Latest Articles

In this tough economic climate, many young lawyers will be rejected without even being offered an interview. As such, they will not get much interview practice but more importantly they will get only a few opportunities to make the job their own. It is therefore important that they take every measure to ensure that they impress at every level.

• There is no excuse these days not to be prepared for an interview. Know the firm, know the deals/cases it has recently worked on, know the partners and associates you will meet and talk to as many people as you can in advance to glean this information. Know how to get there and don’t be late. Know the questions you want to ask and show that you understand the priorities of the firm.

• Dress appropriately. A law firm is a professional environment and even if the firm has a dress down policy, dress up and not down. Cautious conservatism works.

• Be calm. It is important that you show a professional attitude. Do not arrive flustered and be sure to greet each and every person introduced with good eye contact and a smile.

• Try and bring folder with you containing extra copies of the materials that have been sent to the firm. It shows preparation.

• Be yourself. Your interviewers will be uncomfortable hiring you if they feel you are pretending to be someone other than yourself. Do not be evasive and duck questions.

• Do not ever talk badly of your previous employers. It will lead your interviewer to feel that it is only a matter of time before you speak ill of his/her own firm.

• Be prepared to demonstrate your ability to do the job by being able to talk about your previous experience amongst other things.

• Do not raise the question of money. Your recruiter will be able to bring that up separately and at a time an offer is made.

• Be sure to follow up with a polite but not over-effusive note thanking the individuals who took time to meet with you and confirming your interest in the firm.

After a year where legal recruitment in Australia virtually halted on most fronts, there are definite signs of a slow but sure recovery  which bodes well for the first half of 2010. Overall, the Australian economy survived the crisis relatively unscathed vis a vis other first world countries with only short term, small negative growth recorded. It never dived into full scale recession. Official Australian Reserve Bank interest rates went through a downward spiral in the first part of 2009 down to their lowest point in decades, around 3%, but for the last three consecutive months have consistently risen and unemployment did not balloon out as expected. Transactional practice areas such as banking, corporate and property were the hardest hit, like in other locations but practice areas like employment / workplace relations, litigation and insolvency remained relatively buoyant. That didn’t result in more recruitment though as firms tended to utilise their existing resources before going to market.  As business confidence and foreign interest continues to grow in Australia and new transactional instructions gain added momentum in terms of volume, firms will begin to require adequate leveraging again resulting in more recruitment. Many of those made redundant were those lawyers at the mid level. There will also be some effect to the recruitment market of lawyers who would have normally moved in 2009, but couldn’t, leaving gaps as they move on to other opportunities as they arise. That is yet to be seen. Australian client firms that Marsden International has recently spoken to have generally expressed cautious optimism for legal recruitment in 2010. For the short term at least as things begin to balance out Australian qualified lawyers who do not require sponsorship into Australia will be preferred as firms consider that "local" talent is abundant and can’t justify the added cost that sponsorship and requalification brings. However, exceptional foreign qualified lawyers will be at least considered if they have a particular "value ad" in terms of experience. So, overall it is well worth exploring Australian options as the market is likely to recover relatively quickly particularly in the transactional practice areas. Other practice areas that will become very much in demand across states will be litigation, insolvency, environment and planning, energy, employment and insolvency. 

It has been a very significant year for Marsden International in Australia. In November, Greg Plummer a senior manager from a leading Australian legal recruitment agency, became our on the ground representative. His role is to assist lawyers seeking a move within Australia, Australian qualified lawyers wanting to gain international experience, Australian returners and also working with foreign qualified lawyers into Australia. He has many years of experience working across all of these areas. Greg is well connected in Australia and overseas and works closely with our offices in London, Singapore and Canada to ensure candidates and clients are very well looked after through a professional and responsive approach. Plus, as a New Zealander he also works extensively with New Zealand qualified lawyers as well! This all means that Marsden is very well placed in the Australian domestic market than ever before.