Legal Recruitment in Cardiff
Cardiff traditionally has been a bit of a backwater when it comes to law. It has essentially suffered from the prominence of Bristol, which has larger sized regional commercial practices undertaking considerable amounts of legal recruitment and paying incomparable salaries. This has meant an exodus of quality solicitors to Bristol from the South Wales areas and for there to be very limited legal recruitment for law firm growth in Cardiff and Swansea.
However, with the advent of the Welsh Assembly Government and their need to ensure that a good proportion of their suppliers are based in Wales and are Welsh, together with the businesses that have expended in Wales off the back of the Welsh Assembly Government, there are now more opportunities in the legal recruitment market place for legal jobs and there has been an expansion in the area of law firms and work being undertaken.
There is also the likelihood that around Cardiff Bay and Central Cardiff new law firms will start to spring up who specialise in Welsh law. There is a strong possibility that the Welsh Assembly will have law making powers very soon and Wales will have its own set of laws and regulations to govern it.
It is likely that when this happens there will be a large increase in the number of solicitors based in Cardiff and Swansea (Abertawe) who will be looking to expand their practices with Welsh speaking lawyers, possibly across West Wales and North Wales as well.
In fact, whilst Cardiff is the capital of Wales and the largest City for legal recruitment and legal jobs, it is likely that if Welsh legislation starts to come out there will be a similar need in Bangor and Caernarfon in the North. This will mean that opportunities will arise for law firms to provide national Welsh coverage.
There are very few pure specialist commercial practices based in Wales, although firms like Leo Abse & Cohen are multi-area specialists. The vast majority of firms are high street practices undertaking LSC funded law including crime, family, immigration plus property work, private client work and personal injury.
Cardiff has become a bit of a call centre operation for a good number of firms and this is the same with legal firms who are very often closely linked with claims management companies and insurance firms.
Just up the road from Cardiff is the Co-op Legal Services operation. They seem to be expanding at a rate of knots and a large number of opportunities will present themselves in the area over time.
For legal recruitment in Cardiff, the South Wales Valleys, Swansea and Newport, please contact Ten Percent Legal Recruitment who are based in Wales in Mold (near Chester) – email cv@ten-percent.co.uk. We are preferred suppliers to a number of Cardiff and South Wales firms.