Spring Newsletter 2008 - Legal Recruitment Articles from Ten-Percent Legal Recruitment Consultants

Welcome to the February 08 Employers Newsletter from Ten-Percent Legal Recruitment.

Contents:

1. Legal Job Market update

2. Advice on negotiating annual pay reviews with staff

3. Mergers and Sales

4. Improvements to our services

6. £10 Amazon gift voucher for your best/worst interview answer

Legal Job Market Update

The market is currently very active, particularly on the candidate side. Since Christmas we are up about 75% on numbers of solicitors registering as opposed to last year. We have been inundated with candidates since Christmas, and most have been very good quality with mid-level PQE. Firms are registering vacancies on an increased number as well, despite the recent market wobbles, and the reports of a potential housing slump arriving shortly. Conveyancing is still going strongly outside of central London, although we have seen a trickle of redundancies coming in. Litigation is now starting to take off again in recent months, and we are finding posts across the UK in employment, personal injury, civil and commercial litigation. New niche areas such as property litigation are also picking up.

Permanent vacancies registered are up since Christmas, and temporary posts down, although this is quite seasonal, and the pattern reverses as we approach February half term. NQ solicitors are registering by the bucket load, and the trend continues of us not seeing the recruitment there anymore that we used to. More and more of our recruitment is now focused more on experience rather than qualification. The age discrimination laws have meant that we are seeing increased numbers of senior solicitors find posts through us, which is always good to see.

Negotiating a Pay Review with Employees

A pay review is the only time in the year most fee earners get to discuss their earning and performance with their employers, and for most, it is a wasted opportunity. Have a read of our free guide to recruitment for law firms to get the best deal out of your annual reviews. It is important to make sure you keep focussed on the fact that this opportunity is probably the only one your employees get in a year to be able to discuss their pay and conditions with you, and you need to ensure that you are seen to act positively as well as actually acting in a way that encourages them to work hard on your behalf. I come across solicitors who receive no pay rise for year after year, despite being loyal members of staff who enjoy their work apart from this. It doesnt take much to increase their worth - extra annual leave, added benefits - eg pension contributions - do not cost as much as salary increases..

I have taken a call today from a lawyer comfortably earning 4 x their salary each year, but with a boss who has offered no incentives, no indication of partnership or promotion, and who seems to fail to understand the motivation most lawyers require to get out of bed in the morning. I remain convinced that there are employers out there who think that their employees work at a firm out of love for their bosses..

Mergers and Sales

One of the easiest ways to expand a business is to speak to another company or firm about joining them or taking them over. It can be quite a painless exercise, and increase the capital and income of both sets of partners. We have a number of firms across the UK who indicate from time to time that they would be interested in speaking to other firms about merging, whether to sell their business, buy another, or simply join forces. The recent years have seen frantic mergers take place, and whilst these have calmed down, there are still plenty of opportunities out there.

We offer a confidential service for firms and individuals thinking about expanding through takeover, bolt-ons or mergers, or selling their practice. We are able to identify buyers and sellers across the UK, and introduce businesses to you. Our fee for this service is based on turnover, and is very competitive. Please contact us to discuss further (in confidence).

Changes to our Services

Ten-Percent Legal has undergone a revamp over the last few weeks which includes investment in a new software provider for our back office systems. This hopefully will streamline our emails and ensure that you are made aware of any new candidates onto the market at a quicker speed than at present.

We will shortly be launching a specialist locum service which will be available online 24-7, and also the Chancery Lane Legal Jobs Site, which will result in more and better opportunities coming our way each month. Our company has expanded rapidly in the last 12 months, and we now have 5 consultants covering the UK plus back office support working away at sourcing jobs and leads.

We will be launching a dedicated overseas section soon to cover offshore work, something we have done in the past, and also plan to take on headhunting work. We are somewhat unique however, as two of our directors take 80% of all calls into the company throughout the working day, which means that for most of the time you are speaking to experienced and qualified recruiters (and lawyers).

£10 Amazon voucher for your best or worst interview answer

Send us your best or worst interview answer - either one you have given as a potential employee or one you have been given by an interviewee, and if we publish it in our newsletter we will send you a £10 Amazon gift voucher as a thank you. Email your question to me at jbfagan@ten-percent.co.uk

If you would like further advice or guidance on anything career related, feel free to get in touch. We can obviously also assist with job searches and relocations, and you can contact us by calling 0845 644 3923 or by emailing me personally - jbfagan@ten-percent.co.uk and I'll put you in touch with the consultant for your area.

Jonathan Fagan - MD, Ten-Percent Legal Recruitment.

Ten-Percent.co.uk Limited

2nd Floor
145-157 St John Street
London
EC1V 4PY

Tel: 0207 127 4343

E-mail: jbfagan@ten-percent.co.uk

Legal Recruitment News, Articles & Careers Advice for the Legal Profession

Articles & Careers Advice for Lawyers, Law Students and Law Graduates in the legal profession from Jonathan Fagan, Managing Director of Ten-Percent Legal Recruitment Consultants

Legal Recruitment News & Articles

Click the button to go to our Legal Recruitment blog for our latest articles