Articles From the Team

London Locums

Post recession there has been much doom and gloom within the legal sector; multiple redundancy casualties and whole swathes of transactional departments disappeared almost overnight. The legal landscape has changed and has seen the merging of firms more commonplace than ever before.

Most firms have had to tread with caution when recruiting; the unpredictability of the markets has meant that traditional recruitment cycles have been broken; pay rises year on year have become something of yesteryear and recruitment budgets have diminished.

However, the area of legal recruitment which has grown post recession has been the interim market. Many firms, from the Magic Circle down to sole practitioners, have utilised the many locum solicitors who provide interim solutions to the legal industry, across all disciplines.

There are many reasons why a firm may take on a locum lawyer; maternity cover, sickness cover or simply to alleviate a busy department. Law firms have found that whilst there may still be recruitment freezes, they have been able to bring in a locum for short periods of time which has proved a cost effective solution.

Post recession, with fewer permanent roles available to lawyers, we have also seen the number of lawyers seeking to work as locums increase. Many of the locums we work with have interests outside of the law and so locum opportunities allow those people to work flexibly whilst pursuing their other interests. Foreign qualified lawyers make up a large proportion of the interim legal workforce in London as well as those who have held senior roles in the past and now choose to work on an interim basis due to lifestyle choices.

BCL Legal has now opened its newest office in London. Should you be a prospective client seeking to hire a locum, or a solicitor wishing to work as a locum, please contact BCL Legal or call 0845 241 0933.