And So This Is Christmas......

I don’t know if anyone’s noticed, but it’s been snowing.

The last week before Christmas is always a traditional slowdown in the legal recruitment market anyway, but with the snow making the journey to work tricky for some and impossible for others it has been quieter than usual at VG Charles Towers.

Some of this newly-found spare time has been spent putting a great deal of preparation into the plans for the New Year. It’s an opportunity to tie up any loose ends and to look at where you’ve succeeded or failed over the previous 12 months to ensure that next year you’re well placed to capitalise on a recovering market.

There’s also been time committed to demolishing an astonishing amount of chocolates which have made their way into the offices; shame that it coincides with a period when nobody can make it to the gym because of the snow. In fact there’s a good chance that by December 25th Santa isn’t going to be only fat guy in a suit around here.

Consequently there’s not been a huge amount of activity on which to blog this week, so for the festive period we’ve plumped for a poem. Enjoy.



Twas the week before Christmas and all round VG Charles,
Not a train has been running, and people struggle with cars;
The phones have been quiet as the big day draws near,
It’s always like this though, at this time of year;


Everyone thinking of getting away from it all
End up spending three days camped in Heathrow’s great hall;
Others catch up with clients to wish them Seasons Greetings
And pass on their regards at the end of their meetings;


Sure we’ve still some things pending; there’s an offer involved,
That would make someone’s Christmas if we can get that resolved;
It’s a time when for some thoughts will turn to next year,
And they’ll have those discussions over mulled wine or beer;


Yet for others the deadline of Christmas looms large,
As they need to get matters completed and charged;
And then finally head off to enjoy Christmas Day,
To await the arrival of the guy with the sleigh;


Gorge yourself with turkey or goose or nut roast,
And crack open champagne to raise glasses and toast
To the end of the year with family and friends
How many for dinner? In truth it depends
On how long this snow lasts! Wasn’t the case on the first;
Bethlehem by camel – they can deal with the worst!


So now we recruiters prepare to down tools,
The phone’s in its cradle; remember the rules;
That you can’t turn on laptops to look at your mail,
For the whole of the 25th; it’s a sorry old tale;


But then thanks to the Blackberry and the iPhone,
You can always have a glance when you’ve a moment alone ;-)
Just don’t let them catch you or the shoulder you’re dealt,
Will be as cold as the weather (and takes more time to melt);


So with yuletide upon us all that’s left now to say,
Is that all at VG Charles wish you a Merry Christmas day;
We look forward to meeting again come New Year
When the diet’s kicked in and your career needs a steer;


In the words of Saint Nick, as he phrased it just right:-
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night.”

Homage To A Hero

There’s no two ways about it; the man is awesome.

As recruiters we spend a large portion of our day talking to candidates, discussing their CV and looking for holes or inconsistencies which may be trying to hide something. We talk to them about their achievements, tallying up billings versus targets and probing any embellishments or ‘white lies’ to find out if there’s more there than meets the eye.

It’s not often that we’ll tear someone to shreds unless the CV is bordering on the ridiculous, but even when we do it’s rare that we can do it with quite the same panache and vigour as Claude the Enforcer.

For those of you who missed or simply don’t watch The Apprentice, the penultimate week of every series culminates in each candidate sitting opposite one of Alan Sugar’s key business advisors/employees and being subjected to four of the most rigorous interviews which they are likely to face at any time in their career. I say interview, although in some cases ‘character assassination’ may be closer to the mark. In fact, one or two bordered on actual assassinations with candidates lucky to escape with their lives.

This year the interviewers included two lawyers, including the return of Margaret Mountford; the technical expertise of Gordon Patchell, the head of Viglen, who successfully destroyed the claims of Stuart Baggs to be a telecoms tycoon; and then Claude Littner who is simply on a different level.

Last night’s nuggets included:-

“You’re not a big fish. You’re not even a fish.”

“ ‘Stuart Baggs the brand’ – what on earth are you talking about?”

What was highlighted eloquently by every candidate last night (perhaps with the exception of Stella, who seemed to perform well) is that being able to interview well is absolutely crucial when you’re going for a role. You can sit there with straight A’s at A-Level and a First from university like Chris, but without having the gravitas to back this up and the demonstrable skills required for the position then you’re going to have a fight on your hands. Admittedly you may not have a strip torn off you for changing your course from Law prior to getting that First Class Degree in Politics (“You’re a quitter, aren’t you?”) but then you’re not going to face Claude every time.

So what can you do to ensure that you stand the best possible chance of succeeding?

Prepare. It was hard not to feel some sympathy for Joanna as you saw the look of horror come over her face when Gordon asked her what she knew about Alan Sugar’s empire. At that point you knew she hadn’t prepared, she was up a certain creek without a paddle and only had two choices; try to bluff her way through or come clean.

Frankly though it’s inexcusable not to have prepared thoroughly for any interview. We no longer live in an age where you even need to visit a library or Companies House to find out about a firm; with the internet you can find all of the information you need in seconds. Don’t just stick to their website either and try to rehash what’s on there:- also research the background of the people you’re meeting; look up notable deals which they may have been involved with; check the performance of the firm for the last few years and understand which direction they’re moving in.

Know Yourself. It’s easy to guesstimate when constructing a CV but to do so can prove to be fatal. If you think that you left a firm in October three years ago but a reference check states that you actually left in August then straight away there’s a question mark over a two-month gap on a CV which an interviewer can probe. Were you fired, but on three months notice? Did you make an unsuccessful move which you’re not admitting to? Or if you have to admit to making a mistake on your own CV, what does that say about the standard of your work?

Similarly be able to talk about your clients when probed; how much work they’ve referred you, what type of work, whether the client may continue to instruct you, etc. Employers don’t just want technically-good people, they want those who are commercially savvy too.

Answer the Question. Lovely exchange between Jamie and Margaret last night, which went something like this:-

J:             I’m a crucial cog in a wheel

M:           What does that mean?

J:             Well, I..... it means.....I’m..........uh....I’m a crucial cog.

Genius.

Let’s make it clear; no matter how well the interview goes you will be asked questions which you don’t feel you’ve answered well. Similarly, there is the temptation to waffle which must be avoided. You will also be asked questions which you don’t give you the best chance to display your talents and really, whilst the interviewer has asked about your time recording you feel you should highlight that not only have you done that but you work so hard that you also came in early from your holiday once to complete a transaction and there was another occasion when you worked 72 hours straight to make sure a deal was done and there was another time when.......uh.....sorry, what was the question again? ANSWER THE QUESTION.

Think of Questions. An interview is a two-way process, so you should have some idea of what you want to know from them to help you decide if it’s something you wish to pursue. Make sure that you have some questions prepared, and also think about what your queries say about you. If you’re asking “what’s the salary, can I get promoted next year and will I get a pay rise when I do?” then you’ve got short-term hire written all over you. If however your questions are probing and intelligent then it should portray you as being someone of suitable integrity, even to Claude. Well, maybe not Claude.

Indicate Your Interest. At the end thank the interviewer for their time; if you’ve met a partner at a law firm for an hour then it’s likely to have cost the practice between anywhere between £200 to £2000 at the Magic Circle in lost billings, so it’s only polite to let them know you appreciate their sacrifice. Let the interviewer know that you’re keen to find out more about the opportunity and would like to move forward with the process, whether your initial impressions are positive or not. Make it your choice to turn it down; get the offer and then make your decision rather than dismiss it at the time only to regret not having your fate in your own hands. You can reflect on an offer overnight; you can’t go back to an interview and look interested.

This blog is by no means intended to be a comprehensive list; the internet is full of extensive and detailed suggestions for how to prepare for interview and again it is worth investing some time in looking at these. These will give you a range of tips, some good and some bad, but if you are to think of only one thing it would be this:- put yourself in the interviewer’s place and think of everything YOU would ask, and then make sure you have prepared for questioning of this nature.

If not, Claude’s gonna get you.......

At VG Charles & Co we invest a considerable amount of time providing both candidates and clients with interview preparation advice as well as other forms of career guidance. To talk about your options in the current market call one of our specialist consultants at VG Charles & Co on 0121 233 5000 / 020 7649 9094. We promise Claude won’t answer the phone.

Frankfurters and Flexibility

FRANKFURTERS AND FLEXIBILITY

Frohe Weihnachten!

For those of you not familiar with Birmingham and the change which comes over the city centre each November and December, let me fill you in.

Each year the Frankfurt market arrives, and the square next to the Town Hall and the famous ‘Floozy in the Jacuzzi’ is transformed into a small part of Deutschland, complete with oompah bands, bratwurst and glϋhwein.

The market itself is a bit of a phenomenon. Although it has only been visiting the city for ten years it has now grown to a point where it attracts as many visitors as the one in Frankfurt itself, with around 3 million people visitors each year passing through before it returns to Germany in late December.

What is particularly noticeable about the market is how in the evening it transforms into the centre of the professional services community. Being sited close to the heart of Birmingham’s business district and located in the shadow of the offices of DLA Piper, Browne Jacobson, Eversheds et al, it is not uncommon for the market to suddenly become a hub of lawyers, accountants, surveyors and other professionals when it gets dark.

This somewhat spontaneous networking can lead to pockets of business being discussed in various corners of the market, with preliminary negotiations taking place which are then followed up in the office the next day. Business being conducted in slightly unusual environments is becoming more common, as firms look at the new ways of speaking to clients outside the boardroom yet without the expense of corporate hospitality.

The concept of doing business away from the office is becoming more common as increasing numbers of professionals seek to implement flexible working arrangements. With internet technology meaning that even staff based overseas can work remotely in real time, and with some professional mothers keen to return to work quickly after maternity leave, more and more business is being conducted out of the office.

If you look at the not too distant past there was a certain stigma attached to those seeking flexible working, particularly in large corporate practices where the thought of going on maternity leave more than ten minutes before your waters broke was considered a sign of weakness.

Nowadays firms that have embraced flexible working are those which tend to enjoy high levels of staff retention and can also attract talent seeking this kind of working arrangement knowing that they won’t have to forego either their career or family life at the expense of the other. Indeed some firms now integrate family-friendly perks into their benefits packages to specifically attract those who are disillusioned with their current firm’s lack of awareness of their personal responsibilities.

It’s premature and indeed inaccurate to say that the death of the office is nigh, as a collective group of people working together in close proximity still enjoy a level of interaction and cohesion which makes it the most productive way of doing business. However this growing realisation that not everything has to be office-based to be worthwhile is threatening to upset the long-held belief that this is the only way to trade. After all, if you are approached on behalf of a corporate lawyer who can bring a £3m following but who wants to work from home every other Thursday are you going to say no?

The legal market seems to be more readily embracing the flexible working concept, realising that the wealth of talent not seeking a 9-5 desk job is huge, and by discounting this they run the risk of losing out on some good people. It is surprising that law is one of the fields which has taken longest to adjust to this considering it is an area where core hours have never really been observed with 60 hour weeks being common. As a candidate recently mentioned to us, if you’re happy to do 12 hour days does it matter if you’re doing 8 hours in the office and 4 hours from home?

With an ageing UK population it is entirely feasible that over the next 10-20 years more lawyers will be seeking to implement flexible or part-time working as they wind down their careers. Those firms who are willing to accommodate this will have the opportunity to recruit high quality lawyers with followings, and can expand the client base which will remain with the firm after the retirement of the original fee-earner. This recruitment can often be on a consultancy or non-partner basis, meaning that the firm has everything to gain and nothing to lose from their willingness to be flexible. Is your practice fully embracing the opportunities presented by flexible working?

If you near Birmingham, interested in doing business in a different environment, and you’ve never been to the Frankfurt market before then why not give it a try? You haven’t lived until you’ve been five Weiβbiers down, staring up at a giant moose’s head singing Christmas carols at you.

Let me tell you, “drunk” doesn’t even come close.

If you are interested in discussing how flexible working could improve the appeal of your firm and also increase your profitability contact one of our specialist consultants at VG Charles & Co. Alternatively if you are seeking a new opportunity which offers flexibility speak to us for a non-committal and absolutely confidential discussion on 0121 233 5000 or 020 7649 9094.

Pop Goes The Weasel

Here’s a scary thought for you. In 6 weeks time it will be 2011. 2010 will be a thing of the past, consigned to history.

Come Hogmanay, we will look back at 2010 as the year that an Icelandic volcano grounded a whole continent, when 33 Chilean miners spent more than two months trapped underground before being pulled to safety, and when the world said goodbye to Dennis Hopper, Alex “Hurricane” Higgins and Norman Wisdom.

As someone who’s childhood is still a (fairly) recent memory the very concept of years flying by still seems like a bizarre phenomenon. After all, when you were young just how long did it take for Christmas to come round? December seemed to take eight months by itself.

Don’t worry; this blogger isn’t getting philosophical in his old age. The concept of the years merging into one has become very apparent recently, firstly having spent last Saturday fighting through the mass of Christmas shoppers (didn’t we only do this about four months ago?) and also with the introduction of the occasional Popmaster as a mid-morning challenge.

For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, Popmaster is a quiz on Radio 2 in the morning where listeners are asked questions on any chart music from around 1960 until the relatively present day. At least one question is always along the lines of “name the year that these three songs were in the chart”, and leads initially to much head scratching and trying to remember where you were when you heard that song first, then incredulity when your confident prediction of 1984 turns out to be 1977.

‘Maggie May’ – 1971. ‘Really?’
‘Take On Me’ – 1984, but only reached the Top 10 in 1985. ‘Oh, I would have gone for ‘83’
‘Hotel California’ – 1977. ‘Pah, one year out.’

As this repeated failure on our part proves it’s only too easy to lose track of the years going by, particularly without any significant event to benchmark them against. The Christmas break and start of the New Year is often the point when people have a period of reflection; analysing your achievements over the last twelve months can often bring into focus both where your career is and where it’s going.

For firms too the New Year is a point where many reassess their progress. Initially the fresh start can provide a ‘shot in the arm’ for the three months ahead of Year End, and also gives a starting point for drafting new strategies to be implemented in the new financial year.

From either the individual or the client side, actions at the start of a New Year can be key to how things will progress over the coming twelve months. Whereas in 2009 and to a lesser extent 2010 was all about survival, 2011 shows signs of being the year when firms will be looking to recover lost ground, with the brave ones attempting to steal a march on their rivals.

Similarly this will mean that the opportunities for individuals will be greater as strengthening and building of new and existing practice areas begins in earnest. As mentioned in an earlier blog the market is already showing some signs of relaxing the ‘three times salary’ measurement of following, with some firms instead being willing to speculate on candidates who can cover their costs in the short-term, and who have scope to build a competitive practice long-term.

So here’s the point. Why not put your New Year’s resolutions in place early? If you intend to be sat somewhere else by next year doesn’t it make sense to beat the crowd and start looking now?

As firms are formulating plans for 2011, why not make sure that the possibility of amalgamating your practice into theirs is something which they can consider when putting together the new business plan, make your hire a proactive rather than a reactive strategy?

The start of 2011 will be a critical time for the market to shake off two years of downturn and to look positively at the future. Just make sure that you don’t let another year fly by without having something to show for it!


Turns out “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” was from 1974. No, we didn’t get that one either.

To discuss new opportunities for the New Year talk to one of our specialist consultants at VG Charles & Co. Whether you are an individual or team considering a move, or you are a firm seeking to diversify and/or strengthen its offering, our consultants can offer impartial and professional advice on how to achieve your goals. Call 0121 233 5000 or 020 7649 9094 and one of the team will be delighted to assist.

Money Makes The World Go Round

Ask anyone if they’re paid what they’re worth and unless you’re talking to someone extremely honest then there’s a chance that you will be met with a somewhat enthusiastic ‘no’. According to a recent survey in Canada 46% of the working population feel that they are underpaid; in contrast only 4.5% believe that they are paid more than they’re worth .

This is hardly surprising, given that human nature means that we always want more than we have. This isn’t a new or recent fad; even in biblical times it was enough of a problem that when God was trimming the Commandments down to ten He still felt it necessary to include one about not coveting anything which our neighbour has, explicitly not his house, wife or his oxen. But then.....what if he’s only attracted his wife because he’s on more money than you, and has a nicer car and better house and......

Despite being warned off having an envious glance at the neighbour (and his wife – remember commandment no. 7 too), it’s that desire to earn more money which drives most of us onto success. Matching and exceeding what your peers have achieved is one of the fundamental drivers of ambitious professionals, and is the yardstick by which we tend to measure ourselves.

Salaries are always a hot topic within both the legal profession and the legal recruitment worlds. After all, unless you’re working pro bono the chances are that the remuneration has some impact on your decision to get out of bed and go to work in the morning. At least once a year VG Charles & Co is consulted by firms looking to get an idea of where they are in the market with their salary bandings, particularly at the lower PQE levels where followings are less likely to come into play.

Like it or not, salaries are often a good indicator of where a firm sees its standing within the local legal community. Unsurprisingly those who see themselves as a leading player generally pay the highest salaries to ensure that the best talent comes to their door first. To a lesser extent there is also the status of being the best payers in town, with the obvious inference that your profitability levels are sufficiently high to enable you to do so.

Generally salary negotiations are a balancing act between what a firm is looking to pay and what the new recruit is looking to earn (which is generally the higher figure!). In a market which has realigned as certain areas experience more supply than demand for the first time in years, salaries have generally reached more realistic levels than those experienced in the pre-credit crunch boom.

Recently Sullivan & Cromwell announced that they would be paying their London trainees a starting salary of £50,000, coming shortly after Bingham McCutchen confirmed that their NQs would be earning £100,000 upon qualification. Substantial figures indeed compared to the average wage, but in truth this is not a massive increase on what some of these lawyers earned last year. However, as often happens when a significant milestone is passed there has been a great deal of press coverage and people with an opinion on whether these salaries are justified.

Speaking in the broadest terms the legal market tends to stick to the rule of thumb of three times salary; if you’re a solicitor then your target is roughly 300% of your basic salary, if a partner then your following should be a minimum of three times what you’re expecting to earn. Therefore logic states that an NQ on £100k needs to be billing around £300k, which is a considerable target considering this would be at an NQ charge-out rate. To achieve this firms may opt to ‘sweat the assets’ to ensure these targets are met, contributing to the high burn-out and drop-out rate between 1-3 years PQE.

Irrespective of what industry you work in there is always going to be an argument over whether the remuneration is justified; curiously enough it always tends to work in the currency of nurses.....?

Is a professional footballer worth the equivalent of 200 or 400 nurses? In the grand scheme of things probably not; morally it’s difficult to compare the value of kicking a ball with saving lives. That said, football clubs are businesses just like law firms, accountants or internal designers and with the turnover in any of these industries being dependant upon success and the talent at your disposal, you have to pay a premium to get the best.

To use the old cliché, money makes the world go round and for as long as that is the case firms and businesses of all types will be willing to outlay attractive salaries to get the best talent. Should a newly-qualified lawyer be earning between three and four times what a doctor of an equivalent qualification can command? As long as that lawyer is producing the goods and generating significant levels of fees and profit for their firm then its difficult to argue against it.

Besides, think of the tax that top earning lawyers will be paying. There’s a couple of nurses right there.

Do you feel undervalued at present, concerned that you are not being paid enough for the role that you undertake? Interested in discussing what level of remuneration you should be expecting? Or are you responsible for setting the salary levels within your practice and would value talking to an independent expert as to where you compare with your competitors? Call one of our specialist consultants at VG Charles & Co on 0121 233 5000 / 020 7649 9094.

We Are Family

Part of the role of a good legal recruiter is knowing the market inside out, to the extent where you are aware which areas are busy almost before your client does. If you only work reactively when a firm experiences a surge in their corporate instructions then there is a significant lead time before that practice has the necessary addition in place. Add together the search/sourcing time, shortlisting, three interviews and at least three months notice, and its feasible that your firm can be under-strength for six months.

However if your legal recruiter is already in conversation with twelve good corporate lawyers then from time of instruction you can be looking at having CVs on your desk within two hours and the shortlisting having already been done for you as they highlight the two, three or four candidates best suited to your requirement.

This market intelligence comes from a variety of sources; speaking to lawyers and assessing their workloads, talking to other professional services firms and talking about their own market and also the priceless attribute of experience; we’ve worked through recessions and recoveries before, and we know where things will pick up and where firms will struggle to recruit in 6 months time.

For example we know that with recent employment law cases which have hit the headlines there is a good chance of the Equal Pay market booming in the near future.

We know that wills & probate work peaks during the winter, particularly if it’s cold!

We know that family lawyers have two distinct boom times, at the end of the summer holidays and at the turn of the New Year. It’s a sad reflection on human nature that the two main times of the year that families spend together are the two key occasions where relationships break-down.

You can’t blame matrimonial lawyers for that, nor bemoan that these booms are so reliable that they can plan months ahead to ensure that staffing levels are high enough to cope. As a consequence, those of us in the legal recruitment field also need to be aware that these peaks and troughs exist so that we are able to provide the candidates to meet the requirements.

However at the moment the family field itself is in a state of flux. With the vast reduction in numbers of Legal Aid practices offering family law (and the current legal challenge to these cutbacks), publicly-funded family law faces some uncertainty over its long-term future, resulting in firms being more cautious with their plans for the next year.

Family law though is nothing if not resilient. During the recession many firms revived or re-invested in their privately-funded family teams, aware that whilst corporate deals and property transactions fell away due to the banking crisis, matrimonial disputes and resultant care issues are always going to occur and can be relied upon as a regular source of fee income.

A large number of firms have now turned their back on publicly-funded work and are now pursuing the privately client market, particularly the much coveted High Net Worth dispute where the assets run into the multi-millions. But just how much of this work is there to go around? Family law will be getting a much-needed shot in the arm with a wave of pre-nuptials in the wake of the Radmacher case, but is this enough to justify the number of firms competing in this market?

Irrespective of the outcome to the challenge to Legal Aid cuts there will continue to be a shift away from publicly-funded work; firms recognise that the long-term prospects in this area are uncertain whilst the fees on offer mean that profit-wise it is simply not worth their while. Unless these firms drop family altogether this will mean congestion at the top end of the market as more practices target the wealthy, hence those seeking to stand out from the crowd will need to look at their USPs and how they are getting this message out to the market.

Encouragingly the demand for really high quality family lawyers has not dropped off though; recently we placed a very high calibre ancillary relief specialist without a following yet who still joined at partner level due to their experience and background. It proves that firms will still look at individuals who have the right expertise, and will put together an attractive package to secure them.

So what next for your average high street family lawyer? Quite simply it will come back to the main methods in which solicitors traditionally secured work; recommendation, referral and marketing/networking to local clients, ideally with the odd High Net Worth individual thrown in. It may be that looking to specialise solely at the HNW end of the market is beyond the reach of a non-niche firm, whilst choosing to rely on Legal Aid work may simply be a rug which can be whisked out from under your feet at any time.

As Christmas approaches family lawyers will be again gearing up for the post-New Year rush of matrimonial disputes; whether this will be at the levels seen in previous years remains to be seen but you can be sure that the requirement for family law advice will increase, as will the need for additional family lawyers to service this.

Just make sure your legal recruiter is already prepared!

To discuss opportunities within the family law field, or if you are keen to strengthen your family practice with key high calibre hires contact one of our specialist consultants on 0121 233 5000 / 020 7649 9094 or visit our website www.vgcharles.com

To Follow Or Not To Follow, That Is The Question.....

“Following?”

It’s the golden question which legal recruiters face every day when working proactively, particularly at partner level although it is becoming more common for associates also.

In a market still suffering from the after effects of recession and which has learned its lessons the hard way, firms are reluctant to make hires unless there is an increased flow of new clients and instructions to pay for this. Some firms retain an opportunistic view, believing that as long as a new hire can bring enough work to cover their costs then it’s a risk worth taking; for others the projected following has to be at least three times the salary or it’s a non-starter.

However despite this being such a crucial part of any senior level hire the thought of producing a business plan still fills many lawyers with a sense of dread.

In fairness for some it is because quite simply their nature of work does not easily lend itself to repeat instructions. Speak to the probate lawyer with direct clients who instruct them repeatedly and something is going seriously wrong there.

However for the majority it is the thought of failure to deliver on promises which causes the greatest concern. There is a misconception that a business plan is a ‘rope to hang yourself with’, consequently many lawyers opt to take a pessimistic view of their figures favouring an ‘under-promise, over-deliver’ mindset. However what many fail to recognise is that as soon as you start to under-promise your chances of securing the role diminish quite rapidly.

When putting together business plans and quantifying a following you should remember that you are talking to other lawyers who understand the way the market works. Business plans are automatically taken with a degree of tolerance as no-one can predict the future; you may well expect that all ten of your biggest clients will move with you, but if only nine of these follow then sometimes that’s just the way it happens. Sure, if you predicted that fifty would move then you may have gone too far out on a limb, but firms are aware that not everyone can be relied upon to follow.

The other aspect of putting together the plan is to understand that it is a sales document, not a story. Just as if you were preparing any other pitch the key things to understand is where your practice is strong, and if there are any weaknesses then how can these best be explained?

For example, does your practice require a ‘bedding-in period’? We have recently worked with an excellent partner who handles a range of public sector work, but whereas her corporate clients would present an active following from Day One the majority of her work comes from securing tenders which often means a 6-12 month lead time. A twelve-month business plan is therefore unlikely to carry much weight; however a three year projected plan outlining an early period of consolidation followed by significant results between months 12-36 will be considerably more attractive.


As a legal recruiter one of the most frustrating situations is when you work with a strong individual who fails to appreciate the weighting firms place upon the business plan, and then can’t understand why practices that were previously falling over themselves to employ them are now altogether much cooler on the prospect. However in a changing market this is very much the way things have gone; reputation counts for little without the numbers to back it up and a failure to appreciate this and having no business plan to sell yourself with is going to significantly compromise your chances of making that next move.

Are you looking for a move, confident that you have a following but have no clear idea of how to put together a business plan to reflect this? Or do you have a strong business plan put together but seeking guidance as to how to take this to market professionally and effectively? Call one of our specialist consultants on 0121 233 5000/020 7649 9094 or visit our website www.vgcharles.com

Counter Attack

Oh Wayne, what are you up to?

On Wednesday your employer lacked ambition and was unlikely to be progressing any time soon, with your co-workers simply not of a high enough calibre compared to your own ability.

By Friday lunchtime everything’s hunky-dory again and you’re looking forward to a bright future, convinced that the club’s ambitions match your own and that you really are at the place that you belong. If reports are to be believed there is an ambitious recruitment programme about to be implemented and of course the reported £230k per week will certainly keep the wolves from the door (or balaclava-clad gangs from the door, as the case may be.)

What could possibly have convinced the formerly disillusioned Mr Rooney that his future did indeed lie at Old Trafford and not with the newly-wealthy neighbours or the warmer climes of Madrid? There’s no two ways about it; with talk of mind-blowing riches at other clubs United had to put a pretty spectacular offer on the table to keep him at the club.

Which brings us nicely to the question posed by this week’s blog:- the counter-offer. Proof of what you’re actually worth? Or a last ditch bid from your employer to avoid having to go to the bother of replacing you?

It’s hard to discuss a ‘one-size-fits-all’ answer for this as clearly some people are held in higher regard than others, whether you’re running a law firm, a (prawn) sandwich shop or a football club. Unless your employer does not value you at all, or really gets the hump that you’ve dared to even think about pastures new, then they are likely to make some attempt to keep you when you indicate a desire to move on.

As a senior level legal recruiter this is a conundrum we experience on a regular basis, particularly as we often work with partners who are not just great lawyers but are also excellent at building and retaining client relationships. When you are bringing £2.5m worth of fees in every year you have to be a pretty abrasive character for your firm to still be glad to see the back of you, hence more than 70% of candidates we work with can expect their firm to make some attempt to buy them back when they put their notice in.

There is an element of flattery involved when your employer makes you an improved offer to stay; the boost for your ego and usual promises of your personal development at the firm can be enough to convince you that making that jump is not the right move after all.

Yet looking at the facts for individuals who have been successfully convinced to stay by a counter-offer makes sobering reading. Staggeringly, only 6% of employees who accept a counter-offer are still with their firm twelve months later  [1], whether this is their own choice or not. You may decide that the promises you were made never materialise and ending up moving on after all, but don’t forget employers have long memories which, rightly or wrongly, can have a bearing in a potential redundancy situation eight months down the line by which time your safety net option has long gone.

Of course the worlds of football and law are massively different; it’s hard to imagine hordes outside the house of a senior partner with signs stating ‘Join DLA and you’re dead’....well, perhaps not that hard to imagine.

However whether you are a lawyer or a footballer accepting the counter-offer leaves you open to criticism from co-workers as well as the new employer whom you have to let down. Bear in mind though that Mr Rooney has secured himself the certainty of a five-year contract as well as doubling his money:- is your employer prepared to give you that level of guarantee???

Thought not.








[1] http://www.careerknowhow.com/guidance/counter.htm

If you are looking to make a move and would welcome guidance on the process including negotiating the counter-offer stage call VG Charles & Co on 0121 233 5000 / 020 7649 9094 and speak to one of our specialist consultants, or visit www.vgcharles.com. Lawyers with a convincing case for Rooney-esque money are of particular interest!

The Social Network

Friday saw the UK release of the anticipated film about Mark Zuckerburg, generally recognised as the father of Facebook (although court cases brought by various parties may cast some doubts over this.) Facebook is probably the most successful of the many social networking sites which have appeared over the last decade and its popularity has turned Zuckerburg into one of the world’s youngest billionaires.

At VG Charles & Co the use of social networking is recognised as a real benefit to the company; updates on the market, successes of the firm, new vacancies and even the publishing of a new blog can be tweeted to followers worldwide at the click of a button. LinkedIn can be used to cross-reference candidates against a CV or for confidential conversations; we were even instructed on a confidential partner hire via LinkedIn recently.

Whether you are a social networking guru, or if you don’t know your Bebo from your MySpace and tweeting is something you expect from budgies, there is no doubt that more and more firms are placing a greater emphasis on this medium to spread the message.

The legal press is also well-represented with Legal Week, Law Society Gazette, Roll On Friday and The Lawyer all regularly tweeting about breaking stories plus having groups or profiles on other sites such as LinkedIn. Combine this with the bloggers who regularly air their opinions online and you can easily spend your whole day staying up to date with the market from various viewpoints (including those of your favourite legal recruiter.)

So what size is the potential market? Well, there are around 50 million tweets every day, with Twitter’s website alone enjoying 6 million unique monthly users. According to a survey in August 2009 around 9% of tweets are to ‘pass-on value’, 6% are ‘self-promotional’ and 4% categorised as ‘news’. Assuming that news includes information about firms this means around 10 million daily tweets are marketing-related and instantly broadcast to a global audience.

Most firms now have a presence on LinkedIn and Facebook as well, again meaning that followers get the latest updates on news or movement within the practice as well as information on new starters or internal promotions.

There is also the opportunity to keep your followers updated whilst you are on the move. Either by text or using apps on a smartphone you can be tweeting whilst on the train, in an airport or even queuing at the coffee shop. Hook your sites together and Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter can all be updated using one system.

As with most things in life there is always a flip side; without appropriate control systems in place you have the opportunity for hackers or disgruntled (usually ex!) employees to vent their frustrations on your public forum. However you can at least control your own Facebook page and delete inaccurate or unprofessional comments, unlike those sites which do not employ a moderator. Lawyersfromhell.com, anyone?

Social networking within the business community is far from saturation point, with few of the smaller firms seeming to embrace the opportunity to market for free. To some Twitter is still dismissed as not powerful enough a tool or is consigned to the world of the geek, but as we have seen before those who do not get on board early enough risk being left behind. Like it or loathe it, social networking cannot be ignored or discounted as a fad which will soon pass – remember how long some firms took to embrace email?

As the popularity of social networking continues to grow the opportunity to ‘get onboard’ early diminishes; Twitter users may stop following additional firms as they start to become inundated with tweets. If you want to avoid missing the boat it may be time to tweet the Twitter, link in on LinkedIn or.........use Facebook .....to, er....throw a sheep. If your followers stick with you after that then you have them for life!

Follow VG Charles & Co on LinkedIn, or on Twitter at VG_Charles. Alternatively for a one-to-one tweet-free conversation with one of our specialist recruiters call 0121 233 5000/020 7649 9094.

Born In The USA

Well done Europe. Despite the best efforts of Tiger, Corey, Phil and Co on the last day the Americans have been sent back to the old US of A with their tails between their legs, and with their luggage allocation slightly lighter to the tune of 4lbs of Ryder Cup which will be staying this side of the Atlantic for the next 2 years.


Monday at VG Charles Towers was spent with half an eye on the developments at Celtic Manor as the singles swung blue to red and back again (or blue and bluer and bluer again where Ian Poulter was involved.) Admittedly at around 2:30pm things were starting to look slightly ropey (‘squeaky bum time’ as Sir Alex Ferguson so famously refers to such occasions) but a solid tee shot on the 17th followed by a less than convincing American short game and the cup was secured. In fairness it was always going to happen; after all, it’s not the first time that victory in Europe has been secured by a team under a man known as Monty.

Whilst the Americans may have departed Europe they have still left behind numerous establishments of American origin; IBM, Apple, Ford, Microsoft, Boeing, and even McDonalds are all a large part of day-to-day life for the average Brit, and in the professional services sector this influence is only increasing.

Where some American firms have taken the plunge and opened offices in Britain themselves the in-vogue option at the moment would appear to be the merger or strategic alliance. With Denton Wilde Sapte now being SNR Denton, Proskauer Rose and SJ Berwin in talks and a link up between Hammonds and Squire Sanders & Dempsey imminent this tactic shows no signs of slowing down.

As covered in an earlier blog (http://vgcharles.blogspot.com/2010/06/to-merge-or-not-to-merge.html) firms of all sizes have been examining whether domestic mergers represent a good business move, admittedly some more vociferously than others. For mid-to-large-sized firms this can be to bolster their presence in terms of location and/or particular areas of specialism; for smaller firms it can simply be a matter of survival as the pressures of increased professional indemnity insurance premiums and reduced economies of scale start to bite.

For those large enough to be looking at international tie-ups though it is unlikely that the benefit of reduced insurance premiums is the driving force behind the move. Instead the opportunity to ally themselves with a practice which has an established presence in a new territory may be the main appeal; for others a merger with a firm which shares a particular strength can lead to establishing a world-leading brand in this field. Of course the potential increase in PEP certainly doesn’t harm the process either.....

From the recruitment point of view there is a certain prestige generally attached to working for an American firm, and it is not lost on soon-to-merge practices that they may be in a position to attract high calibre individuals who previously would have regarded them as a sideways move at best. Similarly firms which may have held the upper hand in certain locations by being the only truly international practice in town now may have to worry about staff retention, as a competitor on their doorstep becomes a more attractive option than previously may have been the case.


Whilst the American firms may arrive with much fanfare and hype (a little like their golfers) the success of the merger will always rely on the practice having the gravitas and reputation to attract the best talent to their brand; although the firm may be American the lawyers employed in the UK will be largely British and making sure that those lawyers can buy into the ethos will be the crucial aspect. Otherwise the union may only prove as successful as your average Hollywood marriage, and quickly the American firm may disappear back across the pond under a cloud of disappointment, just like.........oh, fill in your own Ryder Cup joke here, you get the thread by now.

Have you always harboured an ambition to join an American practice, and would be keen to find out more about opportunities at such firms? Call one of our specialist recruiters on 020 7649 9094/0121 233 5000 to discuss your requirements or visit our website www.vgcharles.com

Is Less More?

Thought for the day – how often are you asked to negotiate on your fees?

Does every client ask? One out of three? One out of ten? If so, how often do you agree? Have you lost business out of a reluctance to negotiate on your cost?

Have you ever completed a mediation, a transaction, a disposal or a separation and then have clients complain retrospectively about the bill that arrives on their doorstep or in their in-tray? If so, what have they based this complaint on?

If this is a common occurrence for lawyers it is twice as common amongst the legal recruitment market. In these current thrifty times firms are understandably trying to limit expenditure where possible including the fees paid to recruiters.

Before I go any further this is not a recruiter moaning about how you should pay our fees and not complain about it. Although that would be nice, if you don’t mind.

The purpose of the blog is for those occasions where you are either being asked to cut your fees or are asking your suppliers to cut theirs:- just how is it that you value the service you provide or are provided with?

Within the law every firm will wax lyrical about USPs, heightened levels of client care, rates of repeat business or even mention ‘No Win No Fee’ arrangements in an attempt to stand out from the crowd. As recruiters we also strive for an elevated position against the competition, although as with any business the main factor which sorts out the wheat from the chaff is our success.

So what is your perception of how your recruiter works for you? Do you value the recruiter who provides you with fifteen CVs for a role, with you then shortlisting four for interview, second interview two of these, invite one to a third interview to meet the team and then sign off the offer?

Alternatively what about the recruiter who provides you with one CV for a great candidate that you interview for 2 hours, who ticks all the boxes professionally and personally and who you then offer all within an afternoon? Both recruiters charge you the same fee, yet who has provided you with the better service?

As much as you may hate to admit it there is a tendency to expect some ‘pain’ for your money; if you’re going to pay £x for a piece of recruitment then you may want to feel that you have spoken to a range of individuals, albeit that most aren’t suitable, and then made your choice from the remainder.

However think about it this way. Let’s say that your interview process will be carried out by a partner and an associate who have a charge-out rate of £325/hour & £250/hour respectively. Take an hour to shortlist the CVs (partner only) and spend an hour in each interview at every stage, and the first recruiter has cost you £4,350 in lost billings on top of the fee.

The second one by way of contrast has cost you closer to £1300 in billings, hence a potential saving of around £3,000 compared to the first. Now again:- which recruiter gives you a better level of service?

Quite clearly the second has proven to be a more cost effective supplier. Of course you may feel that with the first recruiter you know that you have covered the market by seeing as many CVs as possible, but then you’re paying a considerable sum to your recruiter for their services; the good ones will have already filtered out the unsuitable ones for you.

Lawyers of course have experience of fee negotiation; the number of recorded hours very rarely tallies with the chargeable one! There is always a reluctance to pay for work unless there is tangible and definite proof of what the client is forking out for, and hence time spent proof-reading or undertaking the associated administrative tasks can often disappear into the background, just like time recruiters spend talking to unsuitable candidates, shortlisting & reformatting CVs and building comprehensive market information.

We have recently been working with a number of clients where our CVs submitted-to-interview-to-placement ratio has been exceptional by any standard. The recruitment has been slick and effective and the offers accepted with a minimal amount of fuss, and the candidates of such a calibre that one client has considered recruiting an additional person to avoid losing out on a potential star.

In business there is always negotiation, but when you can demonstrate that you save your client money whilst meeting or exceeding their expectations it puts you in a great position to justify your fee.

To discuss the service that you expect from your current recruiters, or to speak to a specialist senior level legal recruiter about your own expectations call one of our team at VG Charles & Co. Alternatively if you are looking to make a move and would like to speak to an efficient and effective recruiter who can guide you through the process call us on 0121 233 5000/020 7649 9094.

It's A Rich Man's World

For what is generally regarded as one of life’s essentials, the question of money can divide opinion like no other. For some it is ‘the root of all evil’; for others it is what makes the world go round.

Others will point out rightly that “you can’t take it with you”........can you?

Sorry to break it to you but no, of course you can’t. After you’ve taken your final breath it may pay for you to have a good send-off and perhaps fund a few beers at your wake, but whilst your dependents may thank you for bequeathing them a few quid, your assets will be of no use to you directly. So why then are so many firms committing their private client departments to moving away from wills & probate, and instead focussing on the question of protecting your money whilst you are still alive?

Well obviously it’s a good money earner. Being able to offer complex yet beneficial tax planning issues and utilisation of offshore trusts can be fairly lucrative, particularly as the market is not saturated with firms offering this service and hence the charge-out rate for this type of work is usually higher than mainstream private client work.

Secondly it allows your firm to differentiate yourselves from the crowd who may only offer a ‘standard’ wills & probate service. There is also a certain prestige factor, meaning that you can handle high net worth private client work without it harming your reputation as a top corporate practice.

At the moment the wealth protection aspect of private client law is very much in vogue. Many leading firms who previously turned their back on wills & probate work are now targeting this as both a profitable concern and also a useful way of retaining the business of high net worth business owners.

As the tax burden grows within the UK and with the use of pre-nuptial agreements carrying increasing weight when it comes to HNW separations, many business owners are looking at how they can protect their assets including cash, property, investment portfolios and even the IP rights of their company. Those firms who manage the individual wealth of their clients have the opportunity to then cross-sell their business law services to what should be an already satisfied customer.

Of course this is not always the case; some companies and practices already enjoy strong links which are unlikely to be altered by the MD opting to review his/her personal circumstances. Others prefer to keep their personal assets and business concerns separate and use different law firms for each. However there is that select clientele who will take the view that a firm which can effectively manage their own personal wealth can also do something similar for their business concerns, and in this area the wealth protection team can really come to the fore.

As anyone who has worked within the law or legal recruitment for some time will know there have been various ‘fad’ or ‘flash in the pan’ niches where super-profits are envisaged yet which have failed to live up to the hype. Similarly where those areas have proven to be successful the clamour for specialists to service it often outstrips the supply and it may be that firms targeting the wealth protection end of the market fall short with their ambitions to carve out a reputation in this field.

However there is no doubt that this type of work is appealing to a number of firms at the moment and this is only likely to increase over the coming months. Those firms who are able to handle work of this nature and who can really make a name within wealth protection will continue to see increased levels of instructions from HNW clients as more and more people see the potential benefits of ringfencing assets, with the opportunity to cross-sell corporate services as discussed earlier.

And why not look at this? If wealth protection does indeed continue to rise in popularity the way that ADR has done in the last 5 years then those firms who can provide an excellent level or service in this area can post healthy profits as a result.

Make hay while the sun shines. After all, you’re a long time dead.

Interested in moving into wealth protection work but lacking the expertise at present to do so? Or are you a wealth protection specialist seeking to discuss which firms have earmarked this as an area they are looking to recruit into? Contact one of our specialist consultants on 0121 233 5000/020 7649 9094

The Green, Green Grass of Home

The common phrase about the grass not always being greener on the other side has been used to describe many situations.

As a legal recruiter it is an argument we face often where the fear of the unknown may lead an applicant to start doubting themselves or the wisdom of making a move, at which point we will talk through those concerns on a one-to-one basis. Usually our doing so will give the candidate the chance to reflect on why they were looking to move in the first place and realise that this move will indeed improve their lot. On rare occasions those concerns may be well-founded, at which point the move will break down.

A question which is rearing its head more often than not is whether a solicitor may wish to move into or out of the public sector. Many of us who work in the private sector have over the last few years had to deal with the consequences of the recession; uncertainty over job prospects, pay freezes or cuts and a general tightening of the belts have been prevalent.

Since the start of the recession the public sector has suffered far less, with more than 335,000 new jobs being created since April 2008 at the same time as 1 million jobs have been lost in the private sector in the same timeframe. During this period civil servants have also continued to enjoy pay rises and retained excellent benefits packages meaning that moving out of the private sector has never looked so appealing.

However following George Osborne’s budget the threat of cuts is now looming large over the public sector and with this loss of confidence the legal recruitment market is now starting to see a trickle of lawyers looking to moving back into private practice.

One of the interesting considerations for those solicitors looking to leave local authorities is that the skill set they are able to demonstrate is often one which is in short supply; for example planning, employment and regulatory law are areas where the legal recruitment market is very active and yet where the lawyers to fill these opportunities are not readily available. Consequently the timing is now right for those considering making a move from public to private sector, which may have been tricky 18 months ago but the market is now more receptive to those who have been out of a direct fee-earning role for some time.

There does remain a certain level of snobbery attached towards those moving out of the public sector, with many firms reluctant to look at lawyers without previous private practice experience. However we have found that many solicitors we are talking to have both a high level of technical knowledge and are also able to provide a different slant on many matters, which a private sector lawyer may not be able to offer.

For example, a planning lawyer who is used to working closely in “coalition“ with a planning department may offer a different slant on a matter from one who has spent their career fighting against them. Within employment law, equal pay matters are still relatively niche whereas solicitors at a local authority who have spent time defending claims of this nature may prove to be a worthwhile addition to a team.

It is likely that as the public sector cuts continue to bite that the trend to move back into private practice will continue for some time. The grass may not seem greener but it is something but it is undoubtedly a move which the most committed and adaptable will make work for them.

And it’s certainly better than having no grass at all.......

To discuss opportunities in the private sector call one of our specialist consultants at VG Charles & Co on 0121 233 5000/020 7649 9094 for a confidential discussion about your options, or visit our website http://www.vgcharles.com/.

If you are trying to make your own grass greener visit the Gardeners World website http://www.gardenersworld.com/. Plenty of useful tips, but few of them likely to find you a better job and improve your life.

The Transfer Window

For the football fans out there last Monday was one of the most exciting days of the year. At 6pm the transfer window slammed shut, thus meaning that no footballer in Europe who is under contract is able to make a permanent move until January 2011.

Frenzied activity saw clubs up and down the country trying to secure the necessary recruits to see them through to the New Year, whether it be the star striker who arrives in a multi-million pound deal or the journeyman squad player who can cover 4 different positions in case of an injury crisis.

Many legal firms instigate a similar ‘transfer window’ system at senior level whereby partners may only resign on certain days of the year, whilst other firms hold that the contracted x months notice will be extended until the end of the financial year. If your present firm plays hardball and x takes you into a new year then don’t necessarily expect to be with your new employer at any point in the next 18 months!

The reasons that firms instigate these clauses are varied and not without merit. For some it means that capital accounts can be easily sorted out; for others it’s the stability of knowing that employees and client base can be relied on for instructions up until the end of the financial period.

Additionally firms have the ability to send employees on gardening leave, and in an industry as competitive as the law a partner sat at home under restrictive covenant is unable to influence their soon-to-be-ex-employer’s concerted efforts to retain the clients when the partner finally moves to their new firm.

However this element of control is not always a positive for the firms in question. What of the flip side? Those who watch the legal press are aware that on certain dates of the year reports will come through of particular practices losing key individuals. This does generate negative publicity for the firms who restrict partner resignations; whereas a firm losing two or three key hires over a 12 month period can attribute this to natural wastage, losing those 3 individuals all on the same day can (often wrongly) be presumed to be signs of a firm in crisis.

As legal recruiters it is essential to know which practices implement this lock-in system and also what the truth is behind the press reports. Knowing the inside track as to why individuals have moved on and even whether their loss is a concern or disappointment (or enforced!) can often make the difference when it comes to that practice successfully recruiting replacements for those departed.

Quite simply there are few partners out there who want to join a firm which is seen as being anything less than a steady ship, particularly if those partners are the equivalent of the ‘star striker’ and have their choice of practices interested in speaking to them.

So how do you sell your firm as a realistic and viable option? Transparency is usually the best policy. Chances are that the market knows about your partner’s impending departure long before they exit, so why try to hide the reasoning? Usually this involves a certain amount of reflection and soul-searching as to where you may be going wrong, but following this you will have to trust the recruiter you use to represent you to be able to communicate this effectively to potential new employees. It’s no coincidence that the firms we recruit for most successfully are the ones who can say “yes, we were at fault for this and this....but we have now held up our hands and put this and this into practice to resolve the issue.” Bear in mind that the majority of your new employees will find that their first ‘real’ contact with your firm will be through meeting a recruiter who will be painting a picture of life at the practice. Quite simply, without your recruiter telling the market that you are putting your own house in order how are you ever going to get people to come and talk to you?

And if you’re not recruiting new stars to replace those who have made a Man City-style departure to greener turf, how are you going to convince your existing staff to stay?

Well, you could try locking them in. Oh, hang on.......

Are you with a firm with a lock-in or restricted resignation policy, and keen to discuss your next move and effective exit strategy? Are you looking to make key lateral hires but concerned whether unkind publicity over your lock-in may be harming your chances of attracting the best talent? Call one of our specialist consultants at VG Charles & Co to discuss on 0121 233 5000/020 7649 9094

The Good Wife

There is a fairly well-known article from the 1950’s which advises wives on the various ways in which they can successfully look after her husband and be a good wife. You have probably seen it on email before your IT department started blocking these things. There are 14 points in all, but some of the more interesting include:-

• Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal ready on time for his return. This is a way of letting him know that you have been thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they get home and the prospect of a good meal is part of the warm welcome needed.
• Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so you’ll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people.
• During the cooler months of the year you should prepare and light a fire for him to unwind by. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift too. After all, catering to his comfort will provide you with immense personal satisfaction.
• Be happy to see him.
• Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first – remember, his topics of conversation are more important than yours.
• Don’t greet him with complaints and problems.
• Don’t complain if he’s late for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through at work.
• Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or lie him down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him.
• Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing and pleasant voice.
• Don’t ask him questions about his actions or question his judgment or integrity. Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him.
• A good wife always knows her place.

  

Fortunately time moves on (for some of us) but whilst the ideas outlined above belong well in the past, the intention is as relevant today as it was in 1950, 1750 or 250BC; how to keep hold of someone you value.

 

Retention of staff may not be the focal point that it was three or four years ago, with press reports implying that for many firms the main consideration is finding the most economical and cost effective way of cutting headcount. However with improving economic figures in the UK implying that the darkest days are behind us there will be again a point where firms need to look at keeping their key staff happy and prevent them looking elsewhere. Departing partners who are key client relationship managers can directly impact turnover and PEP in a very short period of time.

 

The firms who have handled the recession and resultant downsizing poorly will find that their staff are susceptible to approaches about other opportunities, particularly as the market comes back. Having watched a number of their peers being let go and realising that one more set-back could yet see them moved out of the firm, a competitor who can offer a happy ship and work of a comparable or higher quality will seem an extremely tempting option.

 

So how do you avoid losing your staff as the market starts to recover? Well, let’s revert back to the 1950s:-

 

• Plan ahead:- Everyone needs to know that their organisation is being led by management with a clear vision of how to take the practice through economic turmoil and back to profitability.
• During the cooler months of the year you should prepare and light a fire for him to unwind by. Short of cranking the heating right up you may struggle to recreate that ‘fireside’ scenario or a “haven of rest and order”, but attempt to limit internal bickering. Make the firm a shelter from the storm, not the eye of it.
• Be happy to see him. Value your staff; pats on the back cost nothing but can mean the difference on a bad day.
• Listen to him. Listen to all of your staff; by adopting an ‘us’ mentality you are more likely to come through this as a stronger unit and be far harder to break up.
• Don’t greet him with complaints and problems. There’s a brilliant quote in Saving Private Ryan where Tom Hanks explains “There's a chain of command. Gripes go up, not down. Always up. You gripe to me, I gripe to my superior officer, so on, so on, and so on. I don't gripe to you. I don't gripe in front of you.” If you are unhappy with the decisions of the senior management at the firm tell them, not the trainees and assistants you are supervising.
• Don’t complain if he’s late for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Your staff are out networking to bring in new business – leave them alone. In fact, you should have been out there too.
• Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing and pleasant voice. That’s just silly. This isn’t all relevant you know. However if it is.........actually let's not go there.

 

Whilst it may seem like a long way off at the moment the fight for the best talent will sneak back up on us very soon and in a field such as law which is notoriously short of high calibre staff those who do not wish to have to pay through the nose to attract the ‘mercenary’ lawyer may need to look at what they are doing to keep the present incumbents happy.

 

 

 

To discuss keeping ways in which to improve your staff retention as the market improves call one of our specialist consultants at VG Charles & Co on 0121 233 5000 / 020 7649 9094

Opportunity Knocks

One of the purposes of these blogs has been to highlight changes in the legal market and as we are currently in one of the most changeable and evolving periods in the industry there has been more to write about than ever before! As well as the already-blogged-about reduction in partners seeking equity (http://vgcharles.blogspot.com/2010/07/pep-talk.html) and the increasing number of mergers (http://vgcharles.blogspot.com/2010/06/to-merge-or-not-to-merge.html), another noticeable factor has been the small but not insignificant number of firms which actually stand to come out of the recession in a better state than they entered it.


This is not to say that these practices have increased profits during a period of economic turmoil; firms which may have achieved this are very few and far between. Instead it is the firms which have chosen to ‘speculate to accumulate’, perhaps at a reduction in profits, and have brought in high calibre and disillusioned partners and fee-earners from so-called ‘better’ firms.


For example; let’s say you are a mid-sized practice based on the outskirts of a city in the north of England. You know that whilst you enjoy a reasonable quality of work and have some long-standing and loyal clients, those firms based in the city like Pinsent Masons, Hammonds and DLA can utilise huge resources and an international reputation to attract the best work around.


However what if the job security of the partners at the big firms is at risk? What if senior associates who both service the clients and have a following of their own now find that any route to partnership is blocked, as the firm cannot support further partners without risk of a team being top-heavy?


You on the other hand have a steady and well-run practice; profits may be down but due to some financial frugalness during the boom times you have a resource of cash at the bank with limited or no borrowings. Could you offer these individuals or teams a new challenge where they can bring this established and high calibre client base?


There are a number of firms who have utilised this period of uncertainty to draw talented lawyers out from the cities and main legal hubs which exist around the country. Through employing prudence when profits were high they now hold the additional capital required to invest, with the result that they can now offer a competitive and attractive option to those lawyers who are on the market.


Coupled with this the ‘speculate to accumulate’ model, the old ‘three times salary’ adage is being relaxed with a view to a long-term gain. If your new hire can bring a client which has always generated £x per annum but is now only producing 2/3rd of x, does it not still make a certain amount of sense to offer them the £1/3rd of x salary they are after on the basis that there is still a huge chunk of profit there, plus the potential to earn more when the market recovers? These ‘zero cost’ hires are becoming more and more common, and when coupled with a commission-based bonus there is a sharing of risk on both sides.


These are options which these firms are considering and which will lead to them coming out of the recession in a far stronger position; this can be in levels of turnover, calibre of client base, the calibre of lawyer servicing those clients and even moving up a tier or two in the Legal 500.


Not every firm is in a position to do this at present, but for those who can this is where the benefit of professional legal recruiters comes to the fore; representing a client which is on a sound financial footing is far more attractive and important than simply the highest bidder mentality which was previously so prevalent. Those firms which CAN invest are only too willing to tell us that they WILL invest and then it is for the recruiter to make sure that the opportunities are relayed to the candidates in a confidential manner, as this level of financial information is obviously not something firms seek to shout about from the rooftops.


As stated at the start of this blog the market is changing rapidly and by the time the dust settles your local legal market may well be dominated by some very different firms to those at the forefront five years ago.

To discuss opportunities with firms who are in a position to invest in you, or if you are a practice looking to find out where you can strategically strengthen and how, call one of our specialist consultants at VG Charles & Co on 0121 233 5000 / 020 7649 9094.

The Question of Retention

There are some things in life which just naturally follow on from others.

Summer follows spring.

Autumn precedes Winter.

A naff Bond film usually follows a good one.

Skin of the teeth promotion to the Premiership is followed by a whopping 4-0 win and topping the league for a few hours......sometimes.

Having worked within legal recruitment for a number of years you learn to recognise the cyclical nature of the industry. Market conditions replicate themselves every few years through boom and bust and it is not unusual for a recruiter to be able to predict how, where and when things are likely to pick up, albeit that the circumstances of the current economic climate are quite unique.

As September approaches the question arises over the number of NQs being offered opportunities at their training firm, and for those unable (or unwilling ) to remain this leads to whether there are sufficient other openings with other practices to satisfy those seeking a new role.

Whilst nowhere near as bad as last year the fact remains that most firms are unable to retain as many trainees as they would like to, as pressure to reduce overheads and lower volumes of work bites into the numbers of newly-qualifieds being retained. Whilst Magic Circle firms may point to significant volumes being kept on, with Linklaters for example retaining 87% of NQs, this is not a trend reflected the whole way through the market. Where NQs are offered roles these are largely into areas such as litigation with only a few qualifying into transactional fields, particularly at practices which may generally be considered second or third tier and lack the ability to support a fee-earner working at less than 75% capacity.

For those who have worked within the law (or legal recruitment) for any length of time there can be parallels drawn with similar instances in 2000 or the early 1990s, as recession and/or external market pressure forced firms to either dispense with NQs or offer them opportunities in the few disciplines which remained busy at the time.

The result? Well if you look at those qualifying following the burst of the dotcom bubble or in the immediate post 9/11 climate the lack of transactional work meant many NQs at these times moved into areas such as litigation, family, employment, etc. Fast forward 4 years and the demand for corporate or commercial property solicitors of circa 4yrs PQE led to demand far outstripping supply, with the consequence of salaries rising massively in these areas.

Ring any bells?

Despite fears of double-dip recessions and lack of growth in the property industry the market will eventually return, at which time firms will again be struggling to attract the talent necessary to service their clients. Consequently the firms who are currently retaining their trainees are the ones who are less likely to have to fight tooth and nail to get the numbers in to handle the increased flow of work. Similarly these are also going to be the firms who can still opt to recruit only who they need to and can be discerning in the market.

Admittedly these are also the practices who will also need to look after their staff to avoid them being tempted by other opportunities; but then that’s a different matter altogether.........

In The Summertime

In the immortal words of Mr Harry Webb, aka Cliff Richard:-

“We’re all going on a summer holiday
No more worries for a week or two
Fun and laughter on our summer holiday
No more worries for me or you
For a week or two”*

* Note:- you may wish to increase this to three or four weeks for certain partners out there – you know who they are.

Admittedly Cliff also gave us the profound “I like small speakers, I like tall speakers” so he’s not a total genius.

Coincidentally Tom Jones sung “Sexbomb sexbomb, you’re a sexbomb, uh-huh” but that’s not really relevant and probably should be ignored.

It’s probably worth starting off this blog by mentioning that I don’t tend to walk around quoting Cliff Richard lyrics, nor suffer from any form of Shadows-tourettes or anything of that nature. The reason for the injection of ‘Summer Holiday’ into the discussion is that we are obviously now well into the annual lull which strikes the whole of the country, as a large portion of the working population heads off for a couple of weeks of relaxation. Well that’s the plan anyway; whether the kids let you relax is another matter altogether! “No more worries for a week or two”? Yeah right Cliff. It’s well seeing you’re a Bachelor Boy.

The traditional ebb and flow of the legal recruitment market tells us that early September is one of the three main times of the year when employees consider making a move. This isn’t exclusive to the legal arena and is generally attributed to people returning from holiday, getting back to the office and deciding that the thought of spending another year there is too much to contemplate.

Although the economic downturn has seen a slight reduction in the volume of employed lawyers on the market over the last couple of years, those who practice within in-demand areas including those with tangible followings may see this as a good time to escape their present firm, knowing that they are likely to be in new surroundings by Christmas.

Whilst firms are initially unlikely to view the departure of valued members of staff as a positive it can force them to reassess the ‘fit’ of a team and whether there is a better way of structuring a department, potentially increasing the profitability of the firm. Additionally it may mean that the chance to join a particular firm is suddenly more attractive to someone working for a competitor if a key departure means a better opportunity for progression or seniority.

This is a trend which is unlikely to change any time soon, for as long as employees get disgruntled at employers the summer holiday respite is always going to allow time to re-evaluate options and to look at alternatives.

Oh, and for those who were wondering:- the other main surges in the market are around pay review time and also post-Christmas, so you can expect some “Mistletoe & Wine” lyrics in the festive blog. You lucky, lucky people.

To discuss post-summer opportunities in your local market or to speak to a specialist legal consultant about requirements to strengthen in Q3 & Q4 call VG Charles & Co on 0121 233 5000/020 7649 9094. To have an in-depth conversation on Cliff Richard, the man and the music please feel free to contact the author’s gran.

Follow The Leader

Often the summer slow-down is a useful point to both take stock of the year so far and also to re-evaluate where you have been successful (or otherwise!) It’s also a good time to try to fit in some of those non-fee earning duties which form a crucial yet hard to quantify part of any role, such as marketing and networking.

One of the interesting aspects of a legal recruiter’s role is building a comprehensive knowledge of the market and the manner in which various practices work and differ from each other; what they expect from their fee-earners in terms of billable hours, the culture that they have, and the client interface enjoyed by their non-partners.

Some firms will expect the rank and file to be out at events getting their faces known and talking about the brand which they represent; others are more reluctant to send their assistant solicitors out when they have designated business development executives, or where it viewed solely as being a partner’s responsibility. Interestingly there appears to be more of a tendency for the smaller firms to allow their assistants to attend networking events, with the larger practices being represented by non-lawyers, partners or not at all.

It’s fair to say that about 60-70% of the lawyers we meet are not huge fans of the marketing & networking side, preferring to allow others to undertake this where possible. This is understandable as the prospect of walking into a room of strangers with the ultimate aim of gaining instructions or referrals is not everyone’s idea of fun. What many don’t realise though is the manner in which they are potentially limiting their career prospects by avoiding business development opportunities, particularly if their peers are being more proactive in this area.

Essentially by the time lawyers reach the 3-4 year PQE level there can be a clear difference in terms of what they can bring to the table when looking at a new role, with this gap widening with subsequent years of PQE. Recently we have met with associates at top tier practices who are unable to offer any kind of following whatsoever, yet in contrast we have met others from smaller outfits who can bring an active client base which not only covers their basic salary costs but will also generate additional profits for a new practice. As an employer it’s a no-brainer as to which individual to meet, particularly as recent history has shown that business is fragile and a busy pipeline of work can quickly dry-up unless there is a flow of new instructions to supplement this.

In a thriving market there was little or no requirement for non-partners to bring work with them when making a move, particularly in the transactional areas, as the level of instructions remained high and the main requirement was for talented individuals who could cope with the already existing caseload. Consequently an associate at a top tier firm could expect to move to a competitor as a senior associate and thus the calibre of practice on a CV was often the most crucial aspect.

However now that the market has turned there are a number of very capable lawyers who are finding themselves trapped in a ‘dead man’s shoes’ situation, where they are waiting to make partner yet until such openings exist at their present firm they will be treading water where they are. These individuals are hamstrung by a combination of lack of opportunities with competitors and an inability to bring work with them which might tempt another firm to view them as an opportunist hire.

The lawyers who are able to make a move are the ones who can bring work with them; these individuals are now finding a range of opportunities which would perhaps have been closed to them before and are in fact overtaking others on the career ladder. Associates with followings are currently negotiating partner-level roles with other firms which are keen to bolster a particular area, whilst other associates at supposedly better practices are finding the offer of partnership a long way off.

The conclusion? Quite simply the requirement for solicitors to engage with clients from an early point in their career has never been more crucial, particularly for those with partnership in mind. If you build and retain a loyal client base you will be valued much more highly by your employer, who should recognise the contribution you make through higher salary and/or better career prospects and progression. If they don’t recognise this then you will also find that the opportunities for solicitors with followings are far greater and that you are a much more attractive and far less risky hire, perhaps even at a higher level than that which you currently enjoy.

If you’re interested in keeping your career within your own hands it’s time to get out there and get yourself known.

To discuss opportunities in your local market where your client following can make a difference call one of our specialist consultants at VG Charles & Co for career guidance on 0121 233 5000/020 7649 9094