Entrepreneurial Assistants/Associates 3+
Division: Private Practice
Categories:
Financial Services, Islamic, Private Banking/Wealth Management, Property, Retail, Securities, Structured Finance, Syndicated Lending, US Securities/M&A, Capital Markets, Debt Capital Markets, Equity Capital Markets, Charities, Clinical/Medical Negligence, Company/Commercial, Compliance, Corporate, Joint Venture, Mergers & Acquisitions, Private Equity, Restructuring, Venture Capital, Costs Drafting, Crime, Cross-Border, Data Protection, Derivatives, Credit, Equity Derivatives, Exotics/Hybrids, FX/IR, Emerging Markets
Location: UK (London) , UK (Non-London) , UK (Non-London)
PQE Level: 4-6 , 7-10
Reference: 8408b/KP
Consultant: Krupa Patel
The legal market was at its peak in 2007 – law firms enjoyed high profits and a consistent flow of work, and profitability of law firms rocketed to all-time highs. Business development and marketing took a back seat for many lawyers as each hour was spent servicing work and clocking up chargeable hours. Many candidates will remember when they could find themselves easily holding multiple offers and this was a pattern across a range of practice areas such as corporate, property, finance, employment etc.
How times have changed! The credit crisis and economic downturn have created a new environment where demand for lawyers has waned and those firms that are hiring are spoilt for choice due to the high volume of candidates available. Firms still hiring are also raising the bar in terms of their expectations of assistants and associates and no longer will skill set alone be enough to secure an offer. Firms are looking for candidates with top-notch skill-sets, but they are seeking additional qualities; drive, gravitas, acute commercial acumen and the ability to develop strong business relationships are now essential, rather than desirable, qualities to be found in an associate. Associates need to know how to market their skills and their firm's selling-points, including cross-selling to clients.
You may be one of those who has previously sought a new position but were overlooked, left frustrated by the market and/or unable to secure a package reflecting your true worth. At LPA, we are aware of this change in demand as a result of detailed communication with clients and recent placements. We have placed a number of associates in recent weeks and, through our in-depth interviewing techniques we have established key selling points for each of the candidates, which in some cases the candidates did not realise they had. This process, developed originally for our partner candidates and which we now apply across the board for private practice candidates, has made the difference in securing candidates positions which they may well not otherwise have secured.
This is an excellent time to take advantage of the recent market trend and utilise/develop business connections. If you are convinced that you are a candidate with more to offer than a pure skill set then you could be missing out on some serious opportunities.
You could benefit from our advice which includes assisting in the preparation of assistant/associate business plans detailing and focusing on your key selling points which often fail to come out in a standard CV.
For further information or if you would like an informal discussion about your career and prospects, please call:
Krupa Patel on 020 7269 0661 (krupa.patel@lpalegal.com) or Anil Shah 020 7269 6804 (anil.shah@lpalegal.com).
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