Ask a Recruitment Consultant – questions this month on our chat bot Questions sent to us via our new 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! Do you think it is still worth becoming…
Candidate Shortages in Wills & Probate and Conveyancing – myths and legends As I write this brief article, I can reflect that I could probably have written the same article in any year between 2011 and 2017. In fact if you are reading this in 20 years’ time, and Donald Trump hasn’t ended the world…
Hourly Rates of Pay for Locum Solicitors and Legal Executives Conveyancing rates have crept up a bit over the last four weeks, as we enter the busy period, but they are still low. Conveyancing locums looking for £35 an hour and above will find higher levels of competition still exist with experienced conveyancers still available…
Ask a Recruitment Consultant – questions this month on our chat bot Questions sent to us via our new 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! Why is there a shortage of private client…
Etiquette Guide for Locums Occasionally we get queries from law firms and locums as to what constitutes good practice by a locum when on assignment. Here are our answers to recent queries: Should locums take phone calls during the day from their own clients? No definitely not. Why would they? They are paid by the…
If you have a third class law degree, is it the end of your career? Hi, I am writing to seek some advice with regards to my current career situation. I have achieved 3 A-Levels at BBC. I have completed my LLB Law degree but achieved a third due to unforeseen and unfortunate personal and…
What is a QBE lawyer? The term QBE comes from the financial sector and is increasingly applied to lawyers as well. A number of conveyancers are QBE and so are in house Counsel. It is rare for anyone to practice in law without at least an LLB or LLM, but they do exist, particularly in…
Should I Stay or Should I Go? In April every year we are regularly contacted by newly qualified and 1 year PQE (post-qualification experience) solicitors who ask the following questions: 1. Should I stay with my training law firm for at least 2 years when I qualify? 2. How much should I get paid? 3.…
Locums – what to do if a business doesn’t pay As an agency specialising in the introduction of locum solicitors to cover assignments at private practice law firms, we are well versed with the problem of consultants not getting paid (it happens to us as well from time to time!). Most solicitors firms pay promptly…
I want to do Sports Law in a solicitors firm We get a number of enquiries from students and graduates which go something like: “Hello, I want to be a sports lawyer, have you got anything?” or “hi – I’ve done a bit of family law but find it boring. I want to be a…
What does a Media Lawyer do? When I grow up I want to be a media lawyer and go round slapping injunctions on people. It sounds sooo exciting! Hmm. OK – so you want to be a media solicitor but what does one do in practice? If you need to read this article, one thing…
For our full advice on in house legal jobs and moving in house from private practice (and vice versa) please visit our In House page by clicking https://www.ten-percent.co.uk/in-house-lawyers/ The advice sheet includes the following: How easy is it to move from a solicitors’ firm to an in house legal department? Can anyone do it? Is…
When I grow up I want to be a human rights lawyer (and marry George Clooney) We’ve been meaning to write this article for ages and I was only jogged into action by a long train journey and a recent spate of enquiries! So many teenagers and young adults have the idea that they want…
A law graduate (and businessman) has recently been in touch to ask the following question: “What areas of law will be busy over the next 5-20 years in the light of trends such as Alternative Business Structures, Artificial Intelligence, etc.?” The following advice is probably about as accurate as a prediction from a clairvoyant, but…
The LAA have very kindly published the 2017 Standard Crime Contract on the internet, which means it is possible to see exactly what the specifications are for the employed status of duty solicitors and also any restrictions on crime supervisors. Please see the extract in bold regarding ghost duty solicitors and also the new requirements…
Hourly Rates of Pay for Locum Solicitors and Legal Executives Locum hourly rate payment varies widely according to the demand, length of assignment, level of experience and advance notice available. NB: These rates are intended as a guide only. Hourly rates can vary according to the location, duration and level of expertise. November 2016 Private…
Do General Practice Solicitors still exist? At one time general practice solicitors (ie a solicitor who is able to work in a number of different areas of law) were scorned and firms avoided recruiting them. Times have changed and they are back in demand. So do they still exist? Yes, in a nutshell, but they…
Good Work/Life Balances and the Legal Profession – are they compatible? I recently noticed an article online by one of our competitors (Douglas Scott) about work/life balances in the legal profession and how average hours worked have dropped dramatically since 2014. There is talk of agile working conditions, hot desks, plus Magic Circle firm Clifford…
Locum Dilemna – what do I do if a firm cancels an assignment at short notice? For a full detailed list of FAQs on locums and a guide on how to be an successful locum please visit www.interimlawyers.co.uk “Hi Jonathan. I was booked back in February for a conveyancing role to last for a week…
Making a Move – how to know when it is time The autumn is traditionally a time when a number of staff at law firms start to look around for work. Our candidate registrations tend to pick up at this time of year as solicitors return from their summer holidays having had time to think…
Locums – avoiding bad firms and bad locums Ten-Percent Legal Recruitment handles both permanent and locum vacancies. We assist with locum assignments via our website www.interimlawyers.co.uk. Every locum we arrange work for is checked out and we get proof of ID, proof of residence, copies of practising certificates and attempt to get two references on…
The UK’s most expensive Google Adwords In April 2016 Search Engine Watch, a very useful industry online magazine, undertook a study of the UK’s most expensive Google Adwords. These are the adverts at the top of the page when you search any keyword. We have been using the system for over 15 years and it…
Agency accused of inventing staff A legal recruitment agency, Dawn Ellmore Employment (never heard of them) has been caught by RollonFriday.com inventing staff – full report at http://www.rollonfriday.com/TheNews/EuropeNews/tabid/58/Id/4434/fromTab/36/currentIndex/0/Default.aspx This has attracted lots of comments from disgruntled lawyers about agencies faking their identities, making up staff and qualifications and pretending that they are much bigger than…
Oh dear – yet again crime solicitors find themselves unable to work out what or where they will be in a years time. Hopefully some certainty will come into play sooner or later and the political see saw will balance in the middle for a while. We understand that the new rota deadline is 12th…
SmallLaw v BigLaw – the differences The US has a slightly different definition of the two types of law firm operating in each jurisdiction. In the UK we call them High Street law and Commercial law firms, although the two overlap a bit. In the USA they term the two types of firm SmallLaw and…
Practice Managers in a solicitor’s firm – who are they and how do you get a job as one? Practice Managers are usually the most senior administrative member of staff in a solicitors’ firm or company. In a lot of firms they are expected to have a considerable and varied amount of experience with tasks…
What do umbrella companies do and is there any point using one to do locum work? We have been working with locums in the legal profession for over 10 years now and it seems to be a fairly recent phenomenon that a very small minority of our locums and other locums we’ve come across employ…
How to have a Successful Career as a Legal Secretary Most people do not grow up thinking, “When I start work I want to be a legal secretary”. It is more common to think, “When I grow up I want to be a lawyer”. But these days legal secretaries in some law firms actually earn…
Very recently, a candidate got in touch about a vacancy, explaining quite apologetically that she was returning to work after a break and could she be considered for the post. As a recruiter, I have to be honest and say that whenever anybody tells me they are returning to work I almost involuntarily sigh because…
Salary Myths and the Legal Profession The legal profession is plagued by salary myths. How many times have high street solicitors been speaking to acquaintances and informed that as they are a solicitor they must be earning loads of money, at least 6 figures? How many law students still start their degree course thinking that…