We took a call yesterday from a solicitors firm somewhere in England and Wales, and the conversation went as follows: “Hello I wonder if you can help, we’re looking for a family paralegal.” “Yes sure, can you give me a bit more information please?” “Yes, we would like a paralegal who’s able to assist with…
Interview Question – Are you Accepted into a Team Quickly? Advice At first glance you may be forgiven for thinking that this is a yes or no answer as you are being asked a pretty closed question. This question gives you the opportunity to give a specific example and to get over a point to…
Interview Question – Are you a leader? What a horrible question! Some would argue that it is too formulaic – would “yes” or “no” suffice depending on the job? Would you want to recruit a junior paralegal who said “yes”? Advice This is a very difficult question to respond to if you have not prepared…
To read Legal Recruitment News for September 2018 please click here: http://www.legal-recruitment.co.uk/september-2018-legal-recruitment-news/ Summary In recent months there has been a lot of political uncertainty and we were curious to see whether this had been reflected in the legal job market. So this month we have undertaken a comparison with the same time period last year…
We have had a query this week from a Year 13 student awaiting A level grades – can poor A Level Results affect any chances of a legal career? The quick and honest answer, and something perhaps relevant to qualified solicitors with many years PQE even, and an answer you will rarely hear from HR…
Legal Job Market Report Summary June has been a mixed month, but generally quiet in comparison with other years. The World Cup and uncertainty over Brexit have both contributed but by far we think the largest effect on the job market has been GDPR legislation coming into place in May. In House legal roles have…
CV Review for a Paralegal – as usual personal data removed. Feedback at the bottom of the CV. Reviewee has consented to this review being published. On these reviews please ignore the layout – this is due to our cut and paste operation! ——————————————————————– CANDIDATE NAME Address: Email: Telephone (Mob): Telephone (Home): EDUCATION September 2018…
Extracting yourself from the business We are involved in the buying and selling of solicitors’ firms and accountancy practices across the UK and further afield. Sellers can be anybody from a sole practitioner through to a very large partnership or company, but the usual aim of owners selling up is to get out of the…
Hourly Rates of Pay for Locum Solicitors and Legal Executives Rates are now starting to go up as we approach the summer. Up to £35 per hour in Conveyancing is still the norm for most locums, although the current competitive level for longer term assignments is £30. Very rare to see locums working for less…
Summary April has been a very busy month, surprisingly busy really because traditionally it is the quietest month in the year after December. However locum and permanent roles are both up and we have seen an increase in demand on the property side – property market seems to be quite active at the moment. In…
Today is the day when the LAA have issued a whole new load of contract awards after recent tenders by law firms across the UK. So far we have had telephone calls from law firms asking about Family Law Supervisors and Mental Health Law Supervisors. Any more? I can’t remember if Housing or Immigration are…
Ask a Recruitment Consultant – questions this month on our chat bot Questions sent to us via our Chat service online, together with general career questions emailed across. We do our best to answer all queries, sometimes after a fairly lengthy delay if we are busy! Q: I am currently studying to become a solicitor…
Yes. This could be the shortest article I have ever written! Here is what to write.. 1. Make sure you cc in any agent you are working through so they know what has been said.. The firm may think you are trying to circumnavigate their involvement.. 2. Thank the interviewer for their time and say…
Minutes from HMRC’s latest IR35 forum indicate that similar reform could hit the private sector soon. This could be a worry to a good number of law firms who regularly use locums. Our own thoughts on it are that provided the contractual position is clear and the locum is a senior lawyer who is able…
I write this article from a personal perspective and it is an expression of opinion only. I often get asked by candidates if they think firms discriminate against them and this article is about our experiences of behaviour that is both overt and implied. Discrimination against Law Firms Law firms often think that as recruiters…
Rates are now at their lowest levels, but will start to go up as we get into Spring. Bookings for the summer are at summer rates. Up to £35 per hour in Conveyancing is still the norm for most locums, although the current competitive level for longer term assignments are £30. January 2018 Locum Rates…
Summary January 2018 has been the busiest January on record for us since we started 18 years ago. All sectors have been busy – locum and permanent, qualified and non-qualified. There has been a surge in demand for solicitors in all areas of law, although we have heard from partners at London firms reporting that…
Questions sent to us via our Chat service online, together with general career questions emailed across. We do our best to answer all queries, sometimes after a fairly lengthy delay if we are busy! Q: I am a New Zealand qualified solicitor looking for paralegal opportunities with an immediate start. Can you assist? A: No…
Out of 5 job interviews arranged for paralegals and junior fee earners, we estimate that 1 candidate will not turn up. For solicitors and legal executives we think the figure is closer to 1 in 20. Why? Here are our top reasons. 1. It is much easier to apply for a job than it is…
We have recently introduced a candidate to an employer where a restrictive covenant was used which must surely fall foul of rather a lot of employment regulations! The role is a fairly junior fee earner position and not senior management or director level. The restrictive covenant was actually called a “non-compete clause” and included the…
Rates have now decreased slightly as we get closer to Christmas – we expect them to go down further still. Up to £35 per hour in Conveyancing is still the norm for most locums, although a good proportion are dropping to £28-32 per hour to get the assignments. November 2017 Locum Rates : Residential Conveyancing…
Legal Job Market Report Summary November has been a quiet month again, but this is fairly normal as we approach Christmas. We will be writing the same thing for December! Locum assignments have actually picked up a bit, which is unusual, but permanent roles remain down. The increase in conveyancing candidates last month has now…
Rates have now decreased slightly as we get closer to Christmas – we expect them to go down further still. Up to £35 per hour in Conveyancing is still the norm for most locums, although a good proportion are dropping to £28-32 per hour to get the assignments. November 2017 Locum Rates : Residential Conveyancing…
Q: I wonder if you have any advice or comment on the following. a sole practitioner has been asked by a lender panel to give details of a locum who the principal would have on call if the worst happened and the firm was left without a solicitor at short notice. Do you have any…
A recent law graduate has asked an extremely pertinent question regarding future career plans: “In your professional opinion, how much do sole practitioners (on the high street working in family/conveyancing) tend to make annually? Also more generally, would you say, despite the over supply of law graduates and the SRA’s soon to be new route…
Summary October has been a quiet month again, which is fairly normal but the legal job market seems very subdued at the moment. We are active in both legal & accountancy recruitment and accountancy is currently booming so quite a contrast! Locum assignments have dropped (as is usual for this time of year) and permanent…
Ask a Recruitment Consultant – questions this month on our chat bot Questions sent to us via our Chat service online, together with general career questions emailed across. We do our best to answer all queries, sometimes after a fairly lengthy delay if we are busy! Q: I graduated from university with a 1st class…
The Legal Profession, Flexible Hours and Working from Home Many years ago, when I started out in law, flexible hours were something women benefited from when they had given birth and returned to work for a few years. Otherwise hours were strictly 9am to 5pm with an hour for lunch. These days however law firms…
Job Offers and the Dangled Carrot of Partnership Dangling the carrot of a partnership when being offered a job or at an annual review is either because: 1. The firm genuinely like you, are genuinely nice and genuinely see a long term future for you at the practice. Partnership is a good way of cementing…