Reading Time: 3 minutesCandidate Shortages in Wills & Probate and Conveyancing – myths and legends As I write this brief article, I can reflect that I could probably have written the same article in any year between 2011 and 2017. In fact if you are reading this in 20 years’ time, and Donald Trump hasn’t ended the world…
Reading Time: 3 minutesAsk a Recruitment Consultant – questions this month on our chat bot Questions sent to us via our new Chat service online, together with general career questions emailed across. We do our best to answer all queries, sometimes after a fairly lengthy delay if we are busy! Why is there a shortage of private client…
Reading Time: 3 minutesEtiquette Guide for Locums Occasionally we get queries from law firms and locums as to what constitutes good practice by a locum when on assignment. Here are our answers to recent queries: Should locums take phone calls during the day from their own clients? No definitely not. Why would they? They are paid by the…
Reading Time: 3 minutesIf you have a third class law degree, is it the end of your career? Hi, I am writing to seek some advice with regards to my current career situation. I have achieved 3 A-Levels at BBC. I have completed my LLB Law degree but achieved a third due to unforeseen and unfortunate personal and…
Reading Time: 3 minutesCV Review for a Newcastle University Law Graduate Name, address, mobile (with international prefix) and email address Linked In website link Nationality: British The first thing to point out is the reference to an international prefix for the mobile. Does this mean you are based overseas or looking overseas? In either event are you…
Reading Time: 2 minutesWhat is a QBE lawyer? The term QBE comes from the financial sector and is increasingly applied to lawyers as well. A number of conveyancers are QBE and so are in house Counsel. It is rare for anyone to practice in law without at least an LLB or LLM, but they do exist, particularly in…
Reading Time: 4 minutesShould I Stay or Should I Go? In April every year we are regularly contacted by newly qualified and 1 year PQE (post-qualification experience) solicitors who ask the following questions: 1. Should I stay with my training law firm for at least 2 years when I qualify? 2. How much should I get paid? 3.…
Reading Time: 2 minutesHourly Rates of Pay for Locum Solicitors and Legal Executives – March 2017 We have noticed a change in locum rates for conveyancing and I suspect this is a general adjustment in the market. Although locum hourly rate payment vary widely according to the demand, length of assignment, level of experience and advance notice available,…
Reading Time: 3 minutesTop Quality Summary Sections/Personal Statements on CVs The summary at the top of a CV is one of the key areas of a CV that so often gets ignored by candidates or filled with meaningless waffle. A good number of CVs we see every day actually miss them off completely, which is an opportunity missed…
Reading Time: 7 minutesLocums – what to do if a business doesn’t pay Interim Lawyers and Ten Percent Legal specialise in the introduction of locum solicitors to cover assignments at private practice law firms and we are well versed with the problem of consultants not getting paid (it happens to us as well from time to time!). Most…
Reading Time: 2 minutesUsing Logos and Images on CVs Recently we have seen a spate of CVs containing logos and images for employers worked for in the past. Fresh, Bright CVs The CVs look very fresh and bright, and the logos really make them stand out. Surely a win-win situation for everyone? You get your CV to stand…
Reading Time: 3 minutesI want to do Sports Law in a solicitors firm We get a number of enquiries from students and graduates which go something like: “Hello, I want to be a sports lawyer, have you got anything?” or “hi – I’ve done a bit of family law but find it boring. I want to be a…
Reading Time: 3 minutesWhat does a Media Lawyer do? When I grow up I want to be a media lawyer and go round slapping injunctions on people. It sounds sooo exciting! Hmm. OK – so you want to be a media solicitor but what does one do in practice? If you need to read this article, one thing…
Reading Time: < 1 minuteFor our full advice on in house legal jobs and moving in house from private practice (and vice versa) please visit our In House page by clicking https://ten-percent.co.uk/in-house-lawyers/ The advice sheet includes the following: How easy is it to move from a solicitors’ firm to an in house legal department? Can anyone do it? Is…
Reading Time: 6 minutesWhen I grow up I want to be a human rights lawyer (and marry George Clooney) We’ve been meaning to write this article for ages and I was only jogged into action by a long train journey and a recent spate of enquiries! So many teenagers and young adults have the idea that they want…
Reading Time: 2 minutesMaking a Job Offer and matching current salary – a good idea? A candidate looks to make a move and we send them over details of vacancies. The candidate applies for a vacancy and we send a CV across to a firm, indicating current salary levels. We go through the recruitment process – interview, discussions,…
Reading Time: 2 minutesA law graduate (and businessman) has recently been in touch to ask the following question: “What areas of law will be busy over the next 5-20 years in the light of trends such as Alternative Business Structures, Artificial Intelligence, etc.?” The following advice is probably about as accurate as a prediction from a clairvoyant, but…
Reading Time: 13 minutesThe LAA have very kindly published the 2017 Standard Crime Contract on the internet, which means it is possible to see exactly what the specifications are for the employed status of duty solicitors and also any restrictions on crime supervisors. Please see the extract in bold regarding ghost duty solicitors and also the new requirements…
Reading Time: 3 minutesRelocation – top 10 tips Relocation is a stressful and difficult thing to do (apparently a lot of Americans are going to be doing this shortly – I wouldn’t like to be working for the Canadian immigration authorities right now!). Having been involved on numerous occasions with lawyers who have had to do it –…
Reading Time: 2 minutesDo General Practice Solicitors still exist? At one time general practice solicitors (ie a solicitor who is able to work in a number of different areas of law) were scorned and firms avoided recruiting them. Times have changed and they are back in demand. So do they still exist? Yes, in a nutshell, but they…
Reading Time: 2 minutesAre CVs obsolete thanks to the Internet? We recently attended a recruitment agency trade fair where numerous salesmen attempted to flog us video CVs and online pre-interview software and a number of speakers told us that CVs were no longer necessary. In the digital world it is so easy to find out about someone –…
Reading Time: 2 minutesGood Work/Life Balances and the Legal Profession – are they compatible? I recently noticed an article online by one of our competitors (Douglas Scott) about work/life balances in the legal profession and how average hours worked have dropped dramatically since 2014. There is talk of agile working conditions, hot desks, plus Magic Circle firm Clifford…
Reading Time: 2 minutesLocum Dilemna – what do I do if a firm cancels an assignment at short notice? For a full detailed list of FAQs on locums and a guide on how to be an successful locum please visit www.interimlawyers.co.uk “Hi Jonathan. I was booked back in February for a conveyancing role to last for a week…
Reading Time: 3 minutesMaking a Move – how to know when it is time The autumn is traditionally a time when a number of staff at law firms start to look around for work. Our candidate registrations tend to pick up at this time of year as solicitors return from their summer holidays having had time to think…
Reading Time: 3 minutesLocums – avoiding bad firms and bad locums Ten-Percent Legal Recruitment handles both permanent and locum vacancies. We assist with locum assignments via our website www.interimlawyers.co.uk. Every locum we arrange work for is checked out and we get proof of ID, proof of residence, copies of practising certificates and attempt to get two references on…
Reading Time: 4 minutesWe had a request in for legal careers advice from an LPC graduate who has been offered a training contract in a smaller sized law firm somewhere in the UK who do a lot of family law (plus other areas). His questions are as follows: I am unsure whether to take the training contract or…
Reading Time: 3 minutesNewly Qualified Solicitors – 10 tips on recruitment It is the time of year when NQ solicitors start to wonder what they need to do to find work on qualification if they do not remain with their existing firm. Here is our brief guide – you can read the full article at https://ten-percent.co.uk/newly-qualified-solicitors/ 1. As…
Reading Time: 2 minutesSalary reviews – how not to approach them – a guide for employers/partners Here are our top tips for salary reviews and avoiding any increases in salary. 1. Repeatedly postpone or cancel the salary review for up to 6 months. Top tip. 2. During the salary review continue to work whilst occasionally glancing up and…
Reading Time: 2 minutesAdvertising – just because everyone else does. Surely they can’t all be wrong? We have spent the last year advertising on a job board specialising in the legal sector. I don’t want to name them as that is not the purpose of this article, but they are totally immersed in the legal sector if that…
Reading Time: 4 minutesNew Permanent Fee Earner Candidates 23051346 Residential Conveyancing Solicitor with 10 years PQE looking in Ipswich and surrounds for work. 25723 Sept 2016 qualified solicitor looking for a wills & probate posts in Bucks, Oxon and Bedfordshire. 25050833 Wills & Probate Solicitor available for locum and permanent work around London. 25741 Legal consultant specialising in…