In-house legal recruitment market subdued
The last ten years have witnessed strong growth in demand across the UK and international in-house legal recruitment market. Existing legal teams have been developed and expanded with many new teams created.
The recession has not left the legal recruitment market unscathed and unemployment in the profession is rising in tandem with developments in the wider economy. However, it is clear that in-house legal teams are fairing better than private practice. One effect of the recession is that in-house legal functions are reducing the level of support they seek from external counsel and this is underpinning in-house legal employment. The upside is that in-house teams are being preserved and in some instances established or expanded. Not withstanding this comparative welcome news, the total number of vacancies has fallen significantly in the last twelve months and mainstream vacancies are limited. More prevalent are specialist vacancies often requiring unique skills and experience. Employers faced with the widespread availability of potential recruits are only recruiting those who have the exact experience they require.
Recruitment in banking remains largely frozen. Exceptions are for specialist roles and a limited number of smaller banks are looking to fill general counsel positions. The larger asset managers are still recruiting and private equity is showing some improvement in demand. Banking and commercial litigation is also showing some signs of life as both contentious and non contentious competition law. There is currently little demand for purely transactional lawyers.
In the Middle East demand is similarly subdued. Busier locations include Abu Dhabi and Qatar where there has been an increase in demand for energy and oil and gas lawyers. Across the region more generally there are an increasing number of lawyers with local regional experience. This is currently making it more competitive for those who are looking to relocate to the region for the first time.
Barclay Simpson recruits lawyers predominantly into financial institutions such as investment banks, commercial and retail banks, asset managers and hedge funds, insurance groups and private equity/venture capitalists, particularly in London, but also in the Middle East and Europe. We work with a wide range of clients, from large global financial institutions with extensive legal teams to small privately owned businesses looking to recruit their first in-house legal advisor. In addition to in-house lawyers, we also provide banking, finance, corporate, regulatory and insurance lawyers for roles in private practice.
We have a wide range of legal opportunities for which existing in-house law secondment experience is beneficial but not essential.
For more information on the current in-house legal recruitment market, please contact Tracy Brown tb@barclaysimpson.com or Jane Fry jf@barclaysimpson.com for London based roles or Sophie Spencer ss@barclaysimpson.com for Middle East opportunities or telephone on 020 7936 2601. |
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