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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.

Following recent conversations with US law firm partners, the sense of optimism for 2010 continues to grow.  The year that began with significant layoffs for lawyers across the globe appears to be ending with some US law firms treating the down market as an opportunity to expand internationally.  We all know that firms such as Latham laid off over a 150 lawyers across their network but it is less well known that this year saw firms such as Ropes & Gray and Greenberg Traurig open in the City of London.   This is not to say that the hey day of the international markets is back but at least there are signs that US law firms are once again thinking about international options.

Some recruiters would have you believe that the legal world has somehow totally changed; that the recession will have such a lasting impact that lawyers, particularly partners at law firms, need to completely rethink their personal game plan. I personally do not believe this to be the case. Sure there will be some changes, the law and the business of law is constantly evolving. For example, maybe the job security that partners have previously enjoyed may have lessened, but the fundamental principles of operating a law firm remain largely unchanged. Sure, being a lawyer is being part of a profession but being a partner in a law firm is also about being and behaving like a business owner. Law firms know that their clients have suffered and many have taken steps such as lowering billing rates to accommodate. Business owners learn from downturns and as such, law firms across the world have been taught a thing or two from this recession and have taken innovative steps and countermeasures to attract new business and manage cashflow. That, in itself, does not mean that the fundamental premise on which managing partners or executive committees run a firm will change all that much. Having just returned from meeting with senior partners in firms in Singapore and Hong Kong, I am reminded of the necessity of the need to return to business "as usual". The consolidated message from each and every partner with whom I met was quite simple: 2009 was tough but there is cautious optimism for a return to doing business in 2010.

PwC reports that “this year has seen the greatest turmoil in the law firm sector since our survey began in 1991…” The recently released report states that profit at the 100 highest-grossing U.K. law firms fell 30% on average during the past year as deal work declined with the recession. The large law firms in the U.S. and U.K. have responded to the economic crisis by cutting costs across the board and at times, doing so in an innovative fashion. For example, this year has seen lawyers being let go, reducing pay and granting extra vacation time in return, deferring the hiring of first-year attorneys, secondment at cost to clients of the firm and unpaid or part paid sabbaticals. For most lawyers this has proved to be an obstacle in moving their careers forward but some lawyers have embraced the opportunity to travel, gain additional qualifications and explore other opportunities.

Law firms across the world continue to look for growth opportunities in the slow market.  Traditional growth opportunities are marketing externally and cross-selling internally but something that has been in vogue through this tough market has been growth by merger.  Clearly there is a feeling of insecurity amongst partners of law firms as smaller law firms who do not have the resources of the large institutional practices worry about where their next deals will com from.  Many smaller firms have niche expertise and it is this experience that is valued by the larger firms.  One should not necessarily see a merger of two law firms as a sign that one or both firms are in trouble.  More often than not, the firms see the merger as a consolidation of resources and moreover, it is more likely that a larger firm will only want to merge with a firm that is not in trouble.

Reed Smith is the latest among international law firms to drop the traditional lockstep pay system setup for associates.  As early as January 2009, Skadden had already proposed taking such a step, arguing that in many ways associates are already rewarded in line with their efforts – in reality high performing associates are already paid at the top of the pay scale whereas lower performing ones are paid at the lower end.  From the recruitment perspective, this will likely give firms adopting merit based pay structures an advantage to attract and indeed retain the very best associates in an ever increasing competitive market for talent.

Kensington Swan, a full service law firm, based in New Zealand has just announced they will be launching an office in Abu Dhabi. As such, they will be first the New Zealand law firm to open in the Middle East. The managing partner of the office will be Quentin Lowcay, whose practice is in the telecom areas. The firm has decided to staff the office with lawyers from New Zealand and will not be hiring lawyers locally at this point. It seems their strategy is going to be to help Australasian companies looking to invest in the Middle East region and seek local advice from local law firms. Once again, this shows that whilst the Middle East market has been down for the past twelve or more months, there is still room for key strategic growth in the region.

Rodge Cohen, Chairman of Wall Street law firm Sullivan & Cromwell was recently interviewed on his thoughts on the current signs of recovery and the recent numbers being posted by the banks.  Cohen argues that the public is often confused between two quite separate issues; that of the high level of compensation being paid to bankers, which he believes is not wrong per se and the issue of linking bankers’ compensation to ever greater risk-taking, something he feels may need to be controlled.  The Street is indeed showing signs of life and many associates are reporting utilization rates greater than a 100%.  Admittedly, some of this is due to the cuts made by the firms throughout this year but much of it is increased deal flow.  We will continue to speak to our clients on the ground, all of whom are really looking to put 2009 behind them.

Boston based, international law firm Ropes & Gray announced they are to open an office in London, UK. Ropes have hired two lateral banking/finance partners from Magic Circle firm, Freshfields and a further finance partner from the London office of White & Case. It is being reported that Ropes want to leverage their existing relationship with Bain Capital and by opening in London, they are hoping to capture more of their European work. In recent years, Ropes has looked to markets outside of Boston and by attacking the London market, they are also fulfilling a goal they set for themselves a while ago.

International law firms have typically shied away from opening offices in Saudi and have largely preferred to base themselves in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and even Doha. In recent months with the stagnation of Dubai, we have seen firms taking another look at opening in Saudi itself. Vinson & Elkins, who already have an office in Dubai are the latest firm looking for a tie-up with a local firm (as is required by the highly restricted Saudi legal market rules). We imagine there will, in due course, be a demand for energy and projects lawyers to be based in Riyadh.