Planning For Success

For those of you who are currently considering a move, particularly those seeking a partner-level role, you will no doubt be looking forward to putting together a business plan. For most of you I use the term ‘looking forward to’ quite wrongly.

For many of even the most astute and commercially-minded lawyers the suggestion of having to put together a business plan seems to bring out deeply suppressed fears and much anguish. The very concept of committing to paper a list of clients and potential revenue streams which will follow when moving firms does in some cases cause huge concern, as does formulating a strategy for firstly integrating and then expanding an existing practice into a new firm.

But does it really need to be like this? Is there an easy way round this?

Of course there is. Be realistic; not pessimistic.

As a rough ballpark figure we would estimate that about 75% of partners we work with subscribe to the mantra of “under-promise, over-deliver”. There is nothing they would like more than to walk into a new firm on the premise of bringing a client following of £800k and then blowing the partnership away as they manage billings of £1m+ in Year One to much applause, back-slapping, adulation and cigars all round.

Sadly though you are unlikely to even get your foot in the door to prove this, and it all comes down to salary. If you can bill £1m a year then you’re probably already doing so at your current firm (or have done recently), and unless something has gone spectacularly wrong you’re likely being recompensed accordingly, picking up somewhere between £300k-£400k per annum. Whilst partners will move for less money if the opportunity is right then it is unlikely that too many will drop from that figure to the circa £250k you would need to accept if selling yourself as an £800k biller.

Be aware that no decent recruiter is going to advise you to enhance, titillate, exaggerate or downright lie on your business plan, but you need to be aware that looking at a worst case scenario on your plan may leave you in an even worse case scenario – that nobody wants you and you’re left where you are! A good business plan can be both optimistic and realistic, and finding that middle ground between what you are comfortable pitching and what your new firm is expecting is the key to making the move work.

Be aware that nothing in life is certain; similarly firms do not and cannot expect your business plan to be 100% bullet-proof. It is a document which indicates what you anticipate happening, and as long as you have not entered the realms of fantasy when creating it then there may be a certain degree of leeway given if not everything pans out as expected.

With more firms taking steps to protect their client base, including assigning multiple partners to each key account, it can be harder to guarantee with any certainty which work will definitely follow. If your business plan outlines 4 clients who are 100% to move, 3 who are at 75% and 5 at 50%, you are unlikely to find your neck on the line if one of the 50%ers decides to remain where they are, particularly if your business plan has been explicit in stating the likelihood of moving and the firm has made you an offer on this fully-informed basis.

The business plan also tells a lot about you as an individual; what your awareness of the market is and how you judge the strength of the brand you may be joining in terms of their ability to attract work of a particular calibre. If you are moving to Sleepy, Dopey, Bashful & Co, a three-partner firm in a quiet town in rural Herefordshire then your ambitions to attract all of the corporate work from Coca Cola and IBM may be somewhat misplaced. Similarly it shows a level of commercial nous that you have an idea of controlling costs and where investment in marketing and suchlike is likely to pay off.

Business plans are now an essential part of the recruitment process at many levels of qualification, not just partner. More often than not we are finding that associates are being asked to prepare a guideline of their client base and potential following, and also those lawyers who are seeking to reach partner status where they are now need to prepare a full business plan to be perused by a partnership body or committee prior to any promotion of this nature being considered. Working hard and delivering on your billing targets is no longer enough. Indeed just this week one of our consultants is representing a three year qualified lawyer who has an impressive following of work, and she is being asked to put together a business case to make the hire a feasible option.

The business plan is not a document to be feared. It’s not a noose with which to hang yourself as some may believe; instead view it as your passport to a new opportunity where you can deliver on the promises you’ve made.

To discuss the preparation of your business plan, including guidance on key aspects to include or omit, contact one of our specialist consultants at VG Charles & Co on 0121 233 5000 / 020 7649 9094 or visit our website at www.vgcharles.com.

Relocation, Relocation, Relocation

As mentioned in previous blogs, a good legal recruiter is not just someone who finds a lawyer a job. That’s a CV pusher you’re thinking of.

No, a quality legal recruiter is a strategic partner and advisor to both firms and individuals, providing insight on everything from salary levels to key areas for firms to target growth and how this may be best achieved, including identifying key individuals in the market to achieve this. We are also consulted on where there is likely to be an upcoming skills shortage based upon the needs of other firms, and any associated trends which we can advise on.

One of the interesting aspects of working in the legal recruitment market at the moment is the way in which particular areas of the law are busy in some locations yet relatively quiet in others. For example, recently we have been very busy recruiting into private client in both East Anglia and the Shropshire areas, yet our consultant specialising in the south-east has seen no real demand for lawyers in this discipline for a number of months.

Similarly if you are looking for a role in corporate then Birmingham and Manchester are crying out for good quality M&A and corporate finance associates, yet the East Midlands has little to no requirement to recruit into this area.

It can be hard to pin down exactly why there is such a fluctuation based on geography, particularly when you compare markets like Birmingham and Nottingham which are only 50 miles apart. Certain area of law naturally lend themselves to particular locations better than others; for example there is often a demand for agricultural law in the South-West, Shropshire and East Anglia, or a particular requirement for equine specialists in the Newmarket & Cambridgeshire vicinity, yet this demand drops quite dramatically in the Thames Valley region. However when one city has a thriving commercial property scene yet others have not seen an improvement since the start of the downturn it can be difficult to understand why, when real estate is a fairly universal sector.

For whatever reason these regional peaks and troughs are occurring, more and more solicitors are considering relocation for a role which meets their requirements. Since the days of the trail-blazing Dick Whittington there has always been the draw of London for those seeking what is perceived to be the highest quality work, including the whole lifestyle of 24/7 law which often appeals to the racy, corporate-minded, Apprentice-applying lawyers. However now with the likes of Bristol, Manchester, Reading and Birmingham having firms able to offer work of a comparable calibre to that enjoyed by City practices, and often with the benefit of the much-touted-yet-rarely-witnessed work/life balance, an increasing number of lawyers are finding that the draw of these cities is more prevalent than before.

Put quite simply; the quality of work that you are seeking might only be found in another location to then one that you are sat in now.

So what are the steps to finding yourself the right role in a new location? Well, firstly firms do still look for a tie or at least a discernable interest in moving to a particular area. Schooling, university, family or property are usually the criteria that firms seek evidence of, although the more specialist or niche you are the more firms are willing to look at relocating lawyers for active requirements, particularly if it is an area where they have previously struggled to recruit into or where there is a dearth of local talent. Being willing to ‘go anywhere’ for a job is not often what firms are seeking to hear, so if you are in this boat then be prepared to have to justify why at interview.

However as the market recovers it is now more often opportunity rather than necessity which is prompting thoughts of relocation, with lawyers choosing to move instead of being forced to through lack of local opportunities. We recently worked with an extremely high calibre matrimonial partner who had worked for one of the recognised High Net Worth practices in the country and realised that to continue enjoying clients of this calibre it was necessary to relocate to join one of the other four or five practices who work on a similar plane.

If you are open to relocating to maximising your career prospects then the most crucial aspect is to instruct a recruiter who understands both where you are coming from and where you hope to get to (not just geographically!) Anyone can open the Legal 500 and reel off the firms to you in the order that they appear; what you should be looking for is someone to explain (if they are working proactively for you) why a particular firm is worth a conversation; how the department is structured, how the firm is run, the calibre of work that they handle and how the practice is generally run culture-wise which can all be essential for ensuring that you are moving in the right direction. After all, when you are joining a new and unfamiliar legal community it is essential that you are working closely with a legal recruitment firm that knows the territory.

That is not to say that only a local recruiter knows the location; indeed often recruitment consultancies will claim to have a presence in a particular city when in fact it is no more than a satellite office with a phone number bouncing you to an office elsewhere. Talk to recruiters and assess how just how well they know the market; they should be able to tell you the ins and outs which are not readily accessible and available in the public domain, and which would only really be known by someone who works in that location.

In a market which still does suffer the legacy of recession there is a world of opportunity out there for candidates who are willing to go the extra mile (or more!) to secure the right move.

To discuss your career goals and plans, including for advice on how your ambitions may be best served in a location outside of your present area, speak to one of our specialist consultants at VG Charles & Co on 0121 233 5000 / 020 7649 9094.

Deal Of A Lifetime

Here’s a great opportunity for you. It’s a chance to invest a considerable chunk of money; let’s say one year’s gross pay.

For that investment you get an annual dividend, which for four out of the last five years has been considerably less than what you have invested. Please take on board that it’s been a difficult economic climate so we can expect your dividend to go up soon....once we’ve paid off all of the loans that we took out to keep afloat. So let’s accept there’s another couple of years before it will be worth having this investment, but stay with me on this.

To get this dividend I should also highlight that you are going to be expected to work at least ten hours per day, basically free of charge to qualify for the annual payout that I referred to earlier which is spread over 12 months. However please also be aware that if we pay you too much over the year having over-calculated the projections then we reserve the right to claw some of this back. Also if the profits are down then we may also ask you to pump additional capital into the business, but we can cover this further at an appropriate time.

In this difficult market you may have to accept that your dividend may be considerably less than the salary paid to the new guy sat across the office two levels lower than you in the hierarchy. In exchange for this you can also expect to be held partly-liable for the firm should the worst happen, liabilities which the new guy doesn’t have to share.

Also the chances of the venture failing are perhaps slightly higher than usual, as the person in charge of running the company has little or no management training although we hope that they will turn out to be a success. As insurance thought we are all going to rely on the brand and marketing efforts of you and the other employees to bring business in.

And if I haven’t sold this opportunity enough I should point out that when you decide to cash in your investment you will not get back a penny more than you put in, even if the value of the firm has grown tenfold in that time.

Interested?

No? Well why not? After all, there’s every chance that I’ve just pitched you the opportunity of equity with your current employer.




From October 2011 the legal profession is facing its biggest shake-up in a generation. The introduction of the so-called ‘Tesco Law’ means that as well as non-lawyers becoming partners there is also the increasing likelihood of firms realigning to incorporate much more of a ‘conventional’ business structure.

Some practices are already mooting the possibility of floating on the stock market, meaning that those partners who hold equity within the firm will essentially change to shareholders. How this will all pan out is open to interpretation, but this will certainly prove to be a useful tool in the short-term in order to recruit new partners at equity level who may wish to speculate with their own careers in terms of making a healthy profit in the short term. Firms which have a model which easily transfers to a ‘sellable’ business or where there is a clear sector focus which can be embraced by a strategic partnership or takeover stand an excellent chance of recruiting top talent in the near future, with a glance at the legal press indicating that a number are already exploiting this.

Not all of this willingness to embrace more business-like structures is new however. A number of firms have for years employed non-lawyers in key strategic roles such as business development and even chief executive posts, recognising that being a lawyer does not make necessarily make you the best person to run a law firm. Indeed, sometimes being brought up in an industry with a three hundred year precedent for ‘how things are done’ is not the best upbringing for dealing with the demands of a modern business, particularly in a market with increasing numbers of firms coming in from different jurisdictions and with different approaches.

Sometimes it takes the eye of an accountant or even a sales manager to be able to look at the workings of a practice and break it down into the simplicity of a balance sheet, identifying areas of profit and loss and also putting forward solutions which may not meet the traditional law firm model in order to maximise these gains. In truth firms have had alternative business structures for some time already:- look at the evidence of those running separate debt recovery arms or those who held an interest in a bulk conveyancing practice during the property boom for evidence of this.

Where the big firms will need to reassess their approach is that those firms out there who are providing legal services in a non-regulated capacity already will be able to come under the Law Society arm as of October. Niche will writers and bespoke commercial drafting firms are already in place and suddenly will become more of a consideration to these larger practices as they start to pitch for work with the promise of regulated work at a fraction of the price. Firms will be left with three choices:- rest on their laurels and pray that their client base remains loyal; differentiate their service level by purely chasing the ‘Big Ticket’ work; or else amend their own business to meet these challengers head-on.

It’s a difficult one to call exactly where change will be seen the most but you can be sure that over the next decade, with increased external investment and increasing numbers of non-lawyers in key partnership positions, that they legal market is likely to look very different to the one we have now.

To discuss your options in the pre-‘Tesco Law’ climate, either as a candidate or as a firm, with a view to how things will progress or chance in October talk to one of our specialist consultants on 0121 233 5000 / 020 7649 9094 or visit our website at www.vgcharles.com.

Last Orders

For George Best it was 28.

For Alexander The Great it was 32, although for him it was rather enforced.

For Richard Branson, it’s 60 and counting.

The point in your career when you decide to consider a change will vary from person to person. Some will have made a number of moves during their career as this is generally recognised as being the fastest way up the ladder, although for others they will remain at the firm that they have trained with and internally work their way up through the ranks before emerging at the top, blinking in the sunlight with a partnership tag tucked under their arm. Of course not everyone can make it this far, but for the few who do it may make it seem worthwhile.

As mentioned in a recent blog (http://vgcharles.blogspot.com/2011/01/have-i-got-old-news-for-you.html) the changes in employment law removing a mandatory retirement age will be viewed with some trepidation within a number of legal practices, quite ironically as most companies will be looking to the same firms for guidance on implementing their own non-discriminatory policies. However, and as again discussed in the same blog, only the passing of time will tell whether or not this genuinely does stop practices tapping partners on the shoulder at a certain age and suggesting that perhaps they are entering the autumn of their time there.

We had an interesting meeting last week with a partner at a large international firm who is currently considering another opportunity through ourselves. Having been offered and declined the chance to apply for equity status four or five years ago they are now at a point where the Big Five-Oh is looming and that decision not to invest has removed a certain amount of engagement from the firm. Five years ago the world was a very different place!

When we are involved in a retained search, or indeed any kind of recruitment, part of the process is discussing why the new opportunity represents a better career move than remaining in the present position. With this individual there was a certain amount of this done for us, as the candidate indicated that they couldn’t predict with any certainty whether they would still be with the firm in three years time anyway. Although enforcing mandatory retirement ages may now be illegal there remains a concern that the legacy of these clauses may impact on the future of partners who are now reaching what was previously a predefined and enforceable barrier.

With people now living longer and consequently being required to work longer the thought that your own destiny could be taken out of your hands is a course of quite considerable concern.

For firms which have always employed the default retirement age this to some extent solves a potential issue, for as long as there is the concern that partners may be forcibly retired then those partners will still always look for a new position from 18-24 months ahead of time. There will be one or two who are well within their rights to sit tight, convinced that they can see things through thanks to the new legislation, and best of luck to them.

However for others the thought of overstaying their welcome will cause some to reach the conclusion that they should either stand down from the partnership or look for pastures new. This is what this particular individual has decided to do, hence the series of meetings which have taken place so far.

There is a sense of the great unknown when partners who have been with a firm for a long period of time decided to dip their toe in the recruitment market. For many the processes will be considerably different than last time they were seeking a new position, with new or emerging firms coming to the fore and replacing some practices which have rested on their laurels and who now appear to be a spent force.

There are also a number of firms which, without necessarily ‘pitching’ themselves as such, seem to have a strong reputation for picking up partners from bigger firms who are seeking to continue handling top quality work yet who don’t feel that there is a future for them with their current employer. These partners then carve out a very successful next chapter in their career, enjoying excellent remuneration for their efforts, and indeed with some receiving a high reward from firms which are aware that not only have they acquired a healthy client following, but that these clients are unlikely to be tempted away from the firm when the said partner does decide to call it a day.

Life begins at 50? Well, it’s just the new 40 isn’t it?

Which was always the new 30.

Which is really just 21 + VAT.

To discuss opportunities in the market for partners at all ages, shapes and sizes call one of our specialist consultants on 0121 233 5000 / 020 7649 9094 or visit our website at www.vgcharles.com.