"As many people predicted, in order to service the needs of clients engaging in increased levels of corporate activity, many law firms are seeking to fill gaps created by their internal restructurings and the fact that not as many trainees were taken on over the last two years. We have seen a significant increase in the number of junior to mid-level corporate vacancies", says Philip Jennings of LPA Legal Recruitment, "predominantly in the mid-market firms but with some of the magic and silver circle firms also present once again in the recruitment market. As an aside, the upturn in corporate activity is further evidenced by many UK law firms voicing concern that changes to the way that working visas are processed could jeopardize their ability to hire lawyers from Australia and New Zealand.
What this means for UK qualified lawyers is that my colleagues and I are often working with candidates on ten or more live roles at a time, and we are once again able to provide good quality candidates with a good range of interesting options for their next career move. It is well attested that IPOs and M&A have been the main drivers for the increase in hiring activity. Whilst the deal pipelines are not yet huge, there is a consistency to the number of instructions on corporate deals being received which has not been seen for at least eighteen months. Outside of pure corporate work, another notable demand is also being driven by cross-border investment work and candidates with cross-border experience, particularly trade finance, have the pick of the opportunities available.
The international nature of the deals being done means that I am successful in placing candidates who can offer something in addition to a good background in corporate law. In addition to demonstrable business development skills, language skills are proving very important and I have recently handled a number of placements requiring Russian and Arabic. Mandarin is equally as important. Whilst these language skills are very helpful in making a candidate stand out, it remains the case that they, alone, are not enough to secure a role in a strong corporate department. Having experience from a reputable and rated corporate practice is essential.
Clients still look for at least one year's experience in a rated City or large West End firm over any additional attributes a candidate may have. In part this is explained by the scrutiny that law firms are applying to applications. More partners are now involved in the hiring process – which can extend the length of time for recruiting an associate/assistant. Since hires now have to be run past senior management, there is more pressure on those partners putting forward a recruitment proposal to concentrate their efforts on those candidates coming from rated practices. From a candidate's point of view, our business planning advice and interview coaching give them the edge they need to present their case in a robust enough way to persuade the law firms' hiring committees".
Philip Jennings, LPA Legal Recruitment (November 2010)