Articles From the Team

Conveyancing jobs: high street or large specialist firm?

A lot of people looking at conveyancing jobs will ask themselves whether they should go for a high street firm or a large specialist firm. Well, the answer to this question is not a very helpful one and that is, it depends. It depends on many factors, including your background, career goals, requirements in regards to flexibility, and ultimately, personal preference.

There are pros and cons to working with both types of firm, and both aren’t right for everyone.

Here are my thoughts on the benefits of working for each type of firm.

Specialist conveyancing firm

1. They tend to have better structured induction and training programs as they’re likely to recruit more regularly.
2. More progression opportunities. Bigger firms have more of a need for team leaders, managers and senior managers and a lot of firms like to ‘grow their own’, so that means there’s a lot of opportunity to progress within the firm.
3. More stability and job security. The larger conveyancing firms tend to be on a lot of panels, and they also receive a lot of work from other avenues.
4. Better salaries and benefits packages. Larger firms tend to have more benefits, including health care and better pension schemes.
5. More support, in terms of training, administration and guidance.

High street firms

1. Tend to be more ‘hands on’, allowing for greater client contact and file ownership.
2. Easier to gain broader experience and diversify within your role.
3. As high street firms tend to have smaller offices they have less of a ‘call centre’ feel to them.
4. Tend to have smaller caseloads as you’re managing the whole process.
5. More likely to have exposure to high net worth clients.

On the flipside, there draw backs to working for each kind of firm, including case load size, working environment, career progression opportunities, amount of support and training (or lack of).

At the end of the day, everyone’s different and we all have different career goals and likes/dislikes. That’s where working with a reputable and experienced recruiter, who specialises in your field of the law, will help.

At BCL Legal, we’ll get to know you: your background, your desires and aspirations and work with you to help you find the best fit.

One thing I’ll say is that when looking for a new job, it’s essential to stay open minded. Find a recruiter you trust and easily work with, and be honest with them. Tell them what you’re looking for and be open to suggestions. You never know, they might have something in mind for you that you wouldn’t have.

View our latest residential conveyancing jobs.