GOING UP
Litigation
Commercial barristers and solicitor-advocates are bracing themselves for a busy few years. As 3 Verulam Buildings’ Andrew Onslow QC explains: “When there’s less money around, people fight harder over what remains.” Firms and chambers may claim that economic conditions do not affect their trainee and pupil recruitment policies, but as all those credit-starved business ventures morph into bitter wrangles, it is likely that they’re going to have to bulk up on litigators. Expect a resultant spike in law school mooting society membership levels.
Corporate social responsibility
For those whose is aim to use the law to facilitate the purchase of a mansion in a gated community in Surrey and a fleet of blacked-out 4x4s, thus avoiding future interaction with anyone earning less than £100,000 a year, there is bad news: helping the down at heel is suddenly all the rage among law firms. Four out of five of the ‘magic circle’ firms have publicly announced a commitment to corporate social responsibility, with Clifford Chance (CC) even appointing a full-time pro bono lawyer. Prospective corporate lawyers: think Free Representation Unit rather than the Bullingdon Club.
LGBT
Not so long ago, gay City lawyers kept quiet about their sexuality if they wanted to get on professionally. Suddenly, however, law firms are falling over themselves to present themselves as sophisticated, tolerant places where issues relating to sexuality are greeted with indifferent, metrosexual shrugs. Leading the way is CC, which launched an LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) group last year. Various other top firms, including Simmons & Simmons, Allen & Overy and Eversheds, have followed suit.
Mid-sized firms
Several mid-sized firms have taken advantage of the recent slowdown in salary increases to bring their pay structures closer in line with the top City players. The 2008 Legal Week Assistant Survey revealed significant jumps in wages at Stephenson Harwood, Withers, Clyde & Co and Berwin Leighton Paisner. The names may lack the corporate glamour of the City giants, but the reality is that newly-qualifieds at Clydes, who now earn £64,000 per year, are on only £1,000 less than their colleagues at Allen & Overy.
GOING DOWN
Bonuses
While law firm bonuses never reached the sums paid out to bankers, they still made it to some pretty lofty levels. Linklaters, for example, paid out bonuses of £50,000 to high performing assistants in 2006 and 2007. With a recession on the way, and the whole bonus thing becoming a bit of a touchy subject in some quarters, it’s unlikely we’ll see City firms being so generous with their cash over the next few years.
A-levels
If David Miliband, who got a first from
Criticised for lack of diversity among their employees, law firms are at last twigging that A-level results may not be a straightforward reflection of intelligence. Freshfields, White & Case and Norton Rose are all reviewing their recruitment procedures.
The criminal Bar
Fascinating cases, interesting clients, the opportunity to be the centre of attention… the criminal Bar sounds great. It was, say barristers, 20 years ago. Unfortunately, while costs have increased everywhere else, earnings at the criminal Bar remain broadly in line with what they were in 1988.
And with the Government blowing all its cash on bailing out banks, the criminal Bar is unlikely to receive an injection of funding anytime soon.
Regional firms
A few years ago
The 2008 Legal Week Assistant survey shows the typical salary for a newly qualified solicitor at leading regional firms to be around £37,000 — way off the standard City minimum of £60,000.
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