The U.K. legal sector is going through a period of change as it recovers from the disruption caused by the Coronavirus.

It is one industry that was significantly affected by the pandemic, as initial restrictions caused property, conveyancing, and family law to come to a standstill.

Initially, there was a concern that the legal sector was going to take considerable time to recover; in reality, the opposite has happened.

At the start of the pandemic, it was feared that legal roles in the housing sector were under threat, but in a surprising U-turn, July 2020 was the busiest month for property in a decade.

With such an unpredictable few months ahead of us, what legal employers must focus on now is ensuring they’ve got the right talent in place for critical roles.

Despite the pandemic, growth in the sector has been constant. This has created several recruiting problems for employers.

Today, we look at the current recruiting problems legal employers are facing and what they can do to overcome them.

The Current Recruitment Process is Not Sustainable

Legal employers looking to recruit now are discovering an increased number of candidates applying for each role.

This Independent article states that the job which received the most applicants on a well-known CV site last month was a paralegal role, which attracted 4,228 applicants.

Having this number of candidates to sift through is not a sustainable recruitment method – let me explain why.

Your options are limited when you have so many applicants for a single position – how can you make a truly informed recruiting decision without looking through every single application? But if you don’t look through each application, you could be missing out on the best candidate.

It’s a catch-22 situation.

If you don’t have a dedicated H.R. or internal recruitment department, which many legal firms don’t, especially in the wake of Covid, time spent recruiting is time spent not focusing on your regular tasks and your firm’s billings.

The average recruitment process in the U.K. takes 28 days – that’s almost a month spent on recruiting. And with added Covid challenges such as some firms conducting interviews via video, or social distancing making the process longer, it is currently an even more time-consuming task for employers.

As you can see, any legal employer looking to recruit in-house right now are faced with numerous challenges.

And with a sea of candidates all with different backgrounds and motivations – it takes some delicate interpersonal skills to assess if each one would be ‘right’ for your firm.

Finding the ‘Right’ Legal Candidate Instead of the ‘Right Now’ Candidate

Despite the recent success and resilience in the post-Covid legal sector, the pandemic’s disruption has unsettled people in terms of their lives and their careers.

There has been a lot of movement in the job market, both out of necessity and out of choice.

When you post a legal job and get many great applicants, there is no way of knowing what their future plans might be.

Most candidates will tell you that they plan to stay at your company for a long time, but this is not necessarily the truth.

Legal employees who believe their jobs might be under threat are looking to safeguard themselves; speculatively applying for new roles that they think are ‘safer’.

Only a few months ago, conveyancing came to a standstill, and there was talk of legal firms reducing their property departments in line with what was predicted to be a slowing down on the housing market – paradoxically, these jobs are in more demand than ever. So it’s hard to predict where legal candidates are focusing their career aspirations, due to the unprecedented way the sector is changing.

A specialist recruiter will ascertain what a candidate’s honest career plans are. This way they will only match candidates to roles which suit them for the long-term.

When you recruit in-house, you must take each candidate on face value.

You run the risk of hiring a great candidate only to have them leave shortly afterwards for a different role. The cost of this happening is estimated to be in the thousands.

Let’s look in more detail at the ‘true’ cost of hiring.

How Much Does the ‘Wrong’ Hire Cost?

A recent study by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation found that 85% of H.R. decision-makers stated that their company had hired someone who wasn’t right for the job.

The truth is that making the wrong legal hire can cost three times the cost of the individual’s salary; for a legal role with a salary of £42,000, this could be up to £132,000.

It can be, at first, difficult to understand why hiring the wrong individual can cost your business so much because the real cost is hidden.

As a busy business owner, it is impossible to see day-to-day how the true cost of the wrong hire can be impacting your business.

Here are some of the ways the cost of a bad hire stacks up.

• Paying to re-advertise the job.
• The time spent assessing C.V.s and conducting interviews; it is always longer than you think.
• The cost of training a new hire – even internal training costs in time (and thus, revenue).
• It can take up to half a year for a new employee to settle into their role and start adding to your bottom line – this is not something you want to have to do twice in a year.
• If you can’t find the right hire for several weeks or months, members of your current team will be covering extra duties, watering down the value they would usually be adding in their role.
• Employing someone who doesn’t fit in with your firm’s culture can cause H.R. issues between employees and can cause demotivation in your current team, which again will impact morale, productivity and consequently, revenue.
• If you make the ‘wrong’ hire, but they stay with your firm for several months, they can become disengaged; disengaged employees are thought to cost the U.K. between £52-£70 billion per year in lost productivity.

There is so much to think about when making a recruiting decision for your legal firm, and as you can see, there are plenty of circumstances where making the wrong hire can be incredibly costly for your business too.

But sometimes, the pressure of having a vacancy can lead legal employers to make a hire they suspect are not exactly right for the job, but they feel employing this individual is their only option.

Thankfully, there is another option – working with a legal recruiter for a fee which is much lower than the cost of making the ‘wrong’ hire – to recruit the right individual the first time around.

Working with a Legal Recruiter

Recruiting your next legal employee is about much more than sorting through C.V.s and conducting interviews.

We are currently in the most business-critical period in a generation, your hiring decisions and the dynamics of your team have never been more important. You must make the right hire, and thankfully the legal candidate market is buoyant right now.

We can help you hone your recruitment process and find the perfect candidate for the needs of your legal firm.

Get in touch with us here with the details of your legal vacancy, and we will get back to you with information about the ‘right’ candidates.

How Can We Help?

Here at Clayton Legal, we have multiple clients looking for skilled and ambitious candidates like you. For a confidential conversation about your legal career goals and your next move, please get in contact with one of our team here.

About Clayton Legal

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999 and has built up an enviable reputation for trust and reliability during that time. We have made over 5,000 placements from Partners to Legal Executives, Solicitors to Paralegals and Legal I.T. personnel to Practice Managers. If you are building your legal team or looking for your next career move, we can help. Call us on 01772 259 121 or email us here.

There’s no escaping the fact that we are living in a post-pandemic world, and the impact this could have on your legal career aspirations.

While some parts of life are slowly returning to normal, other areas have changed forever.

The government have borrowed an unprecedented £400bn to tackle the predicted recession, as some sectors struggle to retain jobs.

But in the legal sector, the picture is different.

With the industry faring well, many legal jobs are secure, as many roles in this sector exist to offset the challenges brought about by periods of economic downturn. After the fallout of a recession, businesses need lawyers with the right skills to help them pick up the pieces.

As more and more data is coming out of our sector on where the opportunities are arising, I thought I would update the blog with the latest information on where the jobs will be as we move forward.

First, let’s take a look at where we were in terms of jobs in the legal sector pre-Covid.

The UK’s Legal Skills Shortage

I have written about the skills shortage on this blog before, but it is still a pertinent problem in the UK legal sector. The skills gap has increased since I last wrote about this topic a couple of years ago.

There will be a predicted four per cent decline in lawyers in the UK by 2027 as AI threatens roles. The number of entrants into the profession is failing to keep up with demand, according to a report published last year.

So, considering this, what does the skills shortage mean for you as a legal candidate? It means that now is the time to take advantage of the many career prospects in the sector. Let’s take a closer look at where these prospects lie.

How Has the Pandemic Affected Jobs and the Economy?

Of course, the financial implications of Covid-19 are yet unknown, being unlike anything we have seen before, but economists have not been able to ignore echoes of the 2008 recession.

The fact remains that this recession is different.

Legislation brought in by the government to stop the spread of coronavirus forced the fiscal cogs to stop turning; they didn’t grind to halt of their own accord due to a weak economic environment.

Jobs in the legal sector have not been as severely affected as in other industries; there has been displacement rather than blanket reduction. Firms with a range of different specialisms are looking to refocus and reorder their teams, with some specialisms shrinking, and others increasing to meet market demand.

So where are we seeing the opportunities arising?

Post-Pandemic Litigation

The biggest risk factor for businesses now in the aftermath of Covid-19 is the increased numbers of companies unable or unwilling to fulfil contracts. This has created an increased need for lawyers with the right skills and experience in dispute and litigation; we already see increased opportunities in the rise in these types of vacancies.

Pre-Covid, legal contracts were protected by force majeure clauses, which protected either parties’ obligations and liability in the event of unusual interruptions. If these clauses are not in place, it can be the case that legal contracts are not fulfilled – increasing the demand for both litigation and dispute lawyers.

Supply chain is one area that has been particularly affected by the exceptional circumstances brought about by Covid-19. In March, a study by the Institute For Supply Chain Management found that nearly 75 per cent of all companies surveyed reported supply chain disruptions in one form or another. It will perhaps be many months before the full extent of the failure of contracts is unearthed, and therefore plenty of opportunities for dispute and litigation lawyers to be employed in resolving these issues.

In April, there was a 40% drop in legal vacancies on the yearly average. However, the drop in litigation and dispute resolution was only 32%, showing that demand for these skills remains higher than in other areas of law.

Looking Forward: Post-Pandemic and Brexit Implications

As the UK legal sector is proving to be in a strong position for growth and job opportunities as we move forwards, not even Brexit uncertainty which was affecting plenty of other industries seems to be able to halt the growth.

Brexit fell off the radar in recent months as the pandemic dominated the headlines. Still, as the December deadline approaches, businesses are now focusing on how the UK’s departure from the EU will impact them.

But confidence in the UK legal sector has remained high throughout, with many firms pre-Covid looking to replace overseas leavers and strengthen their teams with the best talent that will take them past the Brexit deadline.

Job Opportunities for Legal Employees

Just because 2020 was put on hold by the pandemic, this does not mean that legal career opportunities have been similarly affected.

Commercial and civil litigation have been almost unaffected by the pandemic, as well as dispute resolution, all of which have experienced virtually no change in opportunities. The main area which we have seen a negative impact is of course, in property law, but a mini-boom in house prices could be the first indication that vacancies in these areas will shortly be back to the yearly average.

At Clayton Legal, we have a wide range of opportunities for legal employees; we can start working with you on your next career move today.

Click here to view our current vacancies or get in touch with us here to have a discussion about the next steps in your legal career with one of our career experts.

About Clayton Legal

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999 and during that time has built up an enviable reputation for trust and reliability. We have made over 5,000 placements from partners to legal executives, solicitors to paralegals and legal IT personnel to practice managers.

If you are building your legal team or looking for your next career move, we can help.  Call us on 01772 259 121 or email us here.

If you would like to know more about recruiting trends in the legal sector this year, download our latest guide here.

Business disruption is something that was once a little-discussed clause in contracts and insurance documents; now, it has become the main focus of legal matters in the UK since the pandemic.

As businesses acted quickly to protect their assets after the first ripples of the disruption caused by the pandemic, this has now given way to a recovery stage, in which we now find ourselves.

The challenges businesses are facing right now as a result of the pandemic can be narrowed down to a few areas. It is these areas where legal firms will need to focus their efforts to take advantage of the fluctuating workloads, and adapting to clients’ needs to cement a trusted business partnership.

Today we look at the picture that is emerging from the legal sector; where firms are struggling to meet demand, and which areas are still on hold due to the pandemic.

First let’s look at the main challenges facing businesses right now, which is impacting on the legal sector.

Pandemic Problems

Many businesses, as I’m sure you’re aware, have had to suspend or heavily restrict their operations.

Even now, four months after the start of lockdown in the UK, estate agents are nowhere near back to normal in terms of sales and lettings, with social distancing proving a problem for showing prospective customers around properties.

Other businesses are facing cashflow problems, struggles with contractual obligations and having to look at restructuring. We already see an increase in litigation in certain areas, as the full effects of Covid-19 on businesses come to light.

We are also observing an increase in legal cases being brought against the government, for their reaction to Covid-19. For example, the Independent Workers Union are suing the government for ‘failure to provide Covid-19 support for precarious workers’, and a number of cases involving individuals bringing legal action due to deaths from Covid.

We can expect to see a host of precedents being set in the legal cases emerging from the unique pandemic situation.

New Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill

Despite efforts by the UK government to protect businesses from going under, the picture that is emerging is that sadly, there will be some businesses that do not survive the pandemic.

Businesses who have failed to make it through the recent troubling time will now be seeking help with insolvency and all associated legislation.

To help businesses with their unexpected closures, there is a new Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill which came into effect on 26th June 2020.

The measures in this act aim to relieve the burden on businesses during the coronavirus pandemic and allow them to focus their efforts on continuing to operate during a period of insolvency, to take urgent steps to restructure, seek new investment or evade immediate creditor action.

Virus-Related Litigation

Once businesses have made headway in deciding where they stand on contracts that were created pre-Covid, we can expect that there will be a wave of litigation to ensure the same thing doesn’t happen again.

Insurance companies are currently locked in a battle with their clients in the aftermath of Covid over what constituted ‘business interruption’ as many contracts didn’t explicitly mention government-imposed closures. Clients believed that this should have been covered, insurers stated otherwise.

The Financial Conduct Authority has started proceedings with eight insurers and 17 of their clients over the wording of their insurance policies. Many companies have been unable to claim in some cases tens of thousands of pounds over the dispute of whether the government-induced lockdown was covered in their policies – highlighting the importance of wording in legally binding contracts.

Does the wording of your contracts need looking at to ensure they are pandemic-proof?

When Temporary Housing Laws Expire

The unprecedented mortgage holidays and blocks on tenancy evictions are shortly to come to an end, which will increase activity in property legislation which has been stagnant since the UK lockdown was imposed.

Real Estate Litigation vacancies fell by 53% in April. Still, with mortgage holidays ending in October and rent evictions frozen until the end of August, we can expect to see a sharp increase in these areas as the full effects of Covid are exposed.

Recent data found that 13% of renters have fallen behind with their payments, compared to around 4% before the pandemic. This means a potential increase in rent evictions of up to a third.

As courts are still operating in a socially-distanced way, court cases can expect to take longer, as the waiting time for court dates is prolonged. As this is the case in other areas of law, we can expect drawn-out proceedings for the time being. Perhaps once courtrooms return to normal, the legal sector will be over the worst of its disruptions and things can carry on in relative ‘normality’.

Planning and Restructuring

Looking at the direction in which the legal sector is going, is it time to look at where you need to make changes to your legal practice?

If so, we can help.

We are currently working with law firms in the North West to help them secure the best talent to ensure their practice can offer what the market is looking for.

Restructuring is going to be vital for firms as businesses everywhere look to salvage jobs and avoid another deep recession.

If you’re looking for insolvency or dispute and litigation experts, get in touch with us today. We will put you in touch with the best available talent right now, to future proof your practice.

About Clayton Legal

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999 and during that time has built up an enviable reputation for trust and reliability. We have made over 5,000 placements from partners to legal executives, solicitors to paralegals and legal IT personnel to practice managers.

If you are building your legal team or looking for your next career move, we can help.  Call us on 01772 259 121 or email us here.

If you would like to know more about recruiting trends in the legal sector this year, download our latest guide here.

As we enter into a post-pandemic world, you might be thinking about what this means for the future of your legal career.

In uncertain economic times, it can be more challenging for candidates to locate the same great career opportunities, especially if navigating the recruiting landscape alone.

Many legal employees don’t realise the range of recruitment services out there; others aren’t aware of the advantages of working with a dedicated legal recruiter to find their next role.

If you’re a legal employee currently thinking ‘what next?’, today I want to share how working with a dedicated recruiter, rather than a general recruitment agency, will be the key to unlocking legal career opportunities you didn’t know were possible.

CV Preparation

A lot of job seekers think that working with a recruitment agency means sending your CV, which then may or may not be sent out to employers with current vacancies. While this might be the case for certain recruitment agencies, a dedicated legal recruitment consultancy will be able to provide you with bespoke CV amendments, free of charge before we even consider sending your CV onto the right company for you.

Your CV is your best tool in securing a new role, but the truth is that many CVs that get sent to recruiters need amending if they are going to communicate how good you are.

As recruiters, we work with countless legal CV every day, so we know the type of CVs which get attention from employers, as opposed to the ones which are less likely to make an impact.

Using this knowledge, we can work with you to help tailor your CV to specific roles and specific employers you are hoping to target – we can improve your CV to give you a better chance of landing your new role, and all without a charge attached.

Flexible Legal Roles to Fit: Locum Positions

Covid-19 has changed the way we live and work.

The UK furlough scheme has proved successful in protecting jobs, and we are yet to see confirmation of any lasting significant economic downturn.

But this does not mean job roles and working arrangements will not be altered. We have already experienced an increased number of the workforce working from home, or on reduced contracts, and the introduction of job sharing.

We specialise in finding legal candidates roles that suit their current situation. That could be a part-time role to fit around your newly changed schedule (to account for a partner now working from home) or locum positions for individuals who have unfortunately been made redundant.

We understand that the pandemic has caused a lot of uncertainty in some fields of the legal landscape, which is potentially affecting careers in these areas. We are here to help find you the legal role that you need right now, which will help you with your wider career goals.

Unlocking Hidden Opportunities

Using a legal recruiter to find your next role will open opportunities that you would otherwise not be able to access.

It is a fact of recruitment that 80% of jobs are not advertised.

The legal network in the North West is tight-knit, and with over 20 years of experience in this sector, we can provide opportunities for legal candidates that they wouldn’t otherwise have the chance to be considered for.

Your recruitment journey with Clayton Legal starts when you tell us about your career aspirations. We can then use our extensive network to identify where the opportunities are for you, we then make these enquiries for you and put you in touch with the right people, arranging interviews and helping you prepare.

Our goal is to find you the ideal role using our industry connections – we provide career consultancy, as opposed to recruitment ‘agencies’ who just send volumes of CVs out to multiple firms.

Which leads me onto our free legal career consultancy service, and how it will benefit you.

Legal Career Consultancy – For Free

There is an increasing number of recruitment companies in the UK who claim to all do the same thing – this can be overwhelming for candidates, and quite frankly it isn’t true.

As a legal candidate, it is essential to differentiate between a recruitment agency versus a recruitment consultancy. And in addition the level of expertise and experience they have in the legal sector.

The critical difference is that a consultancy will provide you with a far more complete, tailored service.

Using a recruitment consultancy local to your area is also a pivotal point to consider. Some agencies recruit locally, but they do not have an in-depth knowledge of key localised legal firms. Making a career decision without a full understanding of the sector can negatively affect your career plans. If you act without true expert advice, you might not realise this until it is too late.

And considering that both agencies and consultancies are free, why wouldn’t you choose to use a complete, customised service?

Next Steps?

Choosing which recruitment company to work with should be a highly personal decision, and you should only work with a legal recruiting partner who you are confident will deliver you an excellent service, with the highest level of communication and customer care.

To find out what our legal recruitment process entails, and how we can help find you the legal role you’re looking for right now, get in touch with us on 01772 259 121, or contact us here.

About Clayton Legal

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999 and during that time has built up an enviable reputation for trust and reliability. We have made over 5,000 placements from partners to legal executives, solicitors to paralegals and legal IT personnel to practice managers.

If you are building your legal team or looking for your next career move, we can help.  Call us on 01772 259 121 or email us here.

If you would like to know more about recruiting trends in the legal sector this year, download our latest guide here.

Despite the recent upheaval, the UK legal sector is faring well in comparison to the economy as a whole.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that revenue in the sector only fell by 4.7% from March to April, compared with the 20% the rest of the economy has suffered.

This is welcome news in a period which has been hounded by a degree of anxiety and uncertainty.

This ‘surprisingly positive’ news indicates that UK law firms will not have to fully employ temporary working measures to the degree that was predicted during the worst of the lockdown. Many firms are managing better than they expected, and they are now bringing staff back from furlough and redundancies have not been needed.

We still have a while to go before the full extent of the impact of Covid-19 is realised, but these figures are representative of a tentative optimism emerging in some industries, including the legal sector.

There will, of course, be some changes to the way law firms operate in the UK, which will impact teams, revenue, and entire organisations. But where there are losers, there must also be winners – today we look at where the challenges and opportunities are starting to emerge in our sector.

Residential Property

Despite most specialisms coping well with the recent upheaval, the most affected area is property law. The unprecedented ban on house moves which was in place during the lockdown slowed this specialism to an almost standstill.

But the pandemic didn’t stop people from wanting to move house – those customers still exist. It is about finding a way to help these individuals, to keep in contact with prospective buyers about where they are with deposits, mortgages and selling their current homes.

Likewise, the government imposed restrictions on evictions due to missed rent payments due to Covid-19, but this protection for tenants ends in September. From then, we can expect to see an increase in all aspects of property law, especially surrounding evictions and tenancy disputes. The unfortunate consequences of Covid-19 are yet to be realised for many individuals who will sadly have to make alternative living arrangements, both renters and homeowners will feel the impact as the year progresses.

Commercial Property

The commercial property sector is also in a state of uncertainty, with months of closed shops, retailers are struggling to pay rents for the quarter. One estimate suggests that only around 15 per cent of retailers are in a position to pay commercial landlords after almost three months with no income.

And this problem is not confined to smaller businesses. Retail giant Intu, who owns the Trafford Centre, have warned they might have to close malls if they cannot reach an agreement with lenders.

As the commercial rent situation threatens to become a problem, the British Property Federation has advised any businesses unable to pay their quarterly rent to speak to their landlord as soon as possible.

Similar to residential property, the next few months are going to be pivotal for commercial property contracts, with the closure of businesses, evictions and sales a distinct possibility. After the current ‘dry period’, in the next few months we will see a significant increase in the need for commercial property legal services.

Merger and Acquisition

One area which has seen an increase which we can expect to continue is in merger and acquisition.

Global law firm White & Case recently published results of their M&A survey, which found that 86 per cent of firms expect an increase in this area. The findings revealed that 50 per cent of dealmakers said they plan to ‘lean in’ to any downturn.

Traditional bankruptcy, restructuring, and cases relating to sovereign debt are expected to rise in the coming months.

How the Industry is Bouncing Back

The ONS figures I mentioned earlier, while not representative of every UK law firm, indicate a promising future ahead.

The unexpected positive figures mean that many law firms can bring employees back from furlough earlier than expected, and will reduce the fear of redundancy worries.

Because of the speed with which the pandemic hit, there was initial concern over reductions across all legal specialisms, potentially resulting in many redundancies.

But the legal sector’s worst fears appear not to have materialised. Our industry has already fared well, and a recent Reuters poll found that a quick recovery of the economy as a whole can also be expected, lessening redundancy fears even further.

Law firms who have maintained excellent customer service and market awareness, and practising adaptability, are the ones who will come out of this crisis stronger.

Rob Millard, of Cambridge Strategy Group, said that firms must look forward to next year in their planning –

“Concessions such as VAT and partner tax deferrals are helping short term cash flow, but those will end in Q1 2021,” he said. “The need to look longer term and pivot to digital delivery of those services, or finding other value propositions to offer to clients, has never been more acute.”

Next Steps

Planning for the future is easy when you have a dynamic legal team who share the same goal and understand each other and the needs of the business inherently.

If you need to recruit individuals into your legal team who will strengthen your business to prepare for what the rest of the year, and beyond, will bring, we can help.

Get in touch with us today on 01772 259 121 or contact us here to find out about how we can help find you find the talent you need to succeed.

About Clayton Legal

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999 and during that time has built up an enviable reputation for trust and reliability. We have made over 5,000 placements from partners to legal executives, solicitors to paralegals and legal IT personnel to practice managers.

If you are building your legal team or looking for your next career move, we can help.  Call us on 01772 259 121 or email us here.

If you would like to know more about recruiting trends in the legal sector this year, download our latest guide here.

June 3rd 2020 is set to be the date when most non-essential workplaces start opening up after almost three-months of lockdown imposed by the UK government in March this year.

The lockdown has affected all businesses and individuals differently. Some of the candidates we work with tell us that they have enjoyed working from home and have never been more productive. Others have felt out of place and can’t wait to get back to the office. Whatever your personal opinions on lockdown have been, the one truth we can’t ignore is that legal workplaces are going to be different spaces as employees return to work.

Aside from the social distancing measures, the 10-week break from the ‘old’ way of working has paved the way for a new concept of working altogether.

Your legal practice is going to be a different place as you return – in this article; we explore how to prepare for the ‘new norm’.

Practical Changes

The first thing Senior Partners on your HR team must do before inviting employees back is to ensure your workplace is compliant with new workplace safety guidelines. The guidance for offices can be found here, and includes how to set-up socially distanced offices, who should return to work and who should remain at home and logical cleaning guidance too.

In a recent Forbes article on working after lockdown, one theory included the idea that workplaces will get ‘better’. In that, there will be more of a focus on collaboration, learning and socialisation, as we bring the parts of home working that were successful back into our workspaces with us to create a ‘workplace of the future’.

Of course, every legal practice will look different as teams return, based on the size of your office and your team. If you have a small office where it is possible to socially distance, you might be welcoming everyone back as soon as possible. For larger offices where people are happy to continue working from home, up to half of the team may continue working in this way.

After consulting the government guidance, you must decide what is possible in terms of space and cost, what works best for your team and find a solution which works for everyone.

For firms where a significant proportion of the workplace are going to continue working from home, how can you achieve this long-term? Let us take a look at legal digital needs.

A Digital Landscape

While many practices did all they could to allow employees to continue working on cases seamlessly from home, the truth is that many firms were not equipped with the right tools to let employees do this successfully.

Writing for Legal Futures recently, barrister Ross Birbeck highlighted how practices need to update their systems to allow for successful remote working on a more permanent scale.

Interestingly, he points out that much of the change needs to come in the form of simple tech. He states, “It is notable that the technologies being picked up most are not the heavyweight, hi-tech solutions to industry-specific problems, but simple tools for everyday tasks: video conferencing for remote meetings, and PDF software for analysing documents on a laptop. We are going to see those tools become deeply integrated into the practice of law.”

Many firms have employees who are still shielding (either themselves or living with family members who are). Until a COVID-19 vaccine is widely available, there will be legal employees in law firms everywhere who will be remote working for several months at least.

Do your employees have everything they need? In the rush to open your practice again, remember that remote employees will continue to need the right level of support, as well as employees who are returning.

Essential points to monitor include –

• Ensure documents and emails remain available to remote and returning employees.
• Ensure video conferencing remains available to all employees (including software and webcams/microphones if the hardware is being moved between homes and offices).
• Ensure remote employees can access online versions of your legal documents and have Esign capabilities.
• Avoid storing sensitive information at employee’s homes – aim to bring all confidential data back into the workplace as soon as possible.

Physical alterations are not going to be the only changes your legal team will have to get used to. A significant part of how things will change is the psychology of coming back to work in a practice with a different, possibly separated team.

Finally, let’s explore how legal managers and Senior Partners can ensure their employees are emotionally supported to prepare for the ‘new norm’.

Managing and Supporting an Altered Team

A blog I was reading on Law.com recently noted: “top lawyers are sure of one thing: working practices will never return to the way they were before COVID-19”. This is true of the way the virus has changed our physical landscape, but also how it will have affected your team psychologically.

The two most significant ways you will have to deal with change are in the way your team has been separated, and the way your practice may have to adapt to the market going forwards.

Practically, to keep afloat in the legal arena, you might have to re-train, or cross-skill your employees to form new teams in areas where there are opportunities. In which areas are you expecting there to be increased and reduced demand? Do you have the ability to train staff to meet changing demand?

It will be beneficial to have a focus on upskilling and re-training your employees as soon as you can.

Mentally, returning to work when your workplace, your role and your team look very different can be unsettling for many employees. It is now that you must be aware of how the change has affected your team and offer robust support.

Things to consider when supporting your team over the coming weeks and months include –

• Be a transparent and accessible leader at all times – your team need to know they can rely on you and that you are honest about the goals of the company.
• Acknowledge the changed working landscape and consistently ask employees if they are coping well with new systems and processes. Do not expect that all employees will easily adapt to significant changes – it will be more challenging for some.
• Help your employees find new purpose and meaning in their role – this is especially important if their role or the sub-team they are used to will now be different.

Despite the recent upheaval, your practice can come out stronger with careful planning and consideration for each team member and the business as a whole.

Finally

Clayton Legal has produced a short report on how law firms can prepare for the post-pandemic industry which covers the issues touched upon in this blog in more detail, plus market research on where to focus your efforts as we move forwards.

You can download the report here.

If your recruitment needs have changed recently and you need a conversation about locating legal talent to help your practice survive through the coming months, we can help.

Get in touch with us on 01772 259 121 or contact us here to discuss your legal recruitment needs.

About Clayton Legal

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999 and during that time has built up an enviable reputation for trust and reliability. We have made over 5,000 placements from partners to legal executives, solicitors to paralegals and legal IT personnel to practice managers.

If you are building your legal team or looking for your next career move, we can help.  Call us on 01772 259 121 or email us here.

If you would like to know more about recruiting trends in the legal sector this year, download our latest guide here.

The COVID-19 outbreak has affected all sectors. Just how much of an impact it has had on the legal industry will not be ascertained for many months, but we can, however, expect some changes in the coming weeks and months.

The lockdown has caused an economic slow-down which experts are predicting will lead to a recession. Your practice will likely change in certain areas, as some specialisms lose custom, while others remain buoyant or expand.

Consequently, your role might look different as you return to work – but how?

In this blog, we look at the ways we can expect your legal career to change post-lockdown.

1. Increased Remote Working

Firstly, there is a good chance that if you have been working from home during the lockdown, you could be asked to continue doing so.

The efficiency with which many practices went fully digital has made employers aware of the benefits of this working model.

Some have found it easier than others, with a lack of working space or a proper home office set-up.

• Is your firm’s cloud-based software running smoothly or will it need to be improved if remote working is here for the long-term?
• Are you as productive remote working as you were in the office?

If you have enjoyed working from home, there might be a possibility for you to continue to do so either part or full-time. You might have to think about how this could impact your home life if you need to set up a permanent home office space or upgrade your technology.

Speaking of technology, let’s look at the importance of digital legal services in the post-lockdown legal arena.

2. Going Digital

Working from home has made many legal employees realise the importance of being able to connect with clients digitally.

Caroline Fox, Principal Attorney at CJFox Law PLLC, highlighted the importance of this recently, stating:

“Lawyers need to be up-to-date on technology, including secure forms of video communication. We need to know how to securely access documents and enable quick, efficient communication with our staff and clients.”

“New lawyers need to be taught how to mail certified letters, when and where to send important documents, how to send a fax (with or without a fax machine), and other seemingly “trivial” administrative tasks that are the backbone of the legal practice.”

If home working is going to a part of your longer-term plan, you must now think about how you need to change to be able to give 100% service consistently.

Keep your manager and Senior Partners updated as to where digital services need to be improved. Inform them of what is working well and if any of your digital services need updating, such as digital document signing software or investing in new video platforms.

3. Lockdown’s Impact on Family Law

The two-month lockdown has created a surge in some legal specialisms. Family law is one area which has seen a dramatic increase, with matters of divorce, childcare and domestic violence issues featuring heavily.

Forced living arrangements have brought family tensions to a head, with a reported increase in divorce rates in both China and America, with the UK expected to follow suit. Families who unfortunately find they can’t resolve their issues will be seeking legal advice in the weeks and months following lockdown.

If you specialise in family law, you can expect an increase in business. Are your team prepared? You might have to think about enlisting help from other departments (more on this later) or expanding your team to deal with the influx.

4. Employment Law Issues

Lawyers dealing with employment law will see a surge as we emerge fully from lockdown. Clients will be trying to navigate the economic slow-down and manage their employees.

With the highly changeable situation regarding temporary workers in some sectors, clients will need extra guidance in these areas. Many commercial organisations have hired staff on short contracts en-mass for the first time and made changes to permanent workers’ contracts – all of which come with their legal implications.

Additionally, with the inevitable redundancies in some sectors, this is predicted to lead to an increase in legal action with employees believing that they have been mistreated or let go illegally.

Additionally, there could be an increase in workplace disputes during the return to work over the coming months. There is already unease among some employees not wanting to return to work in regards to workplace safety and childcare issues.

The unusual situation we are in will likely create unprecedented lawsuits.

5. Slowed-Down Specialisms

As with every period of economic slow-down, law firms will see a reduction in some specialisms.

Conveyancing is one area expected to be affected. The two-month ban on house viewings and government guidance not to move unless it was necessary meant the residential housing sector came to a standstill.

Some firms are also reporting a decrease in activity across numerous sectors, as clients try to cut back on using legal services to cut costs in the short term. But this short-term cut back will only increase clients needing legal services in the longer-term.

A recent McKinsey report on the impact of COVID-19 on law firms highlighted that law firms historically weather downturns better than the overall economy.

It is important to remember that a natural dip in the market has not caused the recent economic problems; it has been a forced slow-down due to the virus. This means that if a vaccine is found, or when the majority of businesses are open again, the economy could rebound quickly.

Finally, we look at how specialisms will need to adapt to ensure the survival of the firm.

6. Cross-Functional Teams

Many Practices are finding that a solution to the coronavirus crisis is to put together cross-functional teams. This means working with members of your firm that you haven’t previously; it involves a big shift in the dynamic of your team and will include creating new working relationships and possibly working in unfamiliar territories.

We can’t be certain yet as to where the real opportunities will be, but in the next few months, it will become clear which specialisms and client types will be critical to your success.

What Next?

There is going to be a wide range of demand across many legal specialisms as we go forward. Opportunities will appear in different areas, and the future of your legal career might not be with your current employer.

If you would like a conversation about what opportunities are available to you right now in the emerging market, call us on 01772 259 121 or get in contact here.

About Clayton Legal

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999 and during that time has built up an enviable reputation for trust and reliability. We have made over 5,000 placements from partners to legal executives, solicitors to paralegals and legal IT personnel to practice managers.

If you are building your legal team or looking for your next career move, we can help.  Call us on 01772 259 121 or email us here.

If you would like to know more about recruiting trends in the legal sector this year, download our latest guide here.

Professionals in every sector have to deal with some level of stress throughout their career, and the life of a busy legal employee is no different.

Whether you’re a Family Solicitor working on a particularly challenging case, or a Paralegal with an increasing number of claims to get through – stress affects us all.

But the added difficulties of COVID-19 has increased the chance of professionals succumbing to stress and has made life altogether more challenging.

And as April 2020 was Stress Awareness Month in the UK, I thought now was an appropriate time to support legal professionals in managing stress through the remainder of lockdown by sharing some helpful advice a mentor gave me in the previous challenging times of 2008 and 2009.

1. Planning Ahead

One of the best ways legal professionals can manage stress is to avoid overwhelm – and you can do this through careful planning.

Of course, there is a lot of uncertainty around what the future holds, but more specifically, how long things are going to take to get back to normal. The truth is, we can’t be sure how long this timeframe will be, but what we can do is to plan for things we do know.

It is likely that your calendar currently looks quite different from what it was pre-COVID-19. If you are still working on cases, are you working with a reduced amount? Or have the time frames been extended?

Things are changing rapidly right now, so flexible planning is needed to reduce stress. If a case is brought forward, extended or put on hold, you need to be able to factor this in as soon as you know. So keep in contact with any colleagues who are still working, clients and anyone else involved in cases as much as you possibly can – which brings me on to my next point.

2. Stay Connected

While working from home, it might feel as though some individuals who you usually have regular contact with have dropped off your radar.

This could be furloughed colleagues, associated insurers and your wider legal community in general. Feeling isolated can increase stress, just as feeling connected to a support network can reduce it.

Stay connected as much as you can to all of the people you usually interact with. This can be a combination of sending emails and personal messages to colleagues, attending webinars run by legal professionals and even commenting and interacting with your peers on LinkedIn.

3. Take Time Out

The change from our regular working lives to being contained at home has been a significant source of stress for some people.

If you’re still working on cases from home, the added pressure of trying to achieve the same results from an unusual or challenging environment can make even easy tasks seem overwhelming.

Perhaps you’re self-isolating with children, partners and pets with whom you have to contend with all while attempting to get your work done.

It is essential to take regular breaks and take time out if you start to feel as though things are getting on top of you. When we work from home, it can be easy for our work and home lives to merge, but it is essential to prevent this from happening.

Where possible, keep to your regular working hours. Unless it is necessary, don’t be tempted to jump on your laptop or make calls outside of your working hours – remember that downtime is key to preventing stress.

4. If You Are On Furlough

Furloughed legal employees can be susceptible to stress over the uncertainty of when you will return to work, and under what conditions. The additional concern about the reduction in your wages (if you’ve gone down to 80% pay) can exacerbate stress. A recent YouGov poll found that 55% of people are now worried about their families’ finances.

What furloughed employees should remember is that they’re not alone – more than 4 million UK employees have been furloughed. Experts predict that the government will ease the lockdown slowly throughout May, with a return to a new normal following in the weeks and months afterwards.

The following are what to do if you’re feeling stressed due to being furloughed –

• Reach out – there are plenty of schemes that have been put in place to help employees just like you, whether that’s contacting your bank about a reduction in your mortgage, or contacting your local authority to find out what other help is available to you.
• Keep track – create a budget and check your finances once a week to stay on track.
• Stay up to date with the news – the situation is changing rapidly at the moment, but staying in the know can help you feel in control.
• Keep in touch with your employer – they should be able to keep you regularly updated with the latest information regarding your furlough and your return to work.

Finally

The NHS has recognised that stress caused by the upheaval and worries associated with coronavirus is a significant problem. So much so that there is a dedicated section of their website which deals with coronavirus-related stress which you can read here.

If you’re a legal professional currently looking for employment, or are thinking about the future of your legal career – we can help with advice and job opportunities. Browse our current vacancies here, or get in touch with our team today to find out more.

About Clayton Legal

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999, and during that time has built up an excellent reputation for trust and reliability. We have made over 5,000 placements from partners to legal executives, solicitors to paralegals and legal IT personnel to practice managers.

If you are building your legal team or looking for your next career move, we can help.  Call us on 01772 259 121 or email us here.

If you would like to know more about recruiting trends in the legal sector this year, download our latest guide here.

There can’t be many – if any – individuals left who haven’t in some way had their lives disrupted by Coronavirus, or COVID-19 as it’s also known.

Commercial organisations such as law firms are continuing to strive to keep up with the challenges the outbreak has presented. But as it spreads, many are finding their clients impacted by the virus, as well as the ability of their solicitors to carry out work. One London firm temporarily closed its office after a potential case of Coronavirus recently, and another international law firm has confirmed its employees will be working remotely wherever possible.

The problem for many law firms is that legal work requires a degree of team effort. And although many solicitors can do some of their work remotely, the usual pace will drop if teams are not together at the firm. Also, litigation, which requires a physical presence in court, is becoming increasingly hazardous – not only for the solicitors involved but their clients, the witnesses, experts, judges and court staff.

In light of this situation, what steps can your law firm take to minimise disruption?

In this article, I offer four simple strategies to help reduce the impact of Covid-19 on your law firm to ensure you mitigate risk, protect your employees and support your customers.

1. Nerve-Centre Management

In such unusual circumstances, when it’s easy to panic, a calm and focused leadership is crucial. Therefore, your first step should be to surround yourself with other senior partners or business managers who can help diffuse any panic. A thorough, clear action plan is critical to help you plan and execute strategies to manage the challenges going forward over the next few months.

The management team should be in alignment on the methods you are implementing to cope with challenges that may arise. Integration is paramount, and a transparent communication system between partners and the wider legal team is crucial to ensure not only employee buy-in but that your team continues to place trust in your leadership ability and understands the processes in the action plan.

2. Protect the Workforce

The safety of your employees is paramount. Therefore, strategies such as staggered work times and social distancing will help to keep your legal team healthy and stress-free. This will enable you to continue operating during the outbreak with as little disruption as possible.

You may wish to introduce additional, short term policies such as flexitime, initiate help for employees to work at home, and provide onsite guidelines for those still coming into the workplace.

Measures to consider include:

Remote Working

Where it is possible and practical, you may decide to encourage employees to work remotely, especially if they are in an at-risk group. Providing the necessary equipment, they will need such as laptops, cameras for online meetings and other work-related items will not only reduce the stress of individuals but will allow them to perform as well from their external base as they would in the office.

Be mindful to keep in touch regularly. In essence, this will allow you to monitor productivity but also, and as importantly, it will permit you to check up on the mental health of your employees and ensure they are not feeling isolated.

Additionally, providing a schedule of activity will help them focus and stay motivated. It will also serve to clarify responsibilities so that everyone knows what is expected of them.

Office Working

Ensure there are systems in place to minimise risk for your employees in the office. Discourage physical contact including handshaking, and provide hand gels, reminders about good handwashing practices and ensure surfaces such as door handles, handrails, tables and desks are disinfected regularly.

Postpone internal team meetings, or hold them virtually to minimise exposure.

Remember also to be sensitive to external factors over which your employees have no control. For example, as and when schools and nurseries close, there will be some inevitable flexibility required to enable parents to cope with childminding duties. Additionally, some older children coming home for the Easter holidays may not be able to return to university. So, understanding and empathy are called for, and it’s wise to have a contingency plan in place in case you find yourself short-staffed at any point.

3. External Engagement

Also of importance is external engagement – ensure you keep your stakeholders and clients safe by:

Minimising Face to Face Contact

Routine conversations between solicitors and clients can take place via Skype, Zoom or telephone calls to minimise direct contact.

Using Video Testimony

Currently, an emergency bill is about to be pushed through parliament here in the UK. This bill includes a provision that in several stages of a dispute, video testimony will be allowed in civil (and criminal) courts to minimise the current risk of contracting the virus.

Keeping in Touch

It’s also good practice to communicate with your customers regularly to keep them up to date. Fact-based updates and electronic (or paper-based) communications covering how to contact your firm, what to do if they have a case coming up and other relevant advice, will keep levels of trust high in your firm’s capability to handle the challenge.

Be transparent with your clients. After all, this situation is affecting everyone, and they will appreciate your honesty. Clear communication guarantees an empathic response:

Harvard Business Review advises: “When customers are separated from the work that’s being done behind the scenes to serve them, they appreciate the service less, and then they value the service less.”

These actions will also help confirm you as a law firm that clients can rely on in times of disruption and position you as a calm authority.

Avoiding Unnecessary Travel and Events

It’s wise to steer clear of conferences and other law-related events, although most are likely to be cancelled anyway. Similarly, avoid business travel and encourage your team to do the same.

4. Plan for the Long-Term

Although the situation in China seems to be improving, the ripple effect of this pandemic is set to last for some time yet.

Therefore, an immediate response is vital, and many law firms are pursuing initial coping strategies to ensure the best outcome for both employees and clients, in so far as is possible in the short term.

But it’s important to remember long term responses – McKinsey report that there could be other repercussions such as financial implications and shifting industry structures. So, it’s essential to ensure your management team are dedicating some time to planning responses that focus on possible long-term requirements.

We currently do not know the outcome of this virus. However, what is clear is that those law firms who act now to protect their employees and customers, address challenges and help mitigate damage in whatever way they can, will be better placed to cope successfully and come out of the other side stronger.

About Clayton Legal

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999 and during that time has built up an enviable reputation for trust and reliability. We have made over 5,000 placements from partners to legal executives, solicitors to paralegals and legal IT personnel to practice managers.

If you are building your legal team or looking for your next career move, we can help. Call us on 01772 259 121 or email us here.

If you would like to know more about recruiting trends in the legal sector this year, download our latest guide here.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak at the end of 2019, many working practices have changed and are set to stay that way for the foreseeable future with the introduction of many hybrid and remote working roles. As many law firms confirm they will not be bringing staff back full-time, making hybrid solutions work for all is deeming to be an ongoing process that we are not seeing the end of soon.

And, whilst there has been much documented about pros and cons of homeworking, for many it may be a non-negotiable when looking for a new role – one that is no longer limited to geographical boundaries.

So whether you find yourself working from home on a more permanent basis, or as part of a hybrid working pattern, here are our top tips to stay motivated, keep your productivity high, and keep engaged with your employer and colleagues.

1. Allocate a Workspace

To clarify the boundaries between home and work, it’s essential to set up a specific workspace. If you can, allocate a spare room for this purpose as this will give you a visual reminder of when you are ‘at work’. Having a physical door, you can shut will also minimise potential interruptions from other family members.

However, if you do not have extra space, then a corner of another room can become your ‘office’. Just ensure that paperwork doesn’t spill into other areas and that when you close your laptop at the end of the day, you leave that space as you would leave a physical office.

2. Be Clear on Boundaries

Let your family know when you will be working and when you’re free, so you don’t have distractions, and be firm with them that you are not to be interrupted during your work hours.

3. Dress for the Occasion

To maintain a professional approach, it’s essential to shower and dress each day as you would normally. You don’t have to wear a fitted suit when working remotely (unless you are planning a client video call), and smart-casual, comfortable clothes will put you in the ‘zone’ and send the right messages to your brain that you are in work-mode.

4. Write Your To-Do List

Structure your day, as you would in the office. Allocate times for research, writing reports and contacting clients. If you would typically do specific tasks on certain days, continue to do so as this will help add structure and define the days, so they don’t start to merge into one.

5. Map Your Productivity Levels

You will notice when you have times of high productivity, and when that dips slightly (for most people, this is mid-afternoon). If you start to find you have much more mental energy earlier in the day, you can start working on more complicated cases earlier, leaving time for routine admin later on when your energy is lower.

Conversely, if you get your best work done later in the day, adjust your schedule. Just make sure that contact times with senior partners, colleagues and clients is convenient for all concerned – this should take place during established working hours.

6. Add a Background

If you are used to a busy, bustling law firm, it can be very quiet working alone. Consider some soft background music for company – it helps that too-quiet feeling and can boost your concentration levels. You can access specific concentration music via YouTube or put some classical music or Radio 4 on at low volume.

7. Schedule Breaks

It’s good to have a break from the screen and get some downtime for your brain too. So, aim to have lunch in another room away from your office space. And go outdoors – even for a quick five minutes to get some fresh air and lower stress levels.

8. Check In to The Office

Keep in touch with your senior partner or manager and colleagues regularly – ideally daily. This allows you to update them with what you’re working on, discuss priorities and schedules, and remind yourself that you are still working as part of a team.
This is particularly important if you are unused to remote working, as feelings of isolation can set in once the initial novelty has worn off.

9. Sign Off

As part of your schedule, have a definitive sign off time. That means, at the end of your workday, you close your laptop, turn off your business mobile and other equipment, and leave your office space. Follow this procedure to avoid the temptation to ‘just finish that project’, or just do ‘another five minutes’ on a case.
Remember, you need to keep your work and home life separate.

10. Enjoy Your Down-Time

From exercising to getting enough sleep, it’s critical to maintain a routine that keeps you energised and focused. It’s unlikely you would stay up till 2 am watching tv during a typical work week, so don’t be tempted to do so just because you’re working remotely.

Spend your free time doing something you enjoy with family and friends, where possible. If the current pandemic makes that challenging, remember to keep in touch virtually via Facebook, Messaging, WhatsUp, Skype, or whichever platform you prefer. From holding virtual cocktails on a Friday evening to a group chat – enjoying your downtime will help you maintain high productivity while you are working remotely.

Some final thoughts

For many legal professionals, working from home has its challenges but remember to think about the positives – from uninterrupted quiet to get on and the ability to set your own schedule, to avoiding the commute and even saving money by not having to buy lunch every day!

A good plan of action and a clear distinction between working and home life will help set you up for successful – and enjoyable – remote working.

Next Steps

If you’re reading this article because you are looking for a new opportunity, perhaps one that does offer flexible or hybrid working solutions, please call one of the Clayton Legal team on 01772 259 121.

About Clayton Legal

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999 and during that time has built up an enviable reputation for trust and reliability. We have made over 5,000 placements from partners to legal executives, solicitors to paralegals and legal IT personnel to practice managers.

If you are building your legal team or looking for your next career move, we can help. Call us on 01772 259 121 or email us here.

If you would like to know more about recruiting trends in the legal sector this year, download our latest guide here.