Young solicitors shun rural practice

The idea of the rural solicitor working across the spectrum of practice and a pillar of the local community is in danger of becoming something of a quaint anachronism if the profession can’t persuade its young members to resist the lure of the attractions of city life.

Anecdotal evidence is strong that firms in outlying areas are finding it increasingly difficult to attract any applicants for assistant level positions in the face of higher salaries and greater opportunities to specialise being offered by city firms.

Society President Martin McAllister raised the issue in these pages in May, stating: “The difficulties outlying firms are having in attracting young solicitors is a concern. There is a danger that in the future there may be a shortage of solicitors in rural areas.”

Ronald Hastings of Hastings & Co in Kelso says the widespread experience in the Borders is of difficulty in attracting candidates for available positions.

“Across a wide range of firms there is a common experience of trying to attract young solicitors from the honey pot of the central belt. In days of sophisticated IT systems it might have been thought that we would now be working on a level playing field but the increased centralisation of the major institutional work, in particular banks using only centrally based agents for remortgaging and commercial work, weights things in favour of central belt firms.

“It takes some persuading that it’s worth taking the risk to move out the central belt. On the social side, young solicitors will have to be convinced there is a good reason to move away from their friends, though a selling point is there is likely to be greater rewards for less stress here.”

For Hastings it’s important for the profession in rural areas to stick their heads above the parapet.

“Just because we’re small firms operating in the country we shouldn’t have an inbuilt inferiority complex. We have just as much ability as our city counterparts.”

So is part of the problem that there are just too many firms operating in small towns?

“It’s not healthy if there are less than two firms and most of the Borders towns tend to have at least three. There is enough work to go around, the problem we have here is sometime making that work profitable. But running costs tend to be higher, it can be more difficult to find reliable people locally, for example to maintain our IT equipment, though things are improving in that respect.”

Alexander Mitchell, Past President of the Society of Solicitors in Banffshire, said it is also an issue affecting practices in his area: “This is an issue we are concerned about as our firm did advertise for an assistant, but weren’t successful in attracting anyone. We have taken on trainees, but that can be temporary.

“My personal view is that younger members of the profession are looking to join city firms in order to get high-powered commercial experience.

“The only solution is a classic ‘Catch 22’; rural firms need to pay more attractive salaries to woo young solicitors. But we don’t enjoy the turnover to do that.

“We are in the peripheries of Elgin and Aberdeen, so the problems in attracting younger members of the profession are not so acute as they are in more remote rural areas or the Islands.

“At the moment I don’t see a shortage of solicitors in this area, and there might be other changes in information technology which will make the argument as to location less relevant in the future.”

Recruitment consultant Frasia Wright has experienced an increased number of requests in recent months from rural firms who are finding traditional routes to recruiting are no longer yielding candidates.

“There’s a very small pool of assistants who want to move out of the cities and out to work for a rural firm. In the past, firms in outlying areas relied on people from the locality returning after their years of study in the city universities.

“But in recent months a number of smaller firms have contacted us saying their usual methods of networking are no longer attracting applicants.

“When we’re interviewing lawyers, while they are attracted by financial considerations, the greater scope for specialism and concerns about the future of security of rural practice are also factors.

“We try to suggest that a selling point for firms outwith the major cities is that while they may be unable to compete on salary levels they might be able to sell the idea of a fast track to partnership. It might also require the firm to be more open minded and less cautious and learn to accept that it’s possible young solicitors will only want to stay for two years.”

Morag Driscoll, a partner with Doughtys in Ayton, makes a strong case for the upside to working in rural practice and disagrees with what she perceives as city snobbery about the merits of rural practice.

“There’s a myth that second class lawyers work in the country, mainly because the money looks a lot better in the city firms. But while rural firms have less to offer in financial terms, I find the money I earn goes a lot further.

“There is a feeling that areas of practice are more limited in rural firms. While it may be true if you want to specialise in commercial conveyancing or construction law, rural practice won’t be suitable, if you want to engage in general chamber, civil or criminal practice or domestic conveyancing, there really is no difference.”

She does share concerns that if present trends are maintained, there is a danger some country firms will die with the retirement of the existing partners.

Having worked for a firm in Leith, while the work scarcely differed, the hours and pressures are considerably less in Ayton - during an 11-mile drive to court she doesn’t encounter any traffic lights.

“I’m mainly involved in family law and the relationships with clients are more rewarding, for example when later on you meet them in Safeway and realise what you’ve done has actually been worthwhile. Here, the local lawyer is very much part of the community, you play a real role and there’s still the element of respect accorded to the local solicitor. In general, there’s a more civilised approach and you’re not working in a vacuum as in towns.”

So, would she recommend rural practice for those at the early stage of their legal career?

“It can offer a brilliant start for someone who is newly qualified, particularly if you’re wanting to bring up a family. In a small firm a trainee or newly qualified assistant can have a closer relationship with the partners, the support is much better, and you won’t be asked to make three times your salary in fee income. It’s a good way to get hands-on experience and the transition if you do want to join a larger city firm isn’t that tough.”

When the firm wanted to appoint an assistant last year, traditional advertising didn’t attract any applications. Eventually, using a recruitment company, they found Derek Devine, an apparently rare example of a young solicitor who was seeking a post with a rural firm.

Having suffered the “claustrophobic” environment of Glasgow during his years at Strathclyde University, he embarked on his traineeship in Tain before moving south to Doughtys.

“I felt that working in a larger firm there would be a danger of being pigeon-holed into an area of practice, where in a smaller firm whatever comes in the post that morning will dictate your day’s work.”

While he won’t rule out ever moving to work in the city, at 26 he doesn’t see it as imperative to further his career. At the moment, a lifestyle which enables him to walk his dog every lunchtime is ideal, and the pressures of city life can wait.