Career Clinic: Is my firm bluffing about partnership to get me overseas?

This is a difficult one. On one hand it is clear that your firm is in need of extra fee earners in their overseas offices. It is also clear that they are indicating that this is a fait accompli if you want to be 'made up'. Depending on your area of expertise I would say that an overseas posting is not necessarily a bad thing. Dubai is handling an awful lot of banking & finance at the moment, Moscow likewise with energy, oil/gas and corporate work. Do your research and if at all possible see if any firm commitments from your firm will make the decision easier.

Ben Williams - BJJW Offshore -31 Mar 2008 | 15:47

Law firms are desperate to get their UK lawyers out to hot markets right now, especially tbe Middle East. In that environment can you always trust the nods and winks regarding partnership? The short answer is no. It's very much a case of buyer beware.

Anonymous -31 Mar 2008 | 16:29

Maybe. Two thoughts. First, look at the facts. If partnership really is a dead cert after you've been abroad, presumably there is a well-trodden path at the firm of senior associates coming home to partnership drawings after a couple of years. If not, do the reasons why not stack up in your favour? It certainly used to be the case at Slaughter and May that a couple of years in New York pre- or post-partnership made you (Chris Saul and Andrew Balfour both spent time there, for example). Times change though: the office was later handed over to a senior associate and ultimately closed. Secondly, and I'm afraid rather cynically, you may find that saying no doesn't help your chances either so you may in fact be choosing between going and leaving (unless you have a good gender/age/race reason not to go).

Ex-MC Lawyer -31 Mar 2008 | 17:20

The acknowledged strategy in at least one private practice (national)firm I worked with was that it was highly desirable for any partnership candidate to have served a period overseas(although exceptions were made, as not everyone had the opportunity to go). The canny lawyers who were sent off to less attractive or enjoyable locations usually extracted something in writing before they went too!

In-house lawyer -31 Mar 2008 | 17:51

I can only reiterate what in-house lawyer says. When I worked in a City firm, it was a good career move to spend time in an overseas office. You get far more responsibility and I guess grow much faster than you would in a huge London office. Seize the day!

Helen -01 Apr 2008 | 11:15

If you take a position abroad how are you going to build up a client base back in the UK to justify promotion to partner?

Regional Lawyer -01 Apr 2008 | 17:20

Even if they mean it, you'll still need one or two years back in London to build up client relations. Bear that in mind in respect of your life plans.

Anonymous -01 Apr 2008 | 20:38

When you say "my firm" who are you referring to? Easy to make promises when you're close to retirement and don't really have much of an interest in the future of the firm. Which partners will you be working for overseas? Do you know them and, more importantly, will they have any say in you being made up? It's remarkable how quickly partners forget about the lawyers they have persuaded to move overseas...out of sight, out of mind. That said, once overseas you may realise/decide that moving back to the UK isn't all that attractive - the opportunities for lawyers overseas are endless and potentially more rewarding. Try and establish what packages other lawyers are being offered to move overseas and what the local market is paying - lack of transparency and discrepancies in packages/pay are normal.

Anonymous -02 Apr 2008 | 13:22

If you move, you may also have access to opportunities that would never occur to you if you remained in the UK as a result of being a much more scarce commodity. Many have noted the potential downside with respect to your firm, but if you are willing to be honest to the fact that you may have greater opportunities elsewhere (either other firms or outside of a law firm). If your sole professional goal is to be a partner at your firm then moving needs to be considered very carefully, but if this is only one of the options for your future career development and you are willing to move to the suggested location, then it may be very interesting and rewarding.

Ex-firm / In Banking -02 Apr 2008 | 17:57

Many employers do not provide a career path for expatriates on their return to UK. Make sure you're not one of these unfortunates by getting a path set out in writing before you go, if you can.That said, it is an interesting adventure to go overseas.I followed my husband to Eastern Europe in the 1990s. My move cost me partnership and has affected my subsequent legal career. My husband's as an accountant wasn't too hot either. There was no proper job for him when he finished and he took redundancy 3 years later after a series of short term projects.He has now left the corporate world and become a Government Finance Professional.Neither of us have any regrets about going overseas but don't be under any illusions. My husband was labelled by his peers and superiors as the only person mad enough to accept the posting. My ex colleagues said I was the only person they knew who was mad enough to want to go with him. If you take it good luck !

High Street Solicitor -04 Apr 2008 | 12:36

If you refuse to go you won't make partner. So your choice is, as has been said, to leave the firm or go abroad. At least one top ten firm makes senior associates up to partner for their foreign posting, but expressly with no promise that their partner status would still apply on return to the UK. Might be worth asking.

US Partner -09 Apr 2008 | 17:10