTA files prior to the Jackson Reforms. Family, Crime and Housing Lawyers are fond of regaling us with tales of the bygone days before the dreaded public funding cuts when the means test was a tamer beast. It's true that life for those guys has become much more difficult but wasn't it a similar story for property and non-contentious commercial lawyers up until a couple of years ago? And just look at them now. Particularly over the last 12 months we have witnessed what can only be described as a rebirth of these non-contentious disciplines.
As a North West based consultant, I have watched the market for lawyers in these areas bud, blossom and bloom, particularly as a result of new entrants into the market such as Nabarro, TLT, Freshfields and BLP. Coupled with the growth of firms likes Riverview Law who have very successfully sought to overhaul the delivery of commercial legal services in a much more consumer focused and friendly way, this has increased the volume and diversity of opportunities open to lawyers trained in these areas. The upshot here is, in its simplest terms, the legal sector operates on a perpetual see-saw. As one discipline dips, another rises. As the competition for talent gets stiffer all the time, firms are forced to look more flexibly at their means of increasing head count in these teams that are busier than ever before, and in many cases this means retrains! Many firms have incorporated candidates from PI and publicly funded backgrounds with great success providing a win-win situation for all involved.
Another growing phenomenon is the utilisation of Paralegals to relieve the labour intensive aspects of transactional work. Commercial firms are progressively employing Paralegals to meet the demands of clients in a similar way to the Transaction Services Team at Addleshaw Goddard which was introduced a few years ago, meaning that the time consuming elements of large scale transactions are processed more quickly and as a result, for lower charge out rates to the client. Several of the largest firms in the UK have established low cost hubs as transactional work increases, including Freshfields and Latham & Watkins launching in Manchester.
Times could be perceived as tougher for our non-qualified talent. But again changes made by the SRA have restored the natural order, with some timely proposals to provide a broader range of opportunities to progress within the legal field. Clearly they recognise there is an issue in availability of training contracts, with around 50% less places offered per year than there were ten years ago. It was also noted that the recruitment process often gives limited recognition of previous experience. In fact one of the most radical changes I believe is the ability to qualify as a solicitor, bypassing the need for a training contract completely, and this year heralded the first Paralegal qualifying via the alternative “equivalent means”. Big up the SRA, that’s what I say and I bet many out there will second, third and fourth that!
Let’s face it, whether you are a Paralegal or a Partner, negotiating this ever changing legal landscape can be a minefield. That’s not to say there isn’t plenty of opportunity for those lawyers seeking to develop further. I think what is clear from the turbulent times in which we have lived in these past few years is that adaptability to changing conditions is the key to not just survival but to ultimate success.
Iona Kobbekaduwe is a Senior Recruitment Consultant covering qualified an non-qualified opportunities in the North West
T 0161 233 6360