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… may not be rocket science but getting the right one takes a mixture of skill and luck.  Let’s tackle skill first.  It seems obvious that you need to have the right qualifications and experience that the potential employer is looking for but communicating this to the employer does require some skill.  For example, not only will you will need to prepare a CV, a synopsis of legal experience but at interview, you have to impress the interviewers that you are a good fit (both professionally and personally), for the position they are looking to fill.  Next, luck plays a larger part in getting the right job than we would hope or care to admit – my parents would always say that you have to be at the right place at the right time.  But is that really luck?  Being at the right place at the right time requires patience and the ability to move quickly when the right opportunity arises.  In the next few blogs, I will outline what we at Marsden believe, are steps you can take to find the right job.

UK law firms are continuing to invest in outsourcing legal work traditionally undertaken by associates. The idea is that big-ticket work will be undertaken within the firm whereas lower end work will be outsourced to places such as India. How will this affect the hiring of junior associates?

The London Times ran an article recently stating that “…predictions suggest that fewer young lawyers will make it in the top London law firms and experts say that the rise in outsourcing will lead to fewer people overall being taken on in London.” I tend to agree somewhat with this suggestion but I do not think that it will be as bad as is being touted, for at least a couple of reasons. First, large law firms recruit junior lawyers not only to undertake deals/cases but also to prepare for overall succession for the firm down the road. Yes, it is true that many lawyers lateral into firms and that partners too make lateral moves taking their team and clients but time and again, we hear the same refrain from firms as to how they like to train their lawyers from the ground up. For lawyers to be successful at firms, they not only need to be good lawyers but they need to learn the culture of the firm – elevation to partnership at a law firm is part ability external contacts (clients) and part internal networking. The goodwill a lawyer generates internally plays a huge part of rising through the ranks. Secondly, I think that quality control and confidentiality issues will continue to play a large part in outsourcing. We are living through a worldwide recession and costs are at the forefront of every client’s mind. When the economy ticks upward again, concerns about spending on lawyers will again subside being countered by the requirement for quality legal services.

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.

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.

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.

It’s that time of year again, crisp chill in the air, Halloween decorations are out and new law students are meeting, greeting and impressing associates and partners on Bay street vying for spots for summer of 2010. There have been many discussions over the past number of years on laws latest and greatest generation, conferences focused on managing their expectations, retaining them, endless management and executive meetings focused on engaging, embracing their young talent and believe it or not re-training senior partners on how to dialogue with them.

In Falls past, firms were faced with questions from their potential suitors about lifestyle and work life balance, this year the discussions seem to be quite different. In canvassing a few Bay street firms, I’ve been told that applicants are interviewing as hungrier and questions regarding lifestyle have not come up as yet, rather students are asking about issues surrounding process and technical matters like potential practice areas, the nature of work they can expect and training. I’ve been told that the firms themselves have changed their pitches as well speaking candidly about what one can really expect from a Bay street firm, communicating that the work is challenging and cerebral and offers tremendous financial reward but in return you can expect to work long and demanding hours. One of my contacts said that this is the trade off for the profession and it’s crucial for firms to approach this honestly.

More positive news is that firms are not losing ‘star’ candidates to New York, applications are up and students are well prepared, better educated on the process and following up professionally. The firms I spoke to also shared that they will likely hire the same number of students from last year, some will increase their numbers due to optimism on Q1 of next year.