Articles From the Team
Hiring an interim lawyer
Most departments in most firms will at some stage encounter periods in which their fee earners are stretched to capacity and additional resource is required.
Many firms cope through these times of struggle by hiring an interim lawyers; many firms have been doing this for years and so spikes in work can easily be combated by bringing in additional lawyers as an when work levels dictate.
An interim lawyer (or paralegal) hire can be transacted quickly and can provide instant relief to a heavily work- leaden (and sometimes disgruntled) team.
We have seen an increase in the number of firms that have recruited interim lawyers post recession and during the financial recovery; work levels within firms has risen significantly yet in some areas there has been a reluctance to recruit permanent lawyers. This where a temporary hire could offer the extra resource but not the financial long term investment that a permanent hire requires. In the last 12 months alone we have seen many firms recruit interim lawyers into disciplines such as; commercial property, finance, corporate, employment, commercial litigation, construction to name a few. The interim space is growing and there are more high calibre professionals seeking to work as legal locums.
The candidates who approach us to work as locums have made a conscious decision to work as locums; many have been partners of law firms or have held senior roles and now choose to work on an interim basis as this ensures that they continue to work as a lawyer but with the flexibility to choose when to work. It is also crucial to point out that these “professional locums” are not seeking permanent opportunities.
BCL Legal has a specialist interim team which supplies interim solicitors and paralegals to law firms throughout the City, West End and Greater London. Our team consists of Matthew Porter and Raj Sidhu who between them have more than 12 year’s experience of recruiting interim legal professionals.
If you are a law firm seeking to hire a locum then please contact BCL Legal or call 0845 241 0933.