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James Pritchard

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Eversheds announcement adds interesting twist to retention season

In part two of our autumn 2019 retentions round-up, we report on the latest announcements by leading firms, some notable NQ salary increases and an interesting statistic revealed by Eversheds Sutherland. (read part one here)

Global firm Eversheds Sutherland added some attention-grabbing spin to its retention announcement this autumn. As well as stating that 39 out of its 49 NQs are staying put (80%), the firm revealed that 70% of these are female and 26% are Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME). This compares to its BAME figure of 18% in 2018.

Evershed Sutherland’s HR director Lorraine Kilborn said: “We strive to attract individuals from a range of backgrounds and perspectives, unlocking talent that can provide us with a competitive edge in an increasingly global legal market.”

Perhaps this announcement is a sign of things to come and something other firms will follow. Or perhaps not.

Macfarlanes has repeated its perfect spring 2019 retention score, with all 25 of its NQs remaining at the firm. They will start on a newly boosted basic salary of £85,000 per annum with the opportunity to earn between £98,600 and £110,250 once individual and firm-wide bonuses are taken into account. The firm says 98% of its staff received bonuses last year.

International firm Hogan Lovells is retaining 28 out of 31 of its qualifying lawyers this autumn (90%), two in Birmingham and the remainder in London. The London qualifiers will start on £90,000.

The London office of Ashurst is keeping on 20 out its 24 NQs (83%), a slight dip from its 93% this time last year. They will start on £84,000 although this could rise to £105,000 depending on bonuses.

International outfit Stephenson Harwood has revealed an impressive score of 92% in its London office, with all but one of its 13 qualifiers accepting offers to stay with the firm. They will start on £75,000, a figure that could go as high as £97,500 once bonuses are factored in.

Clyde & Co meanwhile is retaining 37 of its 43 trainees (86%) of whom 33 will be based in London, three in Manchester and one in Guildford. It too is upping NQ pay, in this case to £70,000 (an uplift from £65,000).

There has been a flurry of pay hikes for NQs in recent weeks. There will be smiling faces at US firm Dechert, which has boosted salaries for its London-based NQs to £116,000 from an already impressive £100,000. As if things couldn’t get any better, lawyers at the firm are now allowed to wear jeans to work. The firm believes this is about “inclusivity, empowering our people, and attracting the best talent”.

NQs at Addleshaw Goddard will now be on £75,000, which places themselves alongside their counterparts at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, Dentons, K&L Gates and Stephenson Harwood and £2,000 ahead of those at CMS and Squire Patton Boggs.

Gowling WLG has raised NQ pay to slightly below this level for its London lawyers (£71,000 from £66,000) and £44,000 for those in Birmingham (up from £42,500). This brings its London NQs alongside Bird & Bird, who recently announced an uplift to £71,000 (a bump of 15%).

These improved pay packets are certainly good news for NQs but an article in the Financial Times suggests they could be causing tensions to rise at some firms.

The FT reports that anonymous senior associates at Slaughter and May and Clifford Chance are unhappy about uneven pay rises. One unnamed Slaughter and May associate is quoted as saying: “We are seeing real compression in pay. The headlines are all about the newly-qualified pay, but there’s been very little uplift for lawyers who are two, three, four and five-years qualified.”

Clients are also said to be unhappy about it. Linklaters managing partner Gideon Moore commented on Freshfields’ decision to increase NQ pay in May by saying: “Clients have been clear that they don’t want to pay for the increases.” “But,” he added, “like it or not you have to be seen to be competitive in that first wave of salaries.”

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Magic circle firms reveal strong autumn retention rates and salary uplifts for NQs

The autumn retention season has got off to a solid start with all five magic circle firms and some US firms announcing positive numbers. In the first part of our regular round-up, we look at the autumn retention rates revealed so far and the salaries NQs will be starting on.

All the magic circle firms have now released their autumn retention scores, with Freshfields and Slaughter and May sharing top honours.

Both firms are retaining 93% of their qualifying trainees, Freshfields keeping on 38 out of 41 qualifiers and Slaughter and May 37 out of 40.

Freshfields’s figures are an uplift on their spring 2019 score of 78% and last year’s autumn result of 83%. Their newly qualified solicitors will start on £100,000, as will Slaughter and May’s (although Freshfield’s newbies can earn a bonus on top of this salary, while Slaughter and May’s figure is said to include a discretionary bonus). This season’s results are another strong showing from Slaughter and May, whose scores in the previous three rounds have been 97%, 95% and 86%.

Linklaters was only a sliver behind the top two, keeping on 49 out of 54 qualifiers (91%). Their lawyers will also be on £100,000 per annum plus a discretionary performance bonus.

The last magic circle to announce this year was Allen & Overy whose 89% (39 from 44) edges the firm out of last place. Not to be outdone on the remuneration front, their NQs will earn “minimum total cash” of £100,000 in the form of salary and “a sign on bonus”. The firm received 43 applications and made 40 offers.

Meanwhile, Clifford Chance props up the table of magic circle firms. Their figures are hardly bad though as they will be keeping on a healthy 41 out of 47 (87%). Their NQs will earn “around £100,000”, assuming they receive their discretionary bonuses. This year’s results compared favourably to last autumn’s less impressive showing of 77%.

International firm Mayer Brown was first out the blocks once again, announcing their 82% score in early June. Nine of its 11 qualifiers will remain with the firm, with only one qualifier who applied for an NQ role being unsuccessful.

New York stalwart Shearman & Sterling posted similar figures for its London office, keeping on 13 of its 16 autumn qualifiers for a score of 81%. Twelve of these NQs will be based in London, with one joining the firm’s arbitration team in Abu Dhabi. They will start on a staggering £120,000.

Another New York-based firm, White & Case, has scored at impressive 89%, with 16 out of 18 staying with the firm. They will start their qualified careers on £105,000. In announcing the results, partner Inigo Esteve, who heads the firm’s trainee solicitor programme in London, had positive news for junior lawyers saying: “The business need for English law qualified lawyers continues to increase despite ongoing economic and political uncertainties, including Brexit.”

Elsewhere, Pinsent Masons is retaining 57 out of 72 trainees (79%) at a time when managing partner John Cleland has said the firm is “continuing the transformation of [its] business”. The firm’s London NQs will start on £72,500, compared to those in the regions and Scotland on £44,000 and £43,500 respectively.

This puts their NQs slightly behind those at Travers Smith’s, who will start on £85,000. The City firm is keeping on 17 out of 21 trainees for a score of 81%, a slight drop from its 90% this time last year and 94% the year before.

National firm Irwin Mitchell has announced an impressive 96% retention rate, with 45 of its qualifiers staying on. Of these, 15 will be based in London with the remainder spread between Birmingham (nine), Sheffield (seven), Manchester (five), Leeds (four), Newcastle and Southampton (two each) and Bristol (one).

Last and, unfortunately, least in this first autumn 2019 summary come international firm RPC with a disappointing retention rate of just 42%. Ten of the firm’s 12 autumn qualifiers applied for roles at the firm’s London office, but only five were successful. Partner Simon Hart explained the result by saying that the retention rate was lower than usual “largely due to applications into certain practice areas being significantly oversubscribed and us being unable to accommodate everybody with the number of roles available”. The firm expects better figures next year.

We’ll keep an eye on further announcements over the coming weeks and will reveal all in the second part of this blog.

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Will the new Solicitors Qualifying Exam lead to a two-tier legal profession?

The legal profession’s battle to get to grips with the new Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) shows no sign of abating as we hurtle towards the September 2021 start date. As the key stakeholders try to work out how the new exam will affect them, one major concern is starting to emerge. This is, whether the new exam will lead to a two-tier profession? (For a recap on how SQE will work and its potential pitfalls, you can read our previous SQE blogs here, here and here.)

Let’s start by asking what we mean by a two-tier profession in relation to training.

According to Legal Cheek: “In the elite tier, the theory goes, you’d have City law firm trainees who have been put through expensive, extended SQE-LLM courses; then in second class there’d be the students who do the exam via a combination of cheaper preparatory courses and on-the-job learning.”

If this theory holds true, how will it fit with the SRA’s goals for the SQE? And how is the new exam likely to affect each of the three main stakeholder groups:

  • Student lawyers
  • Firms
  • Training providers

Recap: The SRA’s goals for the SQE

The SRA’s stated aims for the SQE are to drive up standards, reduce costs for students and remove barriers to entry.

The SRA’s Julie Bannon, who is the architect of the new exam, has said the centrally assessed SQE exam will be harder to pass than the LPC and will improve standards. And, as SQE 2 will be taught on the job, this will reduce training costs and make access to the profession easier.

“There will be a wide range of courses available to students and this will impact cost. The cheapest option is likely to be a law degree with the integrated SQE and that will cost within the £9,000 fee cap which is cheaper than the LPC as it stands,” she says.

Students and junior lawyers

Not everyone agrees with Bannon. The Junior Lawyers Division (JLD) has been vociferous in raising its concerns about the exam.

Last week, the JLD wrote an open letter to the House of Commons Justice Committee requesting an enquiry into the decision to go ahead with the SQE. The letter says it believes the exam “will lead to a lowering of professional standards which will be detrimental to users of legal services and damage the reputation of the profession”.

Its specific concerns are:

  • the removal of the requirement to study academic law and the fact that assessment will be by multiple choice;
  • training requiring only “the opportunity” to develop the necessary competencies and sign-off being possible by a newly qualified solicitor who may not ever have met the trainee; and,
  • the unresolved question of how much it will cost to qualify, (and whether loans will be available), and concerns about social mobility.

The JLD also wrote an open letter to the SRA last April, warning that the SQE could lead to the exploitation of student lawyers.

In the letter, the JLD focused on the decision to no longer regulate training contracts and training principals. This, it said, could result in junior lawyers being “exploited in unhealthy cultures, work and training environments”. It also claimed the abolition of a minimum trainee salary will be a barrier to entry to the profession for those from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

Law firms

Law firms face two significant challenges under the SQE. The first is whether their student lawyers should complete the two SQE exams consecutively (as they do now with the GDL or law degree, followed by the LPC) or separately.

Firms are said to be worried about the practicalities of releasing students to study for and sit the SQE2 exams. Questions arise such as when and how much time they would be given? And, what happens if they finish their work experience but fail SQE2?

The SRA recommends students complete SQE1, then do SQE2 after they have completed their qualifying work experience. It wants to avoid the financial gamble that can lead to students paying for and passing their LPC but not gaining the training contract they need to qualify. This has led to a bottleneck in the profession at the trainee stage. Critics say the new exam could result in that bottleneck simply moving to the qualification stage, with a glut of qualified lawyers unable to get jobs.

The second concern for firms is the content of the SQE. The new course lacks elective modules and the larger firms are concerned that their students won’t get the education they require. The result could be courses specifically designed for the bigger firms and it is here that fears of a two-tier system are most acute.

Even the SRA’s Bannon recognises the fact that the profession is likely to divide at this point: “I think we will see a range of different provision emerging,” she says. “At the very top-end there may be gold-plated courses designed for the particular needs of City law firms. These firms recruit up to two years in advance and provide funding so it’s up to them how best to prepare their future trainees.”

 “If you think about the sector as a whole, it may well be the case that different law firms have different requirements — it’s no longer one size fits all,” she says.

A similar split is probable during the work experience itself. Students at larger firms are likely to gain focused, hands-on experience designed to help them through SQE2, and get paid time off to study for it. Other, less fortunate, students may have to rely on gaining their two years’ experience by working for up to four firms on more of a paralegal basis, possibly at a low salary, and may need to take unpaid time off or work evenings and weekends to study for SQE2.

The training providers

The training providers come at the SQE from a commercial angle. Their interest is in providing courses that satisfy the SQEs minimum requirements and ones that go beyond these and meet the demands of the larger firms.

The University of Law’s director of business development, Morette Jackson anticipated this when she said: “It all starts with communication and making sure that all our entrants are aware that while doing the bare minimum of preparation courses and different bits of qualifying work experience will get you admitted, you may not be on a par with other candidates who have studied a more comprehensive and structured programme.”

Conclusion

It seems certain that post-SQE there will be a spectrum of qualifying standards in terms of both training and work experience.

This may or may not be a good thing, depending on your vested interest and where you are likely to sit on the spectrum. What is certain is that the SQE will be the subject of much debate in the months ahead. We will be keeping tabs on how the key stakeholders are preparing for the new qualifying process as we head towards the September 2021 start date, so watch this space.

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10 interview secrets every newly qualified solicitor should know when applying for a new role

NQ Solicitors’ Ian Roberts has advised thousands of applicants within the legal sector over the years and is in no doubt what factors make the difference between success and failure. In this blog, we set out Ian’s top 10 interview secrets for solicitors moving firms upon qualification.

You’re about to qualify as a solicitor after years of hard slog but all that effort could be in vain unless you can secure the right role at the right firm. The good news is you’ve got an interview at a firm you’d love to work for. Here are 10 tips that will help you dazzle your interviewers and get that all important offer.

1. First impressions count

According to various studies, you have c. 17 seconds to make a good first impression, so don’t waste them. The following are basics but shouldn’t be overlooked. Start with a good firm handshake, (but don’t do a Donald Trump). Make steady eye contact (but don’t stare), smile and say “pleased to meet you” in a confident and sincere tone and you’re off and running. The goal is to make a connection and start building a rapport with your interviewer(s).

2. Commit yourself

As Wayne Gretzky said: “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Or, if you’d rather not take your inspiration from an ice hockey player, think of it this way. If you’re not totally committed to getting an offer, you may as well not show up for the interview. Firms want people who they can see are excited to work for them. If you’re dialing it in, they’ll see through you.

3. “So, why do you want to work here?”

This question is asked at almost every interview and the answer is so important, yet amazingly, this is the question that catches candidates out more than any other. Do your homework on the firm. Answer the question by reference to what you have learned and give specific examples. What it is about the work the firm does, its culture, its reputation and its story that appeal to you. Show why you would be a good fit and why you’re precisely what they’re looking for.

4. “Have you applied to stay with your current firm post qualification?”

The interviewers know how the NQ system works. They are more than likely to ask questions like the above and others along the same lines. “Where you are in the process?” “How many and what seats have you applied for?” “What would you do if they offered you a role?”

These can be tricky to answer. You may be waiting to hear from your training firm and would prefer to stay there if they make you an offer. If so, you won’t want to make it evident to the interviewer that they are a back up.

Alternatively, you may be pretty sure that your training firm doesn’t want to keep you on or may have decided that your future lies elsewhere. But you won’t want to say this if you feel it will shed you in a bad light.

Rule number one, don’t lie. First of all, it’s inappropriate for a solicitor and secondly, there’s a good chance you’ll get caught out. Remember, the legal world is a small one.

What you can say is that you’re aware that it’s a highly competitive process at your training firm and you would be foolish not to see what other opportunities are out there.

You may also give candid reasons why the firm you are interviewing with appeals to you in ways that your training firm doesn’t (without slagging them off). This may perhaps be because of its size, the work it does, its work/life balance, etc. Be subtle and frame all your answers positively.

5. Your CV got you here, but it won’t get you the job

Interviewers are interested in the person behind the CV, not the CV itself. The interview is about you as a person and, to a certain extent your technical knowledge, not your qualifications. What matters now is how you express yourself, how well you will fit in at the firm, what you’ve learned during your training contract and what your ambitions are.

6. Be prepared to talk about anything on your CV

We mean anything. If you say you like the theatre, then be prepared to tell your interviewers what the last three plays you saw were and when you saw them. Or, if you say you speak basic German, be prepared to answer “Warum möchtest du hier arbeiten?”. I’ve known candidates get grilled for 20 minutes or more on seemingly throwaway bits of information on their CVs leaving them wishing they hadn’t put them on there in the first place. It’s your CV, you have to own all of it.

7. Show you are at the right end of the NQ spectrum

We all know that some trainees ‘get it’ from day one. They understand how to run a file, deal with clients, get their work done without drama and are in tune with the firm’s ethos and commercial objectives. They may not be the trainees with the most impressive CVs, but they will make the best lawyers. Your interviewer knows this too and is digging to find out if you are one of these or one of the others. The lame ducks. A good CV but no grasp of what the job is all about. It’s a spectrum and you need to show you are at the right end.

8. Give specific examples of what you have done

Don’t speak in generalities, be specific. Paint a picture, tell a story, put some meat on the bone (pick your own cliché if you like). The interviewer needs to be sitting there imagining you doing the things you’re talking about and picturing you doing the same for their firm. (Remember, while being highly specific is essential, be careful not to give away client confidentiality).

9. Always ask questions

Pick up on points they have mentioned during the interview to show you’ve been listening. Ask questions that demonstrate your interest in the firm, your understanding of the work they do, their culture and the types of clients they have. Check out the LinkedIn profiles of the people interviewing you (beforehand, not on your phone in the interview) and ask about their career path and anything especially interesting or relevant. Ask about future training to show your desire to become a well-rounded lawyer and what your prospects of rising through the firm would be if you do well.

10. Don’t play hard to get

At the risk of sounding like a Facebook meme, “Don’t play hard to get, play hard to forget”. Leave the interviewer in no doubt that you want the job. Be enthusiastic though not gushing. Be keen but don’t grovel. They hold most of the cards and want to employ someone who is genuinely motivated to work for them and do well. Show them you are.

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5 reasons Newly Qualified Solicitors should consider moving firms

The big question that faces all newly qualified solicitors is whether to stay at the firm they’ve trained with or move on to pastures new.

Some won’t have a choice; they will have been told they won’t be kept on and encouraged to find a new firm. For the majority, though, the last six months as a trainee solicitor is a period of uncertainty. Any satisfaction at qualifying will be tempered by concerns about what happens next.

Will their firm want to keep them and, if so, in which department? Do they even want to stay or should they take the next steps in their career elsewhere?

Even if you think you want to remain with your existing firm, it is worth considering your options.

Here are five reasons why newly qualified solicitors should think about moving when they qualify:

To specialise in your preferred practice area

The truth is that when you start your legal career you probably only have a vague idea about the type of work you want to do. You may think you are going to enjoy your seat in capital markets and hate the one in litigation but in fact, it turns out to be the other way round.

Your training contract is a two-year interview that goes both ways. One question at the end of it is: can this firm offer me the work I want to do? By the time you complete your training contract you will have a far better idea of the type of lawyer you are and the practice area you want to specialise in. If your firm can’t match your preference, it’s time to look elsewhere.

It may be that despite jockeying for position with the other trainees, the firm can’t offer you a place in your first-choice practice area. The reality is that moving departments post-qualification is very hard. If you really want to specialise in a particular field and the firm you trained with can’t satisfy that need, moving as an NQ is your only option.

To work with a particular partner or team, or move to a ‘better’ firm

If your current firm doesn’t match your ambition, it is perfectly valid to move to one that does. You may have identified a specific team or partner you want to work for because of their reputation or ranking in Chambers or The Legal 500. Or you may simply want to take a step up from a mid-sized City practice to a Magic Circle firm, for example.

A word of warning here. Some firms, particular US firms, prefer candidates who choose to move after being offered the chance to stay on. Even if you know you would like to switch firms, the sensible play may be to wait for an offer from the firm you are at before interviewing elsewhere.

For more money

It would be naive to think that money is not a motivating factor. You work hard enough, so you are entitled to be rewarded properly for your efforts. The benefit of a fatter pay check needs to be balanced though against all the other factors: the quality of work you’ll be doing, how much responsibility you will get, what your future prospects are, what additional training or mentoring you’ll get, and how many chargeable hours will be expected of you. Which brings us to the next reason to think about moving.

For a different work/life balance

No two firms are the same in terms of types of clients, working environment, work ethic, social life, age profile, etc. You may feel that your current firm isn’t quite the ‘fit’ you expected it to be and while you enjoy the work, the firm isn’t offering you much more.

Similarly, a decision to move could be motivated by something as simple as the desire for an easier commute or the chance to spend more time pursuing outside interests or with family.

For more responsibility or better training

Few trainee solicitors emerge from their training contract as fully formed lawyers. For most NQs, the first couple of years are a steep learning curve as they take on more responsibility and grow in confidence. How they evolve as lawyers during this period is important and can set the tone for the rest of their career.

So, you need to consider what your day-to-day role will be once you qualify. Will you run your own caseload, have close partner supervision or be a small cog in a large machine? Also, what ongoing training and mentoring will your firm offer you as you make the step up?

And some reasons not to move

There will also be reasons not to move. You’ll have made friends at the firm and built relationships with the partners. Plus, you’ll know how the firm operates, and be familiar with its clients and the way they work.

Like any situation, though, it is worth keeping your options open and seeing what else is out there before you commit to staying as a newly qualified solicitor.

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What is the legal profession doing to combat stress and how can you manage your own stress levels?

This is a stressful time for trainees qualifying in the autumn as they jostle for NQ places either in their own firm or at a new one. It comes at a time when mental health in law is high on the agenda. In this blog, we look at the current state of mental health in the profession and what steps trainees can take to control the stress of finding their first role post qualification.

As part of last week’s Mental Health Awareness Week, Gowling WLG brought four dogs into its London office to help destress its staff. Apparently, it has been proved that petting animals can reduce anxiety.

We have no idea of the impact of Gowling’s initiative but one person who commented on the story in Legal Cheek was unconvinced: “So they’re trying to remedy a structural and systematic mental health epidemic in the legal profession with… a dog?”

Beneath the sarcasm, this comment raises some valid points. Is it fair to suggest that there is a crisis surrounding mental health in the legal profession?

Legal mental health charity LawCare believes so. It is setting up a new confidential online messenger service offering support to legal professionals. “More and more people in the legal community are reaching out to us for support every year so it is vital we expand our support service,” says CEO Elizabeth Rimmer. Last year, LawCare’s helpline received its highest ever number of calls.

The situation is especially acute for trainees and junior lawyers, the primary target of LawCare’s new service. A survey last year by the Law Society’s Junior Lawyers Division revealed that 39% of trainees reported suffering from mental health problems. More than 80% said they thought their employer could do more to provide help, guidance and support. (We doubt the opportunity to stroke a Labrador was high on their wish list.)

Yet, this comes at a time when firms say they are doing more than ever before to promote wellness and mental health. Nine firms recently signed up to the Mindful Business Charter, among them Freshfields, Ashurst and Hogan Lovells. The charter aims to promote a culture of “openness and mental wellbeing”.

Firms are increasingly conscious of their workplace culture, too. Earlier this month, Gowling WLG was recognised as one of the top ten best places to work in the UK by UK Best Workplaces. And legal website Roll on Friday recently posted its list of top firms for work/life balance, with Bristows and Mills & Reeve taking joint first place. One junior lawyer at Bristows said the firm “respected employees getting out of the office to meet life plans”.

Clearly, many firms are taking wellbeing seriously, although there needs to be a healthy dose of scepticism between what they say they do and what they actually do. At the end of last year, Legal Cheek ran an article about an unnamed top City firm that asked its trainees to pull an all-nighter days after publicly promising to support the mental wellbeing of its lawyers. A leaked email from one of the partners said trainees who declined to help would need to “provide evidence of their inability to help”.

A knee-jerk reaction when reading this type of story is to lay all the blame on firms for the stress suffered by their lawyers. But is this fair? In an article in The Lawyer, coaches Zita Tulyahikayo and James Pereira QC make the point that “part of the responsibility of an individual is to take care of themselves. You buy the appropriate clothes to do your job, and it follows that you do what is necessary to be fit for purpose. This is not to deny the role of employers in supporting wellbeing. It is simply to point out that the individual must also take some responsibility for themselves.”

They go on to say that “stress is not a mental health issue if one knows how to manage stress well. Most do not. What they have is a compromised ability to perform well, which is a wellbeing issue.”

So, what steps can trainees take to reduce their stress as they strive for their chosen NQ role? Stress often arises due to feeling a lack of control, so it makes sense to take control of as much of the process as you can. ‘Control the controllables’, as the saying goes. This includes:

1. Making a plan

Start the process early and decide exactly what you want to achieve. This may be as basic as making a clear choice about your preferred practice area or even whether you want to stay at your existing firm.

2. Doing your research

You’ve worked in law for two years now so use it to decide what you want from your career in terms of work/life balance, partnership prospects, quality of work, etc. Pick the brains of colleagues, friends and contacts about their experiences in the profession so you get as broad a view as possible.

3. Updating your CV

When you think about it, you have probably gained more experience than you initially think. Make sure you give a clear overview of what you have done and what you have learned during your training contract.

4. Preparing carefully for interviews

Do as much research as you can about the department or firm you are interviewing with and practise answers to questions. Remember too that the purpose of the interview is to find out as much as you can about the firm and if it is the type of role and environment that will suit you.

5. Not getting discouraged

If you don’t get the job you want, stay positive. Use every application and interview as a learning experience so that you present yourself in a better light next time around.

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