Magic Circle Salaries
June 9, 2011 by Damian
For anyone heading over to London in the not too distant future, I thought that you would be interested in the following article from Legal Week.
http://www.legalweek.com/legal-week/news/2076615/clifford-chance-announces-pay-rises-city-associates
As you will see, even given the very poor exchange rate, these figures are still pretty mouth watering. (Even more frightening are the salaries on offer in the US firms based in London where you can add up to GBP15-20,000 onto these figures in some instances). Consequently, someone at the three year level at one of these Magic Circle firms can earn a similar wage to a senior associate in a top tier firm here.
That is the good news. The not so good news is that it is still very difficult to secure a role in one of these Magic Circle firms and only those working in a top tier or highly regarded boutique firm will stand any chance of availing themselves of one of these very attractive salaries. However for those of you who can, you literally will be ‘quids in’.
If anyone out there reading this would like to have a conversation with me about the London market, please get in touch now. I would be delighted to assist you.
New Rules For Migrants In The UK
November 26, 2010 by Damian
I have just seen this article in the ALB and thought that it would be worth sharing. It seems like not only are there currently fewer jobs in the UK but the government are making it harder for overseas lawyers to have access to them.
Australia lawyers thinking of heading to the UK in the near future will need to consider their options carefully following changes to the British skilled migration rules. From April next year Australians and other non-European Union nationals wishing to work in the UK under the skilled migrant visa will need to have a job before they can apply. The number of migrants able to apply for a skilled migrant’s visa without a job offer has been cut to 1000 per year and will only apply to people of “exceptional talent”. The tier one general category has been widely used by law firms to bring in new recruits from overseas; law firms will now have to apply under the tier two general category for skilled workers, but will be restricted by the new annual migrant cap of 20,700 per year.
“In recent times some employers have preferred for staff to come on a tier one visa, as they don’t require a sponsorship and the individual is responsible for themself. But that option is no longer available to lawyers. If you are a lawyer, you will now only have the tier two option available,” said Mary Horniblow, manager, private practice and international, Mahlab.
Applicants under tier two are required to apply for a visa from the UK Border Agency through the PBS, will have to be of graduate level, be sponsored by an employer and will be awarded points based on scarcity of skills and salary. “Because they have limited the tier two numbers and severely limited the tier one cap, there will be more competition for skilled migrant visas,” added Horniblow.
The new limit will also affect law firms which swap staff with “best friend” firms in other jurisdictions, but will not affect intra-company transfers where the income of the professional is more than £40,000. However, those professionals are limited to a five-year stay. This may lead to more Australian and New Zeland based lawyers trying to get jobs in UK firms with offices locally, said Horniblow.
Australians who can show British heritage can still apply for ancestry visas, while those under the age of 30 may still apply for working holiday visas. However, those professionals who enter the UK on such a visa will need to re-apply for a skill migrant visa if they intend to stay past their 30th birthday or longer than two years.
Notwithstanding the fact that there is now a limited amount of visas available, this is similar to the system that was in place before the introduction of the Highly Skilled Migrant Visa which did seem to work reasonably well.
However, my view is that although these rule changes are understandable given the current state of the market in the UK and the amount of locally qualified lawyers looking for work, if and when the UK market picks up again and staff become increasingly harder to find, they could be very detrimental to UK firms who rely heavily on recruiting overseas lawyers when they are busy.
When that scenario eventuates, I would not be surprised to see some loosening of these restrictions to allow UK firms to hire good quality overseas lawyers in order for them to function properly. When that will be is the million dollar (or pound) question.
Bad News From The UK
October 27, 2010 by Damian
All of the talk in 2009 was about redundancies. Most of the talk in 2010 was, if not about mass hiring, it was at least about consolidation. The accepted wisdom was that the days of making redundancies were now past. However the news that came out of the UK last week highlights in a very stark way that the dark days have not been consigned to a distant memory just yet.
Here is a summary of an article from this week’s ‘The Lawyer’:
Edinburgh-headquartered McGrigors has launched a redundancy consultation with the aim of cutting 40 jobs across its UK network of offices.
The redundancies are expected to affect fee-earners and support staff and will take place across the real estate, banking, projects and procurement, corporate, and risk advisory practice areas. The redundancy consultation, which began on Monday, is expected to conclude on 1 November.
In a statement a firm spokesperson said: “In May 2009 we announced a series of cost-saving measures which we hoped would allow us to ride out the worst of the downturn, protect jobs and safeguard the long-term health of the business in the event of an economic recovery.
“Unfortunately, over the past 12 months it has become increasingly clear that an immediate recovery is not going to emerge, and that we are instead facing a sustained period of market uncertainty – particularly while the effects of the public sector spending review become clear.
“This is not a matter which has been entered into lightly, and we do so only as a last resort. We’ve always endeavoured to do the right thing by our people and believe that everything possible has been done – such as secondments to clients or other departments, sabbaticals, flexible working, pay freezes – for as long as possible, to avoid this measure.”
McGrigors put in a fairly strong performance in the 2009-10 financial year, with turnover increasing 10 per cent to £69m.
McGrigors last cut jobs in May 2008, when it laid off nine real estate fee-earners (30 May 2008).
What is worrying about this redundancy exercise is that it is affecting not only property but also banking and corporate which are areas that were reportedly getting busier as opposed to contracting. Obviously this round of redundancies could be related to factors specific to McGrigors such as the firm still being over-staffed, poor management decisions or poor performance among other things.
Regardless of the reasons why, it should serve as a timely reminder to all NZ lawyers heading to the UK thinking that things are back to normal, they are not.
The View From London
July 30, 2010 by Damian
In my last blog post, I commented on how important it is from a recruiter’s point of view not to exaggerate the overall health of the job market. Bearing that in mind, after talking to my colleagues in London during the week about what is happening over there, this is hopefully a realistic overview of the London market as it currently stands.
However, before talking about what is happening now, I think that it is helpful to briefly rewind and consider how things stood this time last year. Basically, it was rubbish. Firms were laying dozens of people off, morale within the firms was at rock bottom, the deal flow dried up and the end of the world was nigh. The chances of an overseas lawyer securing a role in London was as likely as Osama being invited around to Barack’s house for a cup of tea and a chin wag.
Now, however, things have changed. Whether it is a change of government, a change in perception or just the summer sun shining, it looks like the woes of late 2008/2009 are gone and have been replaced with a healthy but cautious optimism.
It is certainly true to say that the law firms over there are hiring again. It just takes a casual look at sites like Totally Legal and Seek to see that. What is interesting is that, in addition to the litigation roles that you would expect to see, there are now corporate and finance roles being advertised, along with roles in more niche areas such as IT outsourcing and competition/antitrust.
What is even more interesting is the type of firms who are recruiting. It is not, as you would expect, the Magic Circle behemoths who are out scouting about, it is firms in the mid-tier such as Travers Smith, Macfarlanes and SJ Berwin who are leading the charge. There is good talent around and firms like these are making the most of it.
So, there are jobs, that is not in doubt. So where does this leave the Kiwi lawyer who wants to go over and drink warm beer and watch the 2011 Rubgy World Cup in a packed overpriced Walkabout pub in Shepherd’s Bush? Well, the obvious formula is that the more jobs there are, the better chance of a Kiwi lawyer getting one. At a basic level, that holds true. However, it should not be forgotten that this jobs recovery is still in its infancy and there A LOT of locally qualifieds around applying for these roles.
As such, if you are serious about getting something in London, you have to remove as many barriers as you possibly can. Firms don’t want to interview you via video-conference and pay you relocation costs so the best idea is to go to London and be available to interview face to face. (I realise that takes the huge leap of faith of resigning from your safe and stable NZ job but this post is about getting a job in London and if that’s what you want to do, then resigning and going to London is your best bet).
If you are around the 1-2 year level, the best advice is to stay where you are for another year or so. The most competitive place to be is at the UK newly qualified level so if you can avoid getting involved in that bun fight, then I would recommend that you stay where you are, get another 12 months + experience and make your move then.
For those candidates who have 3 years plus experience, a visa/passport and are in London to interview, it is fair to say that there should be options for you to consider. However, it is still not going to be easy. The days of having multiple interviews have long gone and even if you do manage to get multiple interviews, this does not mean that any of those will translate into a job offer. The reason is that firms are now interviewing more people than they used to. You may be up against 8-10 people in the first round of interviews. That is a lot of competition. You have to be patient and make sure that you are working with reputable recruiters who are looking after you and giving you the best advice possible.
If you want to talk to someone about this, please get in touch with us now. We have contacts with a very reputable agency in London who will be able to present you with a wide range of options in private practice over there.
Around The World (In Just Over 1100 Words)
April 14, 2010 by Damian
Sorry for the delay since my last post but sometimes life gets in the way of blogging and we have to deal with more important things than legal recruitment. However, I am back on board now and think that it is a good time to give an overview of what is happening in the recruitment markets worldwide at present.
I have seen one of my competitors advertising that London law firms are now receptive to approaches by NZ lawyers. After speaking to my colleagues over in London last week, my view is that this is not quite the whole truth. It is the case that more jobs are coming on to the market in London. As a consequence of this, firms will not quite have the same pick of top quality candidates that they have had in the last 12-18 months and as such, they may have to reconsider who may or may not be suitable for their particular roles. As the locally qualified talent pool becomes more diluted, employers will have no choice but to look at overseas qualifieds to fill the gaps.
However, what is outlined above is not the reality just yet. Sure, I have heard anecdotal evidence that NZ lawyers in London are securing interviews. The caveat to that is that they are probably being interviewed along with 6, 8 or even 10 other people. In the candidate v law firm power struggle, the firms still hold all the power. Firms are still being very discerning about who they employ and they are willing to take their time to find the right person. As I write this in April, it is still going to be a rare occurance that that ‘right person’ will be an overseas qualified lawyer.
Don’t get me wrong – the market over there is improving. There is a general consensus that the worst is gone and that it is now time to look at and plan for the future. This forward planning, however, will be cautious and gradual but as it continues to take shape, opportunities for top quality overseas lawyers will come about. It is fair to say that those who are in the UK with their visa status secured will be at the vanguard of this trend. It is also fair to say that the most attractive prospects will be those with 3+ years experience. Candidates with less than that will struggle due to the enormous amounts of locally qualified junior lawyers who have fallen victim to the GFC over the last 12-18 months.
Looking further afield, the bottom has dropped out of the offshore markets completely. A search this morning on Seek for jobs in the Cayman Islands turned up one job and there is not one job being advertised for the Channel Islands. Compared to 2 years ago, this is an astonishing drop off in demand. Judging by what I have heard, it will take a very long time indeed for these markets to pick up from a recruitment point of view. The current economic crisis has fundamentally affected these economies and until these jurisdictions work out what place they now occupy in the economic world, opportunities in these island paradises will be very scarce.
The Middle East seems to be at an interesting juncture at present. It had the most spectacular fall from grace of all as dozens and dozens of lawyers were retrenched or made redundant. The simple fact is that the whole region was massively overlawyered and when the work dried up, there was very little for anyone to do. It is very doubtful that the Middle East region will ever be quite so attractive as it was a few years ago but it is showing some signs of recovery.
Some of the larger firms in the region have started undertaking some major projects and have consequently started to look for staff again. The catch is that they are being absolutely inundated with quality applications. However, if the big firms continue to be busy, it is likely that activity among other firms will start to pick up, thus increasing opportunities for lawyers to come back again. How long this takes is anyone’s guess but I would suggest that we are at least 6-12 months away from there being many options for NZ lawyers in the Middle East.
Which leads us on to Asia – the shining light, it seems. My colleagues in Hong Kong say that the place has gone ‘gangbusters’. A lot of this activity has been in the insolvency/restructuring area but they are starting to receive instructions from firms on the look out for corporate and finance lawyers as well. China is obviously behind a lot of this activity and opportunities are opening up in China and surrounding regions as well as in HK.
With every bit of positive news comes the sobering news. Yes, there are positions in Asia but employers are now looking foremost at people with language skills or some ties to the region. It is not to say that it is impossible without either of these but it does make life a lot harder if you don’t speak the lingo or have a particular reason to want to move there.
Finally, to our good friends across the Tasman. The media has painted the picture that Australia is in great shape and is back to normal. Having spoken to people over there, it seems, again, that this is not quite the case. The economy is improving but this has not translated into large numbers of new jobs yet. Yes, firms are starting to recruit again but as in the UK, they are being overwhelmed by the amount of quality applications and are in no rush at all to fill the roles. Locally qualified lawyers are still the most attractive so, even though NZ lawyers can practice over there, Australian employers will still favour Australian lawyers if given the choice.
So, where does all of that leave the NZ lawyer desperate to head offshore? Well in summary, the legal recruitment world is in better shape than it has been since mid 2008. Confidence in the future is up and firms are generally making positive noises about increasing headcount in the coming months. However, at present, competition is fierce, employers are still in control and locally qualifieds still are the most attractive option.
If you can hang on for another 4-6 months, I think that you probably should. However, if you can’t stand it any more and you just have to move, then my advice is to be flexible as to what you will look at, be patient as the process will take a long time and when given the opportunity to attend interviews, make sure that you perform to the best of your ability.
I look forward to looking back (if you know what I mean) at this post at the end of 2010 and comparing how things are like then to what they are like now. It will be an interesting comparison!!!
UK/NZ Law Firm Mergers
June 30, 2009 by Damian
The big news this week in the legal world is the merger between UK heavyweights Norton Rose and the mid-tier Australian firm, Deacons – http://www.thelawyer.com/norton-rose-signs-tie-up-with-australias-deacons/1001147.article.
It is the first merger between a major UK law firm and a significant player in the Australian market and has provoked a lot of intense debate on websites such as The Lawyer and Legal Week, some of which has been very insightful, some of it being just downright xenophobic.
The rationale behind the merger seems to be a desire to shore up both firm’s practices in the Asian market. Only time will tell if it is successful or not but as more than one contributor to the debate has pointed out, it will definitely increase the amount of top quality Australian lawyers wanting to join Deacons as people see the inevitable secondment opportunities that the merger will bring to lawyers within the firm.
The merger has got me thinking about the possibility of a UK/NZ merger. I have never heard any talk of it, probably because the UK firms cannot see any upside to it but if it did happen, how about these potential merger partners?
If Slaughter & May merged with Russell McVeagh, the firm could be called Slaughter & McVeagh.
If Simmons & Simmons merged with Simpson Grierson, the firm could easily be called Simpson & Simmons.
Similarly, Olswang and Kensington Swan could be Olswan and AJ Park and SJ Berwin could be AJ Berwin.
It is doubtful that any of these fanciful mergers will ever happen but I am sure that the leading lights in the NZ firms, as well as the Australian firms, will be looking at the Norton Rose/Deacons merger to see how successful or not it turns out to be.