Part of the role of a good legal recruiter is knowing the market inside out, to the extent where you are aware which areas are busy almost before your client does. If you only work reactively when a firm experiences a surge in their corporate instructions then there is a significant lead time before that practice has the necessary addition in place. Add together the search/sourcing time, shortlisting, three interviews and at least three months notice, and its feasible that your firm can be under-strength for six months.
However if your legal recruiter is already in conversation with twelve good corporate lawyers then from time of instruction you can be looking at having CVs on your desk within two hours and the shortlisting having already been done for you as they highlight the two, three or four candidates best suited to your requirement.
This market intelligence comes from a variety of sources; speaking to lawyers and assessing their workloads, talking to other professional services firms and talking about their own market and also the priceless attribute of experience; we’ve worked through recessions and recoveries before, and we know where things will pick up and where firms will struggle to recruit in 6 months time.
For example we know that with recent employment law cases which have hit the headlines there is a good chance of the Equal Pay market booming in the near future.
We know that wills & probate work peaks during the winter, particularly if it’s cold!
We know that family lawyers have two distinct boom times, at the end of the summer holidays and at the turn of the New Year. It’s a sad reflection on human nature that the two main times of the year that families spend together are the two key occasions where relationships break-down.
You can’t blame matrimonial lawyers for that, nor bemoan that these booms are so reliable that they can plan months ahead to ensure that staffing levels are high enough to cope. As a consequence, those of us in the legal recruitment field also need to be aware that these peaks and troughs exist so that we are able to provide the candidates to meet the requirements.
However at the moment the family field itself is in a state of flux. With the vast reduction in numbers of Legal Aid practices offering family law (and the current legal challenge to these cutbacks), publicly-funded family law faces some uncertainty over its long-term future, resulting in firms being more cautious with their plans for the next year.
Family law though is nothing if not resilient. During the recession many firms revived or re-invested in their privately-funded family teams, aware that whilst corporate deals and property transactions fell away due to the banking crisis, matrimonial disputes and resultant care issues are always going to occur and can be relied upon as a regular source of fee income.
A large number of firms have now turned their back on publicly-funded work and are now pursuing the privately client market, particularly the much coveted High Net Worth dispute where the assets run into the multi-millions. But just how much of this work is there to go around? Family law will be getting a much-needed shot in the arm with a wave of pre-nuptials in the wake of the Radmacher case, but is this enough to justify the number of firms competing in this market?
Irrespective of the outcome to the challenge to Legal Aid cuts there will continue to be a shift away from publicly-funded work; firms recognise that the long-term prospects in this area are uncertain whilst the fees on offer mean that profit-wise it is simply not worth their while. Unless these firms drop family altogether this will mean congestion at the top end of the market as more practices target the wealthy, hence those seeking to stand out from the crowd will need to look at their USPs and how they are getting this message out to the market.
Encouragingly the demand for really high quality family lawyers has not dropped off though; recently we placed a very high calibre ancillary relief specialist without a following yet who still joined at partner level due to their experience and background. It proves that firms will still look at individuals who have the right expertise, and will put together an attractive package to secure them.
So what next for your average high street family lawyer? Quite simply it will come back to the main methods in which solicitors traditionally secured work; recommendation, referral and marketing/networking to local clients, ideally with the odd High Net Worth individual thrown in. It may be that looking to specialise solely at the HNW end of the market is beyond the reach of a non-niche firm, whilst choosing to rely on Legal Aid work may simply be a rug which can be whisked out from under your feet at any time.
As Christmas approaches family lawyers will be again gearing up for the post-New Year rush of matrimonial disputes; whether this will be at the levels seen in previous years remains to be seen but you can be sure that the requirement for family law advice will increase, as will the need for additional family lawyers to service this.
Just make sure your legal recruiter is already prepared!
To discuss opportunities within the family law field, or if you are keen to strengthen your family practice with key high calibre hires contact one of our specialist consultants on 0121 233 5000 / 020 7649 9094 or visit our website www.vgcharles.com