On March 3d, we had the pleasure of welcoming to Goldsmiths (virtually) Craig Sharpe, a marketing consultant with solicitors firm Axiom DWFM. Craig spoke to students about how commercial law firms are changing their recruitment practices, and how they can adapt to changes. In this blog posts, he offers a more detailed analysis on this question.

A useful starting point in addressing the above question is to recognise that most if not all of the changes impacting the legal sector in the last 10-15 years apply equally to almost all other service sectors. In the legal sector, due to longstanding traditions and operating as regulated profession, change has been slower but has gathered pace.

Consequently, the following points will hopefully be useful to  students generally.

Causes of major change in the legal sector

• Supply and demand – there has been a significant long term increase in the number of lawyers qualifying. For many areas of legal practice there has not been a commensurate increase in the demand for legal services and advice. Where a dynamic arises of an oversupply, buyers gain the advantage and this a major cause of significantly increased competition in the legal market.
• The internet – the internet has impacted every business sector and law is no exception. Lawyers no longer have a monopoly on information and prospective clients can and invariably do research their legal issues and needs on the internet. Prospective clients will also generally look at the availability (where they are looking for local advice) and reputation of lawyers and law firms online, so developing a strong presence and good reputation online, both for firms and individuals is strongly advisable . Clients are increasingly looking for lawyers to be good overall business advisers as well as good technical lawyers. Clients expect a higher degree of “commercial awareness”, proactivity and sometimes a degree of risk sharing between lawyers and clients.
• Erradication of professional exclusivity – historically, only qualified lawyers could offer legal advice but this has changed over the last 15-20 years. It is now possible for other professional service providers and even large businesses to employ lawyers and to offer some legal services themselves i.e not via law firms. Accountants, for example, may now offer some legal advice and services and they have an advantage over lawyers in that they will often have far more regular contact with clients than lawyers do (as many clients traditionally only contact lawyers for a specific need which may not occur that regularly). So, competitive forces are compelling law firms and individual lawyers to be far more dynamic and to consider client needs in a more holistic manner – in other words, this is another example of the importance of “commercial awareness”.

Impact of changes on how law firms recruit

Whilst few law firms will openly admit it, the competitive and client pressures outlined above have compelled them to make significant changes to stay competitive.

Some law firms have adopted an approach of embracing and getting ahead of the changes in business and the legal sector. Others are still resisting the changes as much as they can or burying their heads in the sand but those firms are facing a difficult future.

So, how are the changes reflected in legal recruitment, especially recruitment of paralegals and trainees? A few examples include :

• Law firms specifically testing applicants’ mentality, adaptability, ability to think creatively about business scenarios as well as legal scenarios and assigning a significant amount of importance to these aspects as well as legal skills and acumen.
• An increase in the number of firms bringing in paralegals which enables the firm to better gauge the applicant’s ability to demonstrate dynamism, team play, a can do and mature approach when contrasted with the traditional recruitment approach which only offers a brief “snapshot” of the candidate. In other words, because recruiting staff with the right mentality as described above is so important in an ultra-competitive market, this is a “try before you buy” approach.

Practical ways students can prepare before approaching law firms

Given the skillsets and mindsets law firms are looking for are now often going beyond legal skills, it make sense for students to develop skills and a business approach before applying to them. There is no 100% right answer or approach but it may be worth considering :

• Getting as much varied and practical business experience as you can – anything that is customer focused is good but sales and marketing are especially good areas.
• Start thinking about the importance and value of building your contacts. Spotting networking opportunities, opportunities to help others, make introductions and connect with people and build relationships requires a mindset that often comes from habit. As the classic marketing phrase states “it’s a process not an event”.
• Read some general business skills books – there are a plethora on amazon. A few examples, (not recommendations) are this book and also this one.
• For more commercial law firms, an understanding of or some experience or skills in IP is very useful. Almost all commercial contracts and/or transactions have IP elements now.

Craig Sharpe is a marketing consultant with Axiom DWFM. Prior to his marketing career, Craig practised as a civil and commercial lawyer for nearly 15 years.