Salary Levels

One of the most common calls we get from solicitors, trainee solicitors, barristers and legal executives is "how much should I be looking for?" Quite understandable, considering most lawyers do not work simply to help their clients, but to pay the mortgage! Most lawyers work in offices where each fee earner does not know the salary being paid to other fee earners in the same office, and again it is hard to know what is a fair wage.

We know that there are salary reviews across the web, with a number of recruitment consultants producing lists of wages for each region. We recognise the worth of these tables, but would also say that it is next to impossible to predict wages in each area as it really does vary according to which firm you are working for (size, types of law - ie; high street, commercial - regional heavyweight, commercial - niche, commercial - mixed), LSC funded work, privately funded work and the quality of clients all play a factor).

A quick example is in North London; what should a residential conveyancing solicitor with 2 years PQE (post-qualification experience) be earning? This could range from £22k up to £38k, depending on the firm, the solicitor's age, the type and quality of conveyancing being undertaken and  whether the solicitor has any following. 

If you would like a salary review, simply email us at cv@tenpercent.co.uk and we will respond within 24 hours (normally 30 minutes during office hours) with as much information as possible. Please let us have a) size of firm b) type of firm c) current billing levels (if possible) and a few details about your career aspirations.

Further in depth advice can be found at www.legalrecruitment.blogspot.com and www.legal-recruitment.co.uk

Interview Preparation

DRESS

Attending for interviews is your chance, and often your one and only chance to present yourself as a potential lawyer to the firm. It is important that if you are male that you wear a suit with a jacket, and a tie that is fairly smart.  A flowery tie or one with Mickey Mouse characters on is not going to go down particularly well with the firm and may make you stand out for all the wrong reasons, especially on an assessment day. 

For women it is important to wear dark coloured clothing not too over the top and that is of a similar vein to a suit worn by the men.  Interviews are not the time to show off your latest Karen Millen outfit!   

Dress can also help you.  If you are well presented, well dressed and feel confident in yourself about what you are wearing and how you look to other people, you will come across well in interview.  If you go into an interview environment and feel very uncomfortable in the clothes you are wearing you will present this to the people who are interviewing you. 

ITEMS TO TAKE WITH YOU

Carry spare copies of your CV and covering letter not only so that you can look at your skills & attributes and remind yourself of various matters before going into interview, but also in case the interviewers in front of you only have one copy of your CV and they are sharing it.  This is not a common occurrence in larger firms, but smaller firms tend not to prepare very well for interviews and you may find this to be the case. 

A copy of any application forms or covering letter will be useful so that you can remind yourself of your writings before going into interview.

It can also be quite embarrassing to turn up for an interview and mention facts that were not on your application form.  This can lead to firms thinking that you have either made up various facts on your CV or that you are a confused person who does not possess a good memory for facts.

Carrying money and credit cards is also very useful and something that is occasionally forgotten by people attending interviews.  It may be that you need to get a taxi from the train station out to the firm if there is a long distance between the two.  You may also find that you need to buy yourself lunch if the interviews are going to go over to the afternoon and you have been kept waiting.

It sometimes assists to take with you examples of any case papers you have worked on, although client confidentiality may be an issue. If you have been in the press with a particular case, or written an article for the local paper, firms are often very interested in seeing this, especially in the current climate for marketing.

If you are a partner or solicitor with a following or team to move with, it would be very helpful to take details of your clients with you together with billing levels, targets, team salary levels, and any other information relating to the various financial issues that arise.

Check your current employment contract for restrictive covenants preventing you from working within certain areas for set time periods. This can be quite important for some firms, and it may even be a waste of time attending for interview. 

TRAVEL

Travelling to interviews is a particularly exhausting experience. Often interviews are held at awkward times for people to be travelling, whether 9.30am or 5.00pm.

A particular problem is when you are planning to relocate, and need to get to Carlisle from Oxford for 5pm. We would advise you to think carefully of the following: The interview may be one of the most important meetings you will attend during your career.  It may decide the type of lawyer you become, whether you get a post with a firm looking to hinder or progress your career and whether you attain partnership if not already.  

As a result we would advise you to think very carefully before making a 100+ mile journey the morning of your interview.  You may be better to think about the cost of booking a hotel room in the city you are travelling to the night before.  Whilst this may be £60 or £80 (or even more) this may be money well spent if you are able to get up in the morning, feel fresh & vibrant, and ready to attend an interview.  You will not feel like this after a 100 mile train journey standing up!

The other reason for staying in the city or town where your interview is to be held is that on the morning of the interview you will not have to depend on the reliability of the train, bus, other public transport network or the roads to get you to your location.

Firms will not be very sympathetic towards anyone who phones up from a train parked 20 miles outside London Euston saying that they are stuck.  Firms are not interested in that in the same way that district judges in county courts are not interested in solicitors who are stuck in a traffic jam 10 miles from court! It is your responsibility to ensure that you are at an interview in good time and that you are able to present yourself in a reasonable condition, ready to take on a tasking experience.

ATTENDANCE

It is important to turn up for an interview 10 -15 minutes early.  This is very useful for more than one reason. Firstly, if you turn up 10 – 15 minutes early it gives firms an indication that you are somebody who is punctual and can keep time.  In law firms this is of particular importance as firms are looking for people who are able to keep time well as their whole income depends upon it. 

Secondly, it gives you the opportunity to experience exactly what type of firm it is that you are going to see. Often firms will ask you to wait in their reception area and you will get to hear the secretaries and receptionists talking. Invaluable information can be gained of exactly the type of firm you are going to see from the way the secretaries act and behave.

If the secretaries sound disgruntled and speak to each other in a hostile manner or there is a cold atmosphere around the place, it may be that there are a lot of office politics going on in the practice and that you will be faced with this if you join the firm.  If you see secretaries and receptionists who are nice and friendly, who offer you a cup of tea and speak to you like you are a human being rather than a zombie, this may be how they will interact with you when you join the firm.

The wait also gives you the chance to observe the partners in practice, as you will often see them buzzing around the place telling their various staff members what work they require from them within the next 5 minutes. If you see a partner running around an office shouting at the top of his voice and being generally rather rude to everyone you may feel that this is not the type of firm that you wish to work for. If he is shouting at the secretaries, it is almost certain that he will be shouting at you in a few months!

HELP I'M RUNNING LATE

If you find yourself running late for an interview, telephone both your consultant and the firm to let them know. Even if you are going to be 5 minutes late, it is vital that the firm know this and the reason for it. Most will not mind, and if they do, would this be the type of firm you want to work for in the first place?

You can get further assistance from us via telephone and face to face sessions in careers by visiting www.ten-percent.co.uk/career.htm

Further in depth advice can be found at www.legalrecruitment.blogspot.com and www.legal-recruitment.co.uk

Annual Reviews

Annual reviews are one area of practice that a lot of lawyers deal with poorly as they fail to prepare for them, and do not appreciate the opportunity you have when attending them. 

Annual reviews can consist of an apologetic partner ticking boxes on a pre-printed form, whether to simply add the form to your file to comply with internal requirements, or for external assessors to see, such as the LSC contract manager. They can also be spent discussing irrelevant issues such as a case you dealt with last month that was of particular interest. 

Some firms take the opportunity to tell you how poor your billing levels are, and how lucky you are that you have a position still let alone a payrise. 

Think of an annual review in the following way: 

1. Check the current rate of inflation in the news. http://www.incomesdata.co.uk/statistics/statrpi.htm is a good source, supplied by IDS, an independent research organisation. 

2. Consider your current costs for getting to work. Any equipment you are required to own (books, bags, suits etc..) Travel costs including car maintenance, train tickets, car parking fees, lunch and snacks costs. 

3. Calculate your earnings for the firm in the past 12 months, not forgetting work in progress, any repeat clients that will come back, and any benefits you have gained for the firm. 

4. When asked (if asked) what you should be paid (some firms do this to pass the buck!) bear all of the above in mind and have a figure ready that you think is reasonable and justified. 

5. Consider the ancient 1/3 rule that a lot of solicitors firms work to - 1/3 wage, 1/3 profit and 1/3 overheads is the old method for paying a salary. 

6. Concentrate on the matter to hand - you are speaking to the partner or HR Director specifically to assess how much you are worth to the company - do not be sidetracked. 

7. Be firm and confident. Tell your employers what you think you are worth and do not be embarrassed. 

8. In essence give them the figure required for the firm to retain the benefit of you working for them. Have the thought in your mind that it is an honour for the firm to employ you, not vice versa.

9. Consider other options to salary increases - what about a targeted bonus, payments for any overtime worked, payments for clients introduced, expenses, golf club membership (it happens), extra annual leave arrangements, flexible hours, an option to work from home, car park permits, health club membership, private health insurance, pension contributions, profit share or partnership offers either immediate or within 24 months etc..

10. If you get an offer of a rise you consider unreasonable think carefully about your next move. One option is to decline the offer immediately and request a higher figure. Another option is to look elsewhere for work in the meantime. It is important to be careful here - if there are no other posts out there, you may be cutting your nose off to spite your face if you decline and demand extra money. 

11. Above all, do not miss the opportunity to progress your career - if like most lawyers you only get one chance each year to promote yourself and obtain a higher income it would be a shame to miss it and spend the rest of the year stewing it over!

Further in depth advice can be found at www.legalrecruitment.blogspot.com and www.legal-recruitment.co.uk

Partnership Prospects

Once the holy grail of career ambitions, partnership is not as important to a lot of lawyers for a number of reasons; firstly solicitors these days are often more interested in quality of life and spending time out of the office doing other things such as sleeping, eating and breathing. Secondly a increasingly larger proportion of lawyers want to have a quality home life, and they sometimes sacrifice progressing their career in the short term in order to raise a family and spend time with their children. I have noticed in the time Ten-Percent Legal Recruitment has been operating an increasingly large proportion of solicitors and executives want part time work, but the firms seem to be primarily searching for recruiting full time staff. This is particularly so in litigation departments, and I can understand the reasons for this. The smaller practices are perhaps the hardest to crack from the part time perspective, whereas larger firms are recognising the need for more flexible hours, job share and part time work in order to attract and retain quality staff.  

Nevertheless, partnership prospects are an important part of a lot of lawyer's career aspirations. We often get calls from lawyers requiring astronomical salaries, and we can almost always guarantee that the lawyers have been partners with their current firm, and not appreciated the difficulty in moving to another practice as an assistant without a following and the realistic salary levels involved. It is a fact that partnership can lead to incomes well beyond the dreams of mere mortals and assistant solicitors, and even in primarily LSC funded fields of law, it is not uncommon to find solicitors earning in the region of £70k-£90k pa. Assistants with the same experience would be lucky to bring in £35k at some of these practices.  

There are many different sorts of partners, but they can in essence be narrowed down into two types: those who own a share of the business and hence receive a profit, and those who are dependent on the other partners to determine their remuneration. 

If you are offered partnership you need to consider the options very carefully, including checking the accounts if possible of the firm. Whilst the advice you need is beyond the scope of this webpage, it suffices to say that you want to be joining a partnership that is profitable as opposed to one that is leaking money. 

Partnership prospects are worth their weight in gold at some firms, and in other firms they are a burden. If you are offered a partnership fast track position by a firm it is worth asking them for an estimated date for joining the partnership, how many lawyers have previously been promoted from assistants and associates, and the average time it has taken from them joining the firm to actually becoming partners. Check what benefits are on offer to you if not becoming an equity partner. 

If you want advice about partnership and the options available if you have a following and think of moving, email us at cv@tenpercent.co.uk

Further in depth advice can be found at www.legalrecruitment.blogspot.com and www.legal-recruitment.co.uk

Career Paths

A common question we get asked by solicitors and executives is "what should I be doing with my career"? 

It is very hard to give a response to this. It really depends on what you are looking for out of your career, and whether you seek a high salary, status, or you have entrepreneurial ambitions to progress. The "normal" progression of most solicitors seems to be: 

1. Training Contract with Firm A

2. Qualify with Firm A, remaining for 6 months - 2 years. 

3.Move into Firm B with offers of career progression, remaining for anything from 2-5 years. 

4. Stay with Firm B, move to Firm C or open own practice D. At this stage you should really be looking at partnership in any event or at least Head of Department. If you do not then career stagnates.  

5. On attaining partnership remain with firm for career, unless exceptional offer to move comes up, or partners not up to expectations. 

An alternative progression increasingly common is: 

1. Training Contract with Firm A; efforts made throughout contract to move to any other firm when discovering senior partner is either drunk/mad/vile/incompetent. 

2. Qualify and immediately move to Firm B as money at Firm A is awful - remaining for 6 months to 2 years. 

3.  Realise Firm B is pretty awful as well and move to Firm C, remaining for 2 years. 

4. Get bored at Firm C, move on to Firm D, remaining for 12 months. 

5. Get bored at Firm D, move on to Firm E, remaining for 2 years. 

etc..

This seems to be the way the profession is progressing in some areas. There are firms who have yet to wake up to the fact that people expect good career prospects, salaries rewarding loyalty, a good working environment and responsible practice. Without these being evident, lawyers simply look for new positions each year or two, increasing their salary with every move, but never settling down and forming a good working relationship with their employers. 

We recommend being absolutely sure about a firm before making a move, and trying to stay with each practice during your career until it becomes clear that a move is needed to progress your career. We do not recommend moving simply for a few extra pounds - each time you move makes it that much harder in future years to find quality work. Firms can get very wary of lawyers who change firms more often than their underpants.  

Further in depth advice can be found at www.legalrecruitment.blogspot.com and www.legal-recruitment.co.uk

You can get further assistance from us via telephone and face to face sessions in careers by visiting www.ten-percent.co.uk/career.htm

CV Content

There are a large number of legal recruitment sites online that now give specific guidance on writing legal CVs. Ten-Percent offers a fee charging CV writing service with prices starting at £85.00. 

We have shied away from producing an online guide, as we prefer to tailor CVs according to specific candidates and types of lawyers, but below is our summary guidance for CVs and covering letters for solicitors, barristers and legal executives. We have also included  a lengthy article concerning the length of the CV - more of these can be found at www.legalrecruitment.blogspot.com or www.legal-recruitment.co.uk.   

A successful CV needs to have the following sections on it:

Firstly the personal details section.

Personal Details

A personal detail section which is headed Curriculum Vitae of John Smith or your name. 

Your address.

Your telephone number.

A mobile number if possible.

A work telephone number if possible.

Your e-mail address.

Any other contact details you may have.

Your date of birth.

Your marital status and sex (both optional).

Nationality.

Whether you hold a full, clean driving licence.

Education

Your next section should be your education section.  This should have in chronological order the items as follows:

1.                  Your PSC, LPC and CPE (if relevant).

2.                  Details of your degree.

3.                  Details of your A levels.

4.                  Details of your GCSEs.

At this level in your career you would not expect to be presenting all your GCSEs and it does suffice to say 10 GCSEs at grades A – C including maths and English. In respect to your degree there are a number of ways of presenting this and the most common method is simply to put the dates you were at university with the establishment and location, on the second line put the title of your degree, on the third line put the class of your degree and on the fourth line include a section saying subjects included and then include some examples such as Tort (88%), English legal system (22%).  On the next line if you have completed a dissertation it is worth putting the title here (unless it is non-law related and not very interesting!). The other method of putting down your degree which is especially important if you do not have that much legal experience is to include a short list of each year you were at university.

If you did anything else at university that is academically linked you may put it in this section.  The A Level section simply needs to state the date, the establishment and location, the A Level titles together with the grades.  It is important to put your grades even if they are pretty appalling.  Failure to do so will mean that firms will automatically assume that your grades were appalling and in any event will not proceed further with the application.

Work Experience

The next section after your education is perhaps the most important section on your CV.  Work experience is absolutely vital to any legal firm.  It is therefore important that any experience you have, even if you think it to be trivial, is expanded upon in as much detail as possible in this section. You should put this in chronological order with the dates, the establishment and location together with the title of position you held. 3/4 page for your most recent position is about right.

Computer & Language Skills

The next section after this is the computer and language skills.  This is more important these days than it has been in the past as firms want to see who is computer literate and who clearly would not be able to assist them with their I.T. requirements. Normally the following entry will suffice: Proficient with the use of Microsoft Office products including Excel and Access, full ability to use internet and e-mail facilities, legal research CD’s and internet search engines.

If you have language skills it is much better to put them down with a comparison so that firms can see what “basic French” actually means.  For example can you order a meal at a restaurant, or can you hold a conversation with a native French speaker.

Activities & Interests

The final section and perhaps the second most important is the activities and interests section.  Most people believe that a list with the words ‘reading’, ‘skiing’, ‘playing various sports’ and ‘socialising with friends’ will suffice.  It will not! Firms are looking for somebody with a well rounded background and with the ability to hold a conversation.  You will not be able to hold a very long conversation with a partner interviewing you if all he has in front of him for your activities and interests is the words ‘reading’.  He can ask you what books you read and you can answer although in most cases this is not going to be a long conversation!  The same applies with going out and socialising with friends.  How on earth does this relate to the question? Are they going to see from this that you are somebody who goes out and gets drunk six nights a week and who may not be able to focus on your work sufficiently the next day?  People seem to think the reason you put this down is because firms can then see what a well-rounded individual you are. This is incorrect.  Everybody socialises with other people to a certain extent.  Even anti-social deviants (or internet entrepreneurs) do occasionally go out and see other people.  As a result they socialise with other people and hence could put it on their CV.

It has no relevance to anything and should be avoided like the plague!

References

You do not need to give references at this stage, and references available on request will suffice. Indeed there are firms out there who request references prior to deciding whether to offer a post, and this can put you in an awkward position.

Covering Letter

Contrary to popular opinion your covering letter should be something that can actually be read.

Too many people write a big long list of all the words they think a solicitors firm want to see in a covering letter and example of this is “I am pro-active in my development of my legal knowledge and wish to practice in a firm that offers an open strategic environment suitable to a development of a career in these fields of law”.

Three or four paragraphs of writing with the appropriate salutation with ‘yours sincerely’ or ‘yours faithfully’ at the bottom.

The three paragraphs should include a paragraph saying that you wish to apply for the job.  A paragraph explaining who you are, at what stage of your career you are at and what you are aiming to do.

A paragraph outlining any information that is going to be of interest to a firm and is particularly relevant to a certain firm as opposed to being a general catch all paragraph.    Then a final paragraph to say that you have enclosed your CV and you look forward to hearing from the firm.

If you follow these basic guidelines you will ensure that your covering letter is not too long or waffling and that it is read to a certain extent by the firm. 

How to write a good covering letter

Fitting your CV onto two pages - CV Myth Exposed

Further in depth advice can be found at www.legalrecruitment.blogspot.com and www.legal-recruitment.co.uk

Changing Specialism

A common topic with lawyers is whether they can change fields of law once qualified. Crime and immigration are particular fields, with a number of practitioners wanting quite understandably to change into something more stable and offering better conditions of practice and pay. Moving from high street practice to commercial firms or in house company law departments are two other popular areas. 

We also get corporate lawyers wanting to give up the high salaries and lifestyle to "help ordinary people". 

It is very difficult to change fields of law via recruitment consultants. We can assist if you have some experience in the field you want to change to, but often cannot help if you are completely altering your career path. 

We recommend initially thinking very carefully before moving. Is this really what you want, or would you be better served changing firms and getting better working conditions?

Do you know what lawyers in the field you are looking to move into actually do, and have you any experience of this? 

Moving from high street into commercial practices is very difficult, getting out of immigration or crime is also hard unless you have already got experience in other fields or you find a sole practitioner who needs help in a variety of fields. Contact us for further advice and assistance at cv@tenpercent.co.uk

Further in depth advice can be found at www.legalrecruitment.blogspot.com and www.legal-recruitment.co.uk

You can get further assistance from us via telephone and face to face sessions in careers by visiting www.ten-percent.co.uk/career.htm

Leaving the Profession

OK - you have spent 4 years being a solicitor, and you hate it. You dislike your clients, your boss, the money, the hours, your colleagues and life in general. What do you do?

Firstly, do not worry that you are unusual. This is common, and we come across solicitors, barristers and legal executives who all find after a certain amount of time that being a lawyer is just not what they wanted out of life. It is common across the professions and not just in law. 

We have come across lawyers who have left the profession and become: recruitment consultants (you do not have to look very far for these!), doctors, plumbers, builders, teachers (legal and non-legal), property developers, shop assistants, administration assistants, court administration clerks, freelance police station representatives, charity and aid workers, forestry workers, farmers and many more. 

Some want to return after a few years out when they realise that the cut and thrust of the legal world is lacking in their lives, but others do not regret it. 

Have a think about what it is you actually want. It is the lack of autonomy that you do not like, the high level of responsibility, the working conditions, the lack of prospects, the salary levels, the actual caseload or the clients? If it is any of the above apart from the caseload or the clients, you may be better thinking about a move in law as opposed to outside. 

If you want more autonomy have you considered setting up on your own? The Law Society publish a book on setting up a small law firm, and this can be found on their site www.lawsociety.co.uk following the publishing links. If you want prospects, are you with the right firm? If you hate your boss, why not find one you like, or alternatively look for partnership opportunities (ask at your current firm as well). 

If you are finding the work stressful, and life is really not enjoyable, visit the Law Care website at www.lawcare.org.uk as they have some excellent information about coping with stress etc.. as well as helplines to assist you. They now also have an article on alternative careers with lots of information. 

If you do want to move, why not contact us? Have you considered relocating to a new area and starting afresh? Click here to register or speak to us. 

Further in depth advice can be found at www.legalrecruitment.blogspot.com and www.legal-recruitment.co.uk

You can get further assistance from us via telephone and face to face sessions in careers by visiting www.ten-percent.co.uk/career.htm

Re-Entering the Profession

Again a common issue, especially for mothers (and some fathers) who have taken time off to raise a family and now want to return to work after 2,5 or 10 years. 

In some fields of law this is not too difficult. Firms are becoming more aware of the need to treat maternity leave with respect, as opposed to finding an excuse to sack the person on maternity leave as quickly as possible and getting a replacement in. As a result, we are seeing an increase in the number of part time positions, as well as 6-9 month contracts in a range of fields of law. 

Part time has traditionally been viewed with suspicion by workaholic senior partners, but they are realising the benefits of retaining staff by offering more flexible conditions. 

If you are returning after a lengthy absence, you need to be aware that the salary levels on offer can be quite low, and the choice of positions fairly restricted. It may be worth getting locum work first in order to get recent experience before looking for a post offering more long term opportunity. 

Contact us to talk about it further, click here to register or speak to us. 

Further in depth advice can be found at www.legalrecruitment.blogspot.com and www.legal-recruitment.co.uk

You can get further assistance from us via telephone and face to face sessions in careers by visiting www.ten-percent.co.uk/career.htm

Overseas Lawyers

Overseas lawyers are increasingly finding it easier to source work in the UK. We do not intend to discuss the issue of work permits etc.. as there are plenty of sites with excellent advice available on them already. With the increase in bulk conveyancing, telephone advice services, local authority sick leave absences and smaller practices looking to reduce their overheads, overseas lawyers are becoming fairly popular for firms. 

This is not necessarily a good thing for overseas lawyers! Firstly we find a lot get stuck in a rut and unable to move across into private practice from government temporary posts for example. Alternatively the money on offer is often so poor that they then find it hard to move on into better paid positions. 

It is often a question of luck - being in the right place at the right time that results in a quality position becoming available immediately. 

Further in depth advice can be found at www.legalrecruitment.blogspot.com and www.legal-recruitment.co.uk

You can get further assistance from us via telephone and face to face sessions in careers by visiting www.ten-percent.co.uk/career.htm

Relocating in the UK and abroad (see also our Location Reports)

Not so long ago, we recruited for a firm looking for a candidate to work in Bermuda. Within one week of a Law Society Gazette advertisement, we received 75 applications, all from conveyancing solicitors. Normally when advertising in the Gazette we receive 2-3 enquiries from each advertisement, so this was quite a shock!

Relocating abroad is much harder than imagined. Firstly a lot of overseas jurisdictions have limits on the number of overseas workers they will allow in, and secondly firms and companies normally have to advertise locally for staff before being permitted to recruit from another jurisdiction. We understand this to be the case in the UK as well. 

You also have to consider your children's schooling, the travel involved, the local costs, longer term plans, the reasons you are looking to relocate - eg; better weather, your ability to speak a language and not feel alienated. We think that out of the 75 applications for the Bermuda post, only about 20 of them had actually considered the full implications of the move, the rest were blinded by the money and the thought of being in a warmer climate. 

Relocating in the UK is much easier. Simply register with us! - you can also visit our Location Report pages for information about particular areas, including hotels to stay in whilst looking, house prices, tourist information, top schools and travel times.

We have assisted solicitors in relocating from Manchester to Cornwall, Devon to Carlisle, London to Newcastle and further afield. There are lots of opportunities in areas you would not expect, such as Cumbria and Cornwall, and it is not a cliche to say that you can in some areas feel like you are permanently on holiday! Relocating is not too difficult, and we normally recommend talking through your plans with us at an early stage. Some firms like local links initially, so prefer someone to be already in the area and perhaps renting accommodation - there have been plenty of relocations that have not been carefully thought out and the candidate moving back to the area they came from within a few weeks.  Click here to register or discuss your aims. 

Further in depth advice can be found at www.legalrecruitment.blogspot.com and www.legal-recruitment.co.uk

You can get further assistance from us via telephone and face to face sessions in careers by visiting www.ten-percent.co.uk/career.htm

Moving from Private Practice to In House

This used to be fairly popular, but as more lawyers release that life is not that rosy on the other side, we find it less common. If you are about 2 years PQE (post-qualification experience) or above, in a field of law related to in house work - employment, company commercial, conveyancing, property, M&A - it is not too difficult in some areas. However you need to think carefully as to the reasons for the move. Salaries in house can be very low, although the working conditions often make up for it. NQ (Newly qualified) moves tend to be harder as in house departments prefer experience before considering candidates. Often there is no-one in the organisation to provide training. Quite a lot of posts are offered on a contract basis, and life can be a little uncertain in multi-national companies. 

Further in depth advice can be found at www.legalrecruitment.blogspot.com and www.legal-recruitment.co.uk

You can get further assistance from us via telephone and face to face sessions in careers by visiting www.ten-percent.co.uk/career.htm