Desperately seeking solicitors

These are turbulent times in the legal recruitment market. The pandemic has left many people rethinking their working lives, with hybrid and flexible working now a key consideration. “The Great Resignation” has become a label for the times, as people search for what they want from a job. Competition for talent is intense, especially in London where a salary bidding war has reached into six figures even for junior solicitors – one Magic Circle firm is reportedly offering £125,000 to the newly qualified.

What does it mean for the market in Scotland? What are candidates actually looking for when they apply for positions? And what does it mean for smaller practices trying to fill positions?

Recruiter roundup

Legal recruitment companies agree that from NQ level up there is a shortage of candidates – “an incredible shortage”, Neil Campbell of QED Legal affirms. He points to fewer people joining the profession during the pandemic, “and I’ve read recent articles suggesting swathes of trainee solicitors intend to leave the law after a tough traineeship, often without ever meeting their training partner. The competition is fierce”.

“The market remains candidate short at all levels”, IDEX’s Meena Bahanda agrees; while veteran recruiter Frasia Wright points to particular competition across key areas including “property (all types), construction, corporate and private client” – which must cover the main work of many practices.

James Hitti of G2 Legal adds: “So far 2022 has demonstrated that retention is the new recruitment. Every business we deal with is looking at ways to retain the staff they have: this is adding to the apparent skills shortage.”

All support the view that candidates nowadays are looking for many things apart from money. Wright lists quality of work, firm culture and values (covering diversity and inclusion), and training and development, adding: “Many junior lawyers do not want a long-hour work culture, long term. A clear and transparent career path and how salary levels will look medium to long term are important. Hybrid is a big one.”

Likewise, Campbell points to flexible working as the main driver now, “and I think this may be problematic in the long run”. Candidates still want high salaries, but also “a cast iron guarantee of a work-life balance that law just hasn’t known until the pandemic shifted things”.

“Being valued”, Bahanda sums it up. Besides the foregoing, she names good benefits, for example maternity and paternity leave; career development support (like assistance with accreditation etc); bonus, pension, healthcare; and “reasonable targets!”.

“How do your values play out in the day-to-day running of the team?” is the key question Hitti sees candidates asking. “If an interviewer can’t answer that effectively, candidate engagement in the recruitment process can falter, and is likely to focus on the team and leaders that can demonstrate a tangible belief in what they do.”

Campbell and Wright both mention greater interest in in-house – not only among junior solicitors, according to Campbell: “I speak to a lot more solicitors, across the board, who seem to feel that in-house might be their preferred route. I think the idea of time recorded hours and targeted fee income is daunting to many.”

Whether in the private or public sector, Wright believes, what lies behind this is often “the desire to be part of a business and feel valued”.

For Bahanda, however, trends are “more about having exposure to good quality work”, and the desired working conditions. And Hitti sees a transition away from the goal of partnership, towards “the desire to achieve a sustainable career with flexibility where the individual feels valued regardless of whether this is in practice or in-house”.

Money markers

Salaries are also volatile: even in the cities they range for NQs from the mid-30s to the mid-60s (thousands of pounds), with private client and litigation tending to be lower than corporate and commercial. “As a general rule, I expect the average for this year to be closer to the £50k mark than the usual £42k region,” Campbell states. Outside the cities, the low to high 30s are more likely.

Hitti notes that NQs in commercial practice can expect a bonus, from 5% to 30% of basic salary (longer hours can also be expected). He adds: “It would be fair to say that, almost without exception, firms that have offered above £55,000 are focusing on out-of-region work, which itself means a very different offering for their teams.”

Despite the headline London salaries, they see no greater drain of Scottish talent south than previously. Wright believes that with global firms now having a significant Scottish presence and NQ salaries increasing, “the draw to London or offshore is less than in past years”. Campbell considers that with Scottish salaries rising at the fastest he has known, “London may not be the draw it once was – particularly when many are taking work-life balance into account.”

Bahanda suggests that “if your goal is to move to London, it tends to be motivated by working for a US firm which can offer exposure to clients or areas of law which are not available in Scotland”.

Firm competition

How do law firms see the situation? Rupa Mooker, director of People & Development at MacRoberts, agrees that it is more difficult than previously to fill vacancies. London is having an effect, “particularly when firms there are also offering remote/hybrid working – it’s a no-brainer for candidates to accept a higher salary if they can still do most of their job from Scotland”. Scottish firms are competing for the same people, particularly in niche areas; and with some solicitors choosing to leave the profession altogether, there is a smaller pool of candidates.

David Beveridge, managing director of Macdonald Henderson, also sees a definite tightening of the market. At the same time junior lawyers especially are taking “a much more holistic view of what they want from their career”, and looking at a firm’s culture – flexible working but also the office experience. Is there a social scene; a “last Friday of the month”-type event; a sporting side? More senior lawyers too have found the pandemic providing an opportunity to “press the pause button” and consider whether their career needs a new direction.

It isn’t that people don’t want to work in the office: they “want a real office experience”. It’s something Beveridge still believes is preferable for the majority of the working week – interactions with colleagues are superior to what can be achieved on a call.

“It’s a tough market, but a lot tougher if you’re not able to offer something a bit different,” he observes. “I don’t think being a blue chip corporate firm will be enough in itself – people are asking: ‘Will I have a life?’”

He also echoes the view that firms are raising their game in seeking to retain staff: “We have seen some very aggressive counter offers. It does work.”

For Mooker, “getting them in the door is one thing, but making sure law firms do enough to retain employees is the real challenge. Prioritising hybrid working and mental health within our firm is very important – we have found that open dialogue ensures any issues are identified as quickly as possible. We have also found that mentorships are beneficial for retaining talent, as is having a strong commitment to diversity, inclusion, and wellbeing.”

Beveridge reckons that the increased presence of UK and international firms isn’t a “macro issue”, as people are leaving as well as joining them: they don’t suit everyone.

“We are not toothless,” he concludes. Law students are crying out for work experience, and his firm has recruited two trainees who first got to know the practice that way.

Size does matter?

That is taking a longer term approach. For smaller firms needing extra help now, hiring is problematic. A west of Scotland sole practitioner who asked to remain anonymous, told the Journal that they never struggled to recruit until recent months when they began looking for an experienced solicitor. The usual avenues having failed to deliver, the search widened to anyone NQ and above, “and unfortunately it continues. I offer generous salaries matched with experience, a good pension, private health care and a degree of flexible working to all employees. I haven’t found this has made much difference. Existing staff appreciate it, so to me it seems more an element of retention than attraction”.

For a small firm, dealing with recruitment companies is an issue, as they commonly charge commission based on a proportion (sometimes 25% or more) of the salary offered – and if the candidate leaves again after any more than three months, may only allow an offset of the fee for finding a replacement, rather than any money back. “I expected after making the painful decision to resort to recruiters, that I would find a candidate without much issue,” this solicitor said. “But the majority of recruiters I’ve contacted don’t have any solicitors that fit my criteria ‘on the books and looking’. Candidates who have been suggested are mostly inappropriate.”

They conclude: “My advice to anyone seeking to recruit currently, would be to personally reach out to your network. Posting a job advert and making people aware you are recruiting doesn’t appear to be enough in the current climate.”

Having similar issues with recruiters is Billy Smith of Clarity Simplicity, who found himself not seeing eye to eye with them over candidate suitability. “It was like asking for a pack of Starburst and being offered a Mars Bar,” he comments.

In his view it takes up to six months to assess whether someone is truly a good fit in the practice, so if recruiters apply a three month cutoff, that is a drawback. He also thinks candidates are sometimes given an inflated view of their abilities, and what they might command in the market – which could be a factor in recently qualified solicitors leaving the profession, when it fails to deliver everything it promised.

Noting the interest round TheSecretTraineeSolicitor Twitter account, Smith would like to see the Law Society of Scotland provide a platform where solicitors and employers can interact informally and anonymously to discuss present experiences and future positions.

Candidate comments

A straw poll with the help of the Scottish Young Lawyers’ Association bears out much of the foregoing about what job hunters are looking for. Responses suggest that work-life balance means “realistic hours”; wellbeing includes an open environment and lack of stigma against mental health; mentoring covers feeling valued and indications of future prospects; social consciousness should embrace diversity and inclusion, and adjustment for events such as Ramadan.

Other sought-after features include variety of work, good pay and benefits (disclosed up front: “I don’t want to interview for a pay cut”), a good working environment – and “no hate when taking time off”.

Most firms appear to be indicating that they are receptive to flexible working, “but it is unclear as to how this is working in practice” – and (unsurprisingly) not in criminal defence.

SYLA President Chiara Pieri comments: “I am not currently looking to move but am contacted a few times a week regarding new construction roles. I would agree with all of our members’ comments. Given the current market, while pay and flexibility are high on people’s priorities, I think candidates are looking for more. All the top Scottish firms can offer good pay and flexibility, but it is their core values, benefits, opportunities and additional initiatives that would make a firm stand out and perhaps encourage me to consider moving.

“One thing that no one else has mentioned is secondments. I see great benefit in being seconded to clients. Having completed an in-house secondment already, I believe junior lawyers would relish the opportunity to be seconded out to well known clients.”

If anyone is likely to have a good overview of the supply and demand for solicitors, it will be the Law Society of Scotland. Head of Education Rob Marrs says it is difficult to “read the tea leaves of the job market at the junior end of the profession”, given the wide fluctuations in trainee numbers during the pandemic, though early signs for the current practice year are that numbers remain strong.

But the pressure for those seeking a traineeship looks set to continue. “Policy changes at government level a few years back mean there are more LLB students than ever,” Marrs explains. “Those graduates have fewer options in a tight economy, and retreat to the relative safety of the DPLP. The extension of DPLP validity to five years likely makes it look a safer bet. That means that while traineeship numbers increased in 2021, competition continues to be fierce.”

As regards the NQ market, “it seems that almost everyone is recruiting – perhaps because of a glut of work coming from the backlog, or projects that were backed up during COVID. Organisations seem to be struggling to recruit NQs in some sectors, while we hear from other NQs looking for work. It isn’t simple”.

For larger firms, competition from London is indeed having an impact. “Not everyone can move south, nor does everyone want to sleep in their office (even for those salaries), but the issue of losing talent to London is a consistent one.

“In Scotland we’ve heard of larger firms paying double-digit pay rises to try and retain staff, as the competition for qualified staff is now incredibly fierce and it is easier to keep people than replace them. The truth of the matter though is that the NQ market is a nuanced place: the firms that see talented staff leave to London may themselves see NQs applying to them from around Scotland. Anecdotally we’ve also seen people moving in-house at the end of their traineeship more than we used to.”

As ever, criminal defence practitioners face a different reality; likewise some high street firms. “Their trainees qualify and then leave to another entity. Many of those NQs would prefer to stay if the finances added up for them. No one can blame them for looking for a role that helps them live a more comfortable life, yet most reading this will feel a level of anguish for the solicitor who has trained them perhaps with the hope of a long-term employee and, maybe, one day business partner. As ever the key here seems to be urgent immediate and significant investment in the legal aid sector. It really is needed.”