Ruth Taylor – managing associate in the North West in-house team
What have been the main trends/ developments in the North West in-house market over the past 12 months?
It has been a very busy recruitment market with a similar number of placements in the region compared to 2013.
What have been the real growth areas and where has the demand been coming from?
Just under a quarter of the roles that we have successfully placed have come from US companies which have been looking to increase their legal capability across Europe with the legal team being centred within their North West based European HQs. Fast growing North West based businesses have also sought to bolster their legal capabilities with Boohoo.com, The Hut Group and Vets for Pets (part of Pets at Home) all growing their teams.
What are your predictions for the North West in-house market for 2015?
As legal teams are becoming more valued and integral to a business, we hope to see the growth achieved across the in-house legal teams in 2013 and 2014 continue at the same rate in 2015.
How would you sum up 2014 in one sentence?
Positive market with some great opportunities for lawyers looking to move in-house, but the shortage in the supply of strong commercial and corporate candidates is an issue for recruiting businesses.
