Bosses bemoan ‘basic grammatical mistakes’ and lack of commercial awareness

Undergrad law degrees aren’t much good at teaching people how to lawyer.

That’s the finding of research carried out with ten different sized law firms, which concludes that new grads come into the office with a “notable gap of essential skills”.

Kiel Consulting says that unis “tend not to prepare their students” for a working life in professional services and that the industry feels “there is a requirement for change”.

The research involved interviews with partners and recruiters at firms ranging from high street to international. It comes with a disclaimer that it represents Kiel Consulting’s interpretation of those conversations rather than the opinions of the firms themselves.

But it seems pretty clear that partners aren’t blown away by the office-readiness of their new recruits.

Over 90% of those interviewed gave “improved attention to detail” as their biggest ask for trainees. This was mostly to do with their written output, which tends to lack structure and include too much technical language and even Latin phrases (malum in se).

Bosses also bemoaned “basic grammatical mistakes such as the use of apostrophes or the correct use of Yours Sincerely and Yours Faithfully”.

Another 83% wanted junior lawyers to be better able to handle the “hostile environment” of a law firm by building up “resilience and perseverance”. The report points out that, quite apart from demanding clients and aggressive opponents, “there can also be hostility internally, amongst colleagues”.

So if you really want to practice for your first year on the job, ask your lecturer to send you a sarky email from time to time.

The firms fed back that grads with work experience as well as a degree under their belt tend to have more resilience — and to be quicker at building up it as a trainee.

The third most common complaint was our old friend commercial awareness. Respondents wanted newbies to understand the financial mechanics of a law firm, including “accounting mechanics such as WIP, Lock Up, P&L [and] billability targets”.

Seventy-one precent even claimed that superior commercial awareness would put a 2.1 student ahead of a rival with a first in the training contract hunt.

And the firms also want their juniors to work like dogs. Partners want their billing fodder to be “proactively asking for work” and “working long hours to meet deadlines”. The report says that asking about billing targets at interview comes across well (and at least you’ll know what you’re in for).

The report draws on interviews with senior staff at Ashfords, Browne Jacobson, Coodes, GA Solicitors, Michelmores, Nash & Co, Trowers & Hamlins, WBW Solicitors, Wollens and Womble Bond Dickinson.

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Six month delays

Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has become the latest City law firm to delay the start dates of its future trainee solicitors in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

From a September 2020 intake of 28, HSF confirmed eight rookies will be deferred for six months. The firm — which has already implemented a number of financial measures in a bid to mitigate the financial impact of COVID-19 — is also seeking six month deferrals further down the recruitment line: 11 from its March 2021 intake and 14 from its September 2021 starters.

Deferred trainee solicitors-to-be will receive a payment of £8,000, HSF confirmed, and potentially a further £1,000 to put towards an educational programme which benefits their legal career, such as a language or coding course.

The delays appear to stem from the firm’s decision to suspend its international secondment programme globally for six months from this September, in anticipation of continued restrictions on international travel. In light of this decision, HSF will have more trainees than usual undertaking seats in its London HQ over the next year or so.

The firm — which takes on around 60 trainees each year — said it will accept applications for deferral on a first-come, first-served basis. It will select names randomly if it fails to receive a sufficient number of volunteers.

A spokesperson for the firm said:

“Our people, including our trainees, are very important to us. This decision has not been taken lightly. We have only decided to take this step after careful consideration and as part of our wider prudent measures to keep our business resilient and protect our people in it.”

HSF isn’t the first law firm to take such action. Last week, Legal Cheek revealed future trainees at DLA Piper were being offered up to £10,000 to voluntarily put back their start dates by a year. Elsewhere, DWF and Irwin Mitchell have both delayed the start dates of its next UK trainee cohorts by six month in light of the pandemic.

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War of words between JLD and regulator rumbles on

A group of junior lawyers has urged the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to delay its rollout of the new solicitor super-exam, just days after the regulator signed off the final design.

In a lengthy letter to the regulator’s chief exec Paul Philip, The Junior Lawyers Division (JLD) lists off a series of concerns it has with the Solicitors Qualification Exam (SQE), a two-part assessment due to come into force from September 2021.

Primary among the concerns is the reliance on multiple choice questions (MCQs) to assess candidates’ functioning legal knowledge as part of SQE1. The JLD says it has been in contact with a “small number” of individuals who tested these sample MCQs as part of the pilot, with “worrying results”.

These SQE guinea pigs include a young paralegal with “no formal legal training” who took 30 minutes to do the first 30 questions. He scored 43%. Another candidate, now working as a paralegal but who had not done the Legal Practice Course (LPC), scored 60% after completing 30 questions in 30 minutes. The letter also cites the example of non-legal PhD holder with no legal training who scored 73% after completing the 30 questions in just eight minutes.

On this, the JLD says: “This small number of examples produce troubling results and would suggest that the MCQs are not overly difficult, confirming the current concerns of the profession, and that the SRA is potentially setting the level of legal knowledge and/or question standard too low.”

They continue:

“Undoubtedly in order to set a higher standard it would be necessary for individuals to have the requisite legal knowledge to complete the assessment and we refer back to our concerns about the lack of a requirement to complete a QLD/GDL. We consider that further work needs to be undertaken in relation to MCQs and the level of legal knowledge candidates are expected to have, and that the data from the SQE 1 pilot should be released in a similar manner to our examples above.”

The group — which looks after the interests of roughly 70,000 LPC students, trainees and solicitors with up to five years’ post qualification experience (PQE) — goes on to argue that the SQE is not yet ready for final approval and that more time is needed to ensure it is fit for purpose. It adds: “We believe that a further delay is needed and that the SQE should not be brought in, in its current form, in 2021.”

On Monday the SRA revealed the final design of the super-exam. It will seek final sign-off from the Legal Services Board (LSB) this summer.

Read the JLD’s letter in full below:

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Amounted to serious professional misconduct, tribunal finds

The former London boss of one of the world’s largest law firms committed serious professional misconduct when he attempted to kiss a junior lawyer in his hotel room after a night of drinking in 2012, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) has found.

A three person tribunal today ruled that Gary Senior, a former managing partner at Baker McKenzie, had breached professional rules by attempting to initiate intimate activity with a junior female colleague, known only as ‘Person A’, when he was in a position of seniority.

He was also found to have attempted to use his senior position within the firm to improperly influence an internal investigation of the matter.

Senior was fined £55,000 and has reportedly agreed to pay costs of £40,000.

A third allegation concerning Senior’s alleged failure to promptly report his misconduct to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) was found not proven.

Bakers’ HR director and partner who conducted the investigation, Martin Blackburn and Thomas Cassels, were cleared of all wrongdoing, as was the firm itself. The tribunal did note, however, that Cassels “committed an error of judgment in the manner in which the investigation was carried out” but that his actions did not amount to professional misconduct.

As for Blackburn, the SDT recognised that he was not a decision-maker in the firm’s investigation into Senior’s actions.

In a statement issued through a spokesperson, Senior said:

“I bitterly regret what happened in 2012. The matter was not covered up by the firm in 2012. An investigation was carried out by the firm involving a number of senior partners. At the time I believed I behaved appropriately in that investigation while cooperating with them and no comment to the contrary was made to me by those conducting the process. I cannot make any further comment until I have studied the Tribunal’s reasons for deciding as they have, as they did not give any reasons for their decision today.”

In a statement Baker McKenzie said: “The firm has co-operated fully with the SRA throughout this process. We are pleased that no finding of professional misconduct has been made against Baker McKenzie.”

It continued: “We are a different firm from a decade ago with new leadership, an enhanced purpose and a commitment to diversity and inclusion. This is reflected by the actions we have taken and policies we have introduced that ensure that all of our people, regardless of seniority, feel empowered to call out wrong or inappropriate behaviour.”

“Following this incident, we have also enhanced our internal policies, including around corporate governance. Something like this must never happen again,” Bakers added.

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Kulvinder Kooner was applying to be added to the roll

A trainee solicitor who attempted to trick the regulator with a “falsified” Legal Practice Course (LPC) certificate has been barred from working in the profession.

Kulvinder Kooner, a rookie at Surrey outfit Preuveneers at the time, sent the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) a copy of his LPC certificate as part of his application to be admitted to the roll, according to a regulatory settlement agreement published on Friday.

But the agreement reveals Kooner had “falsified” the certificate and had not passed the LPC — a necessary requirement before someone becomes a solicitor.

In June 2019, the regulator asked the young trainee to supply a clearer copy of the certificate because the one he had already provided was of poor quality. Kooner did not respond to this request.

Several days later, Kooner is said to have emailed the SRA withdrawing his application stating that he no longer wished to pursue a career as a solicitor.

That same day, Preuveneers contacted the regulator to report that Kooner had admitted that he had falsified the certificate.

He has now been hit with a section 43 order, which prevents him from working in a law firm without prior permission from the SRA. He must also pay the regulator’s cost of £300.

In a statement, Preuveneers said: “Mr Kooner joined the firm as a paralegal and confirmed to us that he passed the LPC and provided us with the transcript. He applied to become a trainee solicitor which was approved by the Law Society.”

They continued:

“As soon as we become aware of the situation, Mr Kooner’s employment was immediately terminated and we contacted the SRA on the same day. We have fully cooperated with the Law Society in their investigation.”

In mitigation, the SRA acknowledged that Kooner had apologised and expressed remorse for his conduct.

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Lockdown has hit certain specialisms hardest — but there are reasons for optimism, writes LexisNexis marketing chief Christopher O’Connor

With the news released by the Office for National Statistics on 12 June that gross domestic product (GDP) fell 20.4% in April (the highest decline on record and 10 times higher than the worst month of the 2008 recession), the real impact of COVID-19 is becoming clear.

Yet the effect of this economic shock on the legal market isn’t as straightforward as it might seem. Although many areas of the law are likely to be affected, some are counter-cyclical — when the economy is struggling, they tend to see more work.

Identifying these counter-cyclical areas and assessing the overall impact on demand for legal services is a crucial first step for lawyers and firms to plot a path to recovery. That is why my team at LexisNexis has launched the Gross Legal Product (GLP) Index. Like GDP, this tracks a representative basket of metrics that signify underlying demand for legal work. You can download the full report here.

The legal market contracted 2.5% in the first quarter of 2020, but there are pockets of growth. For the three months to March 2020, our model found a 2.5% decline in legal work. This may not sound high (particularly compared to GDP figures!) but it reverses almost half of the 5.1% growth since 2017 in a single quarter.

Lockdown has hit certain areas hardest. Property legal activity is down 25%, driven by the shutdown of the residential market (where sales are down 70%) and a distressed commercial real estate sector. Immigration has been equally affected — previously fast growing it has suffered from the suspension of global travel (international passenger numbers have fallen 99%).

But there are reasons for optimism. Employment law is booming, as firms figure out the legal ramifications of placing 7.5 million workers on furlough and prepare for the likely coming wave of redundancies. Commercial lawyers (in private practice and in house counsel) are on the frontline of managing the legal response to COVID-19 and this is reflected in our model, which shows demand has grown 8% in just three months. The purest counter-cyclical area of practice is restructuring and insolvency — economic turmoil always means more work for the administrators.

Although large firms are best placed financially to weather the crisis, smaller firms and, particularly, corporate lawyers are more likely to see demand increase. The top 100 firms have more exposure to areas of the law likely to contract (43%) than any other section of the market. In House legal work is more likely to grow than shrink — more than 80% of their work will be stable or will increase over the next few months as the crisis continues.

What does this mean for law students? You have already had to adapt to online exams and some of you will be expecting to spend the majority of the next academic year learning from home. But you now have another challenge — finding a job in the worst recession on record. Although I can’t offer much comfort, our practice area analysis may help you plan your applications. Areas of expansion (employment, commercial, tax) or stability (competition, compliance, family) are more likely to be hiring. If your heart had been set on a career in one of the areas worst hit by COVID-19 (immigration, property, crime) then you may find a tougher recruitment market as those firms look to cut costs.

For aspiring barristers, depending on your intended specialism (commercial disputes are likely to increase), we forecast that litigation will take some time to recover, so you may want to consider building experience in another area of the law while waiting for the Bar to recover.

Christopher O’Connor is head of segment and product marketing at LexisNexis.

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Will operate at 25% capacity with no movement between floors

Dentons has become one of the first major legal players to partially reopen its London office in response to the easing of lockdown restrictions.

The largest law firm in the world by lawyer headcount confirmed yesterday it had made its City office available for a “limited number of people” who would prefer to return to a more regular office-based environment for “mental health, isolation or other wellbeing reasons”.

Lawyers and staff seeking to break free from the work-from-home-life to curb the spread of the coronavirus will require prior approval from the firm, while anyone vulnerable to the virus or living with people who are vulnerable will not be allowed to return.

Dentons, which has over 170 offices across the globe, confirmed that only 25% of the building will be occupied and there will be no movement between floors. It will also operate an onsite ‘track and trace’ system and anyone who has been into the office who then develops symptoms, or is close to someone that has, must immediately notify the HR team who will be able to ascertain if anyone else was on the same floor at the same time and if so request them to self-isolate.

Lisa Sewell, UK and Middle East managing director at Dentons, said: “We recently conducted a survey where 70% of our people felt they could continue to service their clients, both internal and external, fully from home, while everyone else felt they could perform most of their work from home.”

She continued:

“Given how successful a fully virtual operation has been it is clear that there is no immediate business need for anyone to work from the office as we have continued to support clients on their most important matters seamlessly while working remotely. However, now that the government has relaxed lockdown guidelines we want to accommodate those who would prefer to return to a more regular office-based working environment for mental health, isolation or wellbeing reasons.”

The firm’s other UK offices will begin to reopen in a similar way over the coming weeks.

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‘Magic Circle Confessions’ launched earlier this month

A new Instagram account is publishing what it claims are the “confessions” and “juicy secrets” of City lawyers.

Launched last week, ‘Magic Circle Confessions’ encourages members of the profession to submit their career confessions (anonymously, of course) via the social media site’s DM (direct message) feature or by completing a form.

The page, which has so far attracted just over 100 followers, has gone public with a handful of lawyerly confessions since its arrival on the Insta scene, including one from a lawyer who recalls the time the son of a wealthy client came into the office to discuss his will. “He put a request to be buried in blue jeans, a Chris Jericho T-shirt and his replica WWE championship belt”, they recall.

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Undertaker would be proud. #law #biglaw #magiccircle #confessions

A post shared by Magic Circle Confessions (@magiccircleconfessions) on Jun 4, 2020 at 4:04am PDT

In another post, one lawyer reveals how they quit their high-paying job at a US law firm to become a civil rights lawyer. “I have never been happier,” they confess.

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No more “pls fix” emails at 6pm on Fridays. #law #biglaw #memes #magiccircle #lawmemes #lawyers #confessions

A post shared by Magic Circle Confessions (@magiccircleconfessions) on Jun 5, 2020 at 11:56am PDT

Some of the posts relate to more serious issues plighting the profession, although it’s not clear if they are all genuine.

One lawyer, for example, claims to have missed an important court date after they assumed it was cancelled due to the pandemic (and is still to inform their client of the bad news), while another harbours concerns that the coronavirus could cost them their job.

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Big oof. Press F to pay respect. #biglaw #law #magiccircle #confessions #memes #meme #lawmemes

A post shared by Magic Circle Confessions (@magiccircleconfessions) on Jun 4, 2020 at 11:28pm PDT

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Hold on tight, this too shall pass. #law #lawmemes #memes #biglaw #lawyersofinstagram #lawyers #confessions #magiccircle

A post shared by Magic Circle Confessions (@magiccircleconfessions) on Jun 9, 2020 at 10:01am PDT

Meanwhile, in another submission, an anonymous associate recalls how their first supervisor was on their fourth personal assistant because “he wasn’t pleasant to work with…”

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Who would have thought this could be the case? #law #lawmemes #lawyers #memes #confessions #biglaw #magiccircle

A post shared by Magic Circle Confessions (@magiccircleconfessions) on Jun 7, 2020 at 9:17am PDT

But some posts are light-hearted, as per the below.

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I watched Xena all the time when I was a child. #law #lawmemes #memes #biglaw #lawyersofinstagram #lawyer #confessions #magiccircle

A post shared by Magic Circle Confessions (@magiccircleconfessions) on Jun 6, 2020 at 8:42am PDT

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Four experts explore the rise of NewLaw and consider the training options on the horizon

On Thursday 4 June Legal Cheek partnered with BARBRI to deliver ‘Commercial Awareness Question Time’.

The event, which focused on NewLaw and the changing legal market, offered students the chance to gain insights into the impact the emerging NewLaw sector is having on the legal industry, as well as how the coronavirus outbreak is impacting the delivery of legal service and the possible training options available to future lawyers.

Expertise was provided by Mary Bonsor, CEO and co-founder of F-LEX; John Croft, president and co-founder of Elevate; Natalie Salunke, general counsel at Havn and The O-Shaped Lawyer project member; and Tracy Savage, academic head UK programmes at BARBRI.

The resounding message from the panel is that diversification and flexibility is the aim of the game as we adapt to legal life post COVID-19. This approach has been adopted by the NewLaw sector.

But what is NewLaw?

NewLaw can be described as a global trend seen in law firms, legal consultancies and alternate legal service providers that, through innovation and the adoption of ‘disruptive’ technologies, are changing the way in which legal services are delivered. It’s often viewed as a flexible alternative to ‘Big Law’.

First, John Croft considered whether the domination of large traditional law firms is about to give way to NewLaw. The panellists then provided their insights with four key takeaways.

1. Is the domination of large traditional law firms about to give way to NewLaw?

“That is unlikely… For highly bespoke work, you would still go to a magic circle firm,” Croft said, before adding: “In the last ten to fifteen years, that core traditional method of delivering services has been chipped away. New organisations have entered the space. Now there are legal process outsourcing companies offering lower value, higher volume work, using technology — dramatic changes are afoot for the sector.”

Set-up for today’s #VirtualLegalCheek student event with @barbri on ‘NewLaw and the changing legal market’ Almost 400 students have tuned in to hear speakers from @FlexOnDemand, Elevate and The O-Shaped Lawyer, discuss the emerging sector and training options on the horizon pic.twitter.com/j0wodhChD5

— Legal Cheek (@legalcheek) June 4, 2020

2. Lawtech is redesigning the way that lawyers work

Dramatic changes are afoot; but what do they entail? The message from the panel is clear: legal technology can be a great thing for future lawyers. Croft explained:

“Digitisation has changed our lives. The volume of data in any legal process is exponentially vaster than before and, at some point, there aren’t enough lawyers to do the work. This is when it is necessary for technology to step in.” This is a reassuring message for prospective lawyers fearing the potential decrease in jobs that a technology revolution could bring.

Meanwhile, Natalie Salunke suggested that technology will take away those “boring tasks”, such as typing, writing and drafting letters that lawyers were often lumbered with “back in the day”.

3. The impact of COVID-19 on the working environment

The panel took the opportunity to elaborate on changes to their working environments in response to the coronavirus pandemic. How has COVID-19 changed the way lawyers work, and are these changes here to stay? they were asked.

Tracy Savage alluded to changing perceptions among law firms and their staff. The old view was that “anyone working from home is shirking”, she said. “Now they see that people can work effectively from home.” This view was echoed by Mary Bonsor, who told the audience of over 400 students that “COVID-19 has proved it is possible to work from home”.

Will these changing attitudes have any bearing on the post-COVID working environment?

The panellists emphasised the necessity of ‘face-to-face’ interactions in conducting business. Despite this, it was acknowledged that increased flexibility and choice may become available to lawyers. And training contracts will likely follow suit, according to Bonsor, who predicts a mix of home and in-office training.

4. Career journeys: More opportunities in the legal sector?

The old culture of trainees spending their time on menial tasks for a number of years, in order to prove themselves, is changing. Junior lawyers will be presented with legal work from the outset, with a focus on spending as much time ‘lawyering’ as possible.

Encouragingly, Bonsor told the audience that COVID-19 will create more work in, for example, employment law and arbitration, which will perhaps suit those whose strengths lie in transactional, detail-heavy work, as well as those who enjoy being able to juggle matters.

Commitment and determination were also drawn upon as necessary prerequisites to success by Salunke, who referred to her own time as a trainee at Taylor Wessing during the financial crash. Making it at a time of economic crisis is all about “being tenacious and getting yourself out there,” she advised. Savage also advocated these strengths, adding: “Be flexible. You cannot think, ‘I’m going to do this at this firm, and that’s my route in’. Look for other routes in.”

Croft spoke of his optimism about the future of the legal sector. He voiced his positivity regarding the job market — “there should be more places for more kinds of people doing more things” — and summarised the themes of the discussion. He stated that new entrants to the market, having imbibed a sense of flexibility due to current circumstances and an increased access to technology, will be a step-up from the “one-dimensional” person typically, in his opinion, found within certain areas of corporate law. Salunke added that NewLaw has allowed for diversity of thought towards, for example, the technologically minded among lawyer aspirants.

Shortly after the panel discussion, the speakers joined the students for virtual networking and a law fair across interactive Expo sessions covering topics including the Solicitors Qualifying Exam and qualifying as a US attorney.

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In the virtual Expo hall now to network with the speakers at today's Commercial Awareness Question Time event with @barbri_inc #VirtualLegalCheek

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Distancing measures put in place

The London office of Allen & Overy has partially reopened to lawyers and staff.

The magic circle player confirmed yesterday that it had entered the first stage of its phased reopening of its City headquarters following the government’s easing of lockdown restrictions.

“In line with government guidelines the majority of staff will continue working from home in this phase, with a very limited number of people able to go into the office to work,” a spokesperson for the firm said. “Being able to go to the office is on a permission-only basis and numbers will be strictly limited.”

A&O also confirmed “appropriate distancing measures” have been introduced.

Legal Cheek reported yesterday that Dentons had repopened its London office for a “limited number of people” who would prefer to return to a more regular office-based environment for wellbeing reasons. The global giant said that only 25% of the building will be occupied and there will be no movement between floors. It has confirmed the introduction of an onsite ‘track and trace’ programme.

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44 out of 61

International law firm CMS has posted its 2020 trainee retention score.

Of the 61 trainees due to qualify this September, 44 will be staying put as newly qualified (NQ) associates — or 72%. CMS confirmed it made 46 offers.

The outfit’s London office will take 32 new recruits, Glasgow and Aberdeen will receive four each, Sheffield gains three, and one will start lawyer life in Edinburgh.

CMS confirmed NQ pay remains the same and there have been no deferrals to qualification or training contracts.

Legal Cheek‘s Firms Most List shows the London-based NQs will start on a base salary of £73,000. CMS’s rookies earn £43,000 in year one and £48,000 in year two.

The 72-office-outfit — which formed in 2017 through a three-way merger between CMS Cameron McKenna, Nabarro and Olswang — was a strong performer in our Trainee and Junior Lawyer Survey 2019–20, scoring A*s for tech and peer support, as well as As for training, quality of work, partner approachability, perks and office.

Earlier this month, Sidley Austin and Mills & Reeve posted results of 100% (11 out of 11) and 89% (16 out of 18) respectively — although both scores include one associate on a fixed-term contract.

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Ahead of The ULaw-Legal Cheek Virtual Vacation Scheme next week, ULaw’s director of employability John Watkins discusses the importance of being productive and why future lawyers must exude web-cam confidence

‘What else can I be doing during the lockdown?’

It’s a question that many anxious students have asked John Watkins, The University of Law’s (ULaw) director of employability, over the past three months. His answer is almost always the same: be ready to come out the other side a stronger candidate.

If you’re an aspiring lawyer that hasn’t yet asked themselves this question, then now’s the time. As law firms continue to tighten their belts in response to the financial fallout of COVID-19, it’s a challenging time to enter the market. “If it was tough securing a training contract in the first place, it’s going to be even tougher now,” Watkins warns.

With the competition among TC hunters fiercer than ever, students should use the lockdown to get ahead. “If employers ask during interviews or in applications, ‘What did you do during COVID-19?’, you need to answer this as positively as possible,” says Watkins. Here employers are testing your attitude and response to adversity, and will be paying close attention to your answer — even more so than responses about A-Level grades and pre-pandemic extra-curricular activities.

“Employers know lots of people are academically able and often have additional skills gained from work experience,” Watkins explains. “But they now want to know, how would this person respond if we went into another lockdown? How successful would they be if I don’t have them in the office, shadowing me in-person?”

As such, candidates with a can-do approach towards the lockdown, who have seized the chance to build new skills, will stand out to employers seeking adaptable lawyers. “Recruiters want lawyers that have the ability to not just do what they’re told, but are proactive and use their initiative,” says Watkins, who spent 15 years in accountancy before switching to higher education.

To those at home feeling constrained by the limits of lockdown, Watkins encourages you to be creative. “Take a personal assessment of what you can and can’t do,” he says. Since March, he’s seen many ULaw students strengthen soft legal skills — from communication to empathy — by becoming NHS volunteer responders and calling-up vulnerable people self-isolating at home. “Picking up the phone and talking to people is something that employers often say is not a strong skill of graduates — this is a good way to learn,” according to Watkins. Meanwhile, other forward-thinking students have focused on mastering basic Microsoft Office for business and even learning a new language — including coding.

Aspiring lawyers should also embrace the video revolution taking place within the legal profession. From virtual vacation schemes to virtual law fairs — law firms are finding new ways of engaging with eager applicants online. But cyber-networking comes with a warning. “The greatest amount of communication comes from body language. If body language and personal expressions can’t be seen, a huge amount of communication is lost. So, be mindful of that,” explains Watkins.

More innovative law firms have found a way around this. Watkins recalls a virtual vac scheme-holder being asked to send in a five-minute video presentation on a topic of their choice. “It was a way for candidates to show off their body language and communicate their personality as best as possible, so they could provide an advance version of themselves before the vac scheme kicked off,” he explains.

Webcam-confidence has become vital as lawyers embrace more flexible ways of working. With travel halted during lockdown, lawyers have turned to video-conferencing to keep in touch with clients. “The more lawyers can bring this service to life through virtual meetings rather than just phone calls, and enhance their relationship from a distance, the more likely the clients will be retained in the future,” says Watkins.

So should all candidates start sending over pre-recorded video introductions to legal employers? “Why not? You may get told, ‘We didn’t want that, we didn’t request it’. But most forward-thinking employers would say, ‘This is a very good way of introducing yourself; it makes you stand out from the rest who haven’t done that’,” Watkins explains. “I would check first to make sure why there is no reason why you shouldn’t. But in these circumstances, some of the old rules dictating what is and isn’t permissible have been cast aside and we’re now rewriting the rule book.”

Such initiative will put students in good stead in the post-pandemic world. “When we emerge from this, it’s likely there will be a slowdown in recruitment and there may be a sparsity of jobs, so people need to accept it’s going to take longer to find something,” he says. Taking inspiration from the 2008 financial crisis, aspiring lawyers should seek out opportunities in countercyclical practice areas — such as litigation and insolvency.

In the meantime, legal novices should consider what they really want from a career. “Following the lockdown, lawyers have realised that you can still work really long hours — but they don’t all have to involve lengthy commutes or late nights,” says Watkins. Priorities are shifting too. According to ULaw’s student surveys, greater mental health support and pro bono opportunities in the workplace are as important to the next generation as competitive salaries. Just as employers can compare and contrast applicants, candidates should be more selective with their career choices.

“It may not be a high priority at the beginning when getting into the workplace — where you’d jump at anything,” Watkins recognises. “But in the long term, it will be those employers who spot and deliver these priorities that will be able to recruit and retain the top talent.”

The Legal Cheek Virtual Vacation Scheme, run in partnership with The University of Law, takes place from Monday 22 June until Friday 26 June. Apply to attend.

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DWF’s Naomi Pryde says unnamed silk contacted a male junior lawyer about her case, assuming she’d be ‘indisposed’

A top Scottish solicitor has called out the behaviour of a QC who avoided consulting her about her own case because she’s pregnant.

Naomi Pryde, a partner at DWF, says that a reputably “eminent” silk contacted a male subordinate about an upcoming hearing, assuming that she was “indisposed” by her “condition”.

Pryde, the firm’s head of Scottish commercial litigation, has lodged a complaint with the chambers of the unnamed QC but declined to name him.

The incident occurred in the run-up to a virtual hearing that took place today. According to Pryde, the QC for the other side contacted her male colleague, a newly qualified solicitor, to discuss the hearing rather than her as the partner in charge of the matter. “When I asked why”, Pryde tweeted, “he referenced my ‘condition’ (pregnancy)”.

There was more of what Pryde described as “every day sexism” to come during the hearing itself:

“In OPEN COURT today, when fixing the next date, he was dismissive of my availability saying I should be on “maternity leave.”

“Women are entitled to take as much or as little maternity leave as they like”, Pryde pointed out.

An “eminent” Scots QC contacted my NQ (male) re a virtual hearing due to my being “indisposed”. When I asked why, he referenced my “condition” (pregnancy). In OPEN COURT today, when fixing the next date, he was dismissive of my availability saying I should be on “maternity leave”

— Naomi Pryde (@Naomi_Pryde) June 17, 2020

This is not the first time that the 35-year-old partner has encountered “unconscious bias” in the course of her work. In a recent article, Pryde wrote that “when I walk into a room with a — younger — male colleague, nine times out of 10 people will assume that he is the partner, and I’m the associate”.

She also said that “people have point-blank asked me whether I got my job because of a quota or positive discrimination, or because of what I look like”.

But Pryde was at pains to point out that the latest incident was not representative of most Scottish advocates. Replying to supportive comments, she noted that the Faculty of Advocates “doing a lot of really great work” on diversity and inclusion and “this QC is in the minority”.

Others were less sure. One Scottish lawyer told Legal Cheek that “many aspects of the Scottish bar are extremely archaic and old-fashioned”.

A spokesperson for the Faculty of Advocates referred Legal Cheek to Pryde’s positive comments about the organisation’s diversity and inclusion work, adding that a representative has been in touch. They continued:

“She has confirmed that she is content for the stable involved to deal with this matter internally. She suggests this is a matter best dealt with by education, and our Equality and Diversity Committee continues to make great strides in this regard. Those include our introduction of a fair instructions policy, and an anti-bullying and harassment policy.”

The statement concludes: “In the meantime, we deeply regret that anyone, through dealings with Faculty or any of its members, should feel let down in any way”.

A spokesperson for the Law Society of Scotland said:

“It is very disappointing to hear about the sexism experienced by one of our Council members. There is no place for such language and behaviour in a modern and diverse legal profession, and we commend Naomi for speaking so openly about it. It is only through calling out and bringing attention to such experiences that we can build a profession that treats everyone with the respect they deserve.”

They added: “We would urge everyone in the legal professions to be aware of the language that they use and the impact that their words can have, whether intentional or not. We can all learn from experiences such as Naomi’s.”

Pryde is also qualified in England & Wales and the Republic of Ireland, and according to the DWF website “splits her time between our Scottish and London offices”. She has been approached for comment.

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Freshfields freeze; fellow big payer HSF also declines to cut

The magic circle’s top payer is keeping its newly-qualified (NQ) solicitor salary at £100,000.

Freshfields has decided against an NQ pay cut in spite of the uncertain financial climate brought about by COVID-19.

It is expected to pay its September qualifiers the six-figure sum — £100,000 base rate plus bonus — that rose to this level last year, leapfrogging its magic circle rivals in the NQ pay league at the time. Freshies’ big money move sparked a summer pay war among the magic circle as well as other elite City outfits.

Elsewhere, NQ salaries also remain unchanged at Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF). The firm is understood to be keeping NQ pay at the current rate of £105,000 — a six-figure sum comprising salary and bonus. Legal Cheek estimates that HSF’s base rate sits at around £93,000.

Today’s news comes amid rumours swirling in the Legal Cheek comments section that some elite City players are poised to cut NQ salaries, or keep their associates on trainee levels of pay post-qualification amid junior lawyer pay freezes and the suspension of salary reviews.

Some City firms have already confirmed cuts to solicitor pay.

Slaughter and May‘s NQ base salary is down £5,000 to £87,000, while the salaries of staff at Reed Smith earning more than $100,000 (£80,000), who are not subject to other financial measures, will be reduced by 6%.

Elsewhere, solicitors, including trainees, at Osborne Clarke will see their salaries drop by 7% for a period of 11 months, while trainees at Taylor Wessing will take a 8% reduction in pay as part of a new flexible working programme.

Other firms are understood to still be umming and ahing over their NQ pay position, with reports last week suggesting that there was uncertainty among trainees at Linklaters regarding NQ pay. The magic circle player — which pays its NQs a minimum salary of £100,000 (base salary and discretionary performance bonus combined) — has since confirmed that they will not be kept on trainee pay packets upon qualification.

A spokesperson for the firm said: “Given the extraordinary economic circumstances created by the impact of COVID-19, we have not yet confirmed the salary level for this year’s NQs.”

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Exclusive: Second year rookies to remain on first year salaries

Hogan Lovells has cut the salaries of its newly-qualified (NQ) solicitors and frozen pay for some trainees as it navigates the “challenges and uncertainties” presented by the coronavirus pandemic, Legal Cheek can reveal.

NQ associates in the firm’s London office will now earn £85,000. Prior to the pay cut, the NQ base rate sat at £90,000, with discretionary bonuses of up to 30%, giving a potential total pay package of up to £117,000. Hogan Lovells confirmed that the salaries of its NQs based in Birmingham have also been reduced to £46,000.

The firm previously announced in April that salary reviews and discretionary bonus payments due to associates in the UK and Asia in May have been postponed, and will be “reassessed later in the year”.

Today’s news comes after Freshfields and Herbert Smith Freehills decided against cuts to NQ pay. Freshies will stick with its magic circle market-leading six-figure £100,000 sum, while Herbies is expected to pay its NQs the current rate of up to £105,000 comprising salary and bonus. Slaughter and May‘s NQ base salary, however, is down £5,000 to £87,000. Meanwhile, Linklaters is yet to confirm its NQ pay position.

In light of the current set of circumstances Hogan Lovells has also reviewed its UK trainee solicitor salaries.

A spokesperson from the firm told this website that “second year trainee salaries will remain static”. There will be no increase in salary when its first year trainees move into the second year of their training contract in August. They will remain on the first year trainee pay.

Our Firms Most List shows Hogan Lovells pays its London-based trainees £46,000 in year one and £51,000 in year two.

“In recent months the firm has taken measures to manage our business in response to the challenges and uncertainties of the COVID-19 crisis,” a statement from the firm read. “This includes postponing UK salary and discretionary bonus reviews for lawyers until later in the year.”

The statement continued:

“We looked very carefully at what we thought was best in the current conditions as we navigate the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. We appreciate that this is disappointing for our trainees and NQs and we are committed to reviewing this position again later in the year as part of our wider salary and discretionary bonus review process.”

The start dates for Hogan Lovells’ next trainee intake in August 2020 remain unaffected and will go ahead as planned. “We look forward to welcoming new talent to the firm,” the statement concluded.

“We are in the midst of our qualification process. We are offering unpaid leave as we do for every qualification round and discussing this with people on an individual basis. As always, we’ll have people starting at different times,” the spokesperson added.

In April, we exclusively reported that the firm, which recruits around 50 trainees each year, had cancelled its 2020 summer vacation schemes in view of the coronavirus and made training contract offers early. Candidates that were not offered TCs were invited to attend its winter vacation scheme later in the year.

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I planned to fill the gap with legal work but the job market is flat so options are limited, writes one Legal Cheek reader

In the latest instalment in our Career Conundrums series, one law student is looking to secure legal work ahead of starting their training contact next year. But should they apply for a paralegal role at their future firm or look elsewhere once the job market recovers?

“Blessed enough to have a TC with a City firm due to start next year, and finishing the LPC this month. I was planning on filling some of this gap with paralegal work, but the job market is quite flat at the moment. My TC firm has paralegal positions available, but I wondered (1) how people felt/insight into feelings of paralegaling with your future TC firm? (2) Do people think the general jobs market/paralegal market will open up in the near future (I have a 2:1 law degree from Cambridge and a likely distinction in the LPC)?”

If you have a career conundrum, email us at team@legalcheek.com.

The post ‘Should I work as a paralegal at the firm I’ve secured a training contract with?’ appeared first on Legal Cheek.

Defence lawyers complain after spotting Britain First petition on government solicitor’s feed

A senior prosecutor has reportedly been referred to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) over far-right posts on her Facebook feed.

Concerned criminal lawyers sounded the alarm about Kim Kendall, a Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) solicitor in the north of England, after seeing a link from far-right group Britain First on her Facebook page, the Guardian reports.

Two criminal defence solicitors say that the posts call Kendall’s neutrality into question and have called for her employer and her professional regulator to get involved.

The contentious material includes a Britain First petition to remove the statue of the “terrorist” Nelson Mandela from Parliament Square and criticism of the Black Lives Matter protests, the newspaper says, with screenshots to boot.

Attiq Malik, a solicitor-advocate who has appeared on Channel 4’s 24 Hours in Police Custody, told the newspaper that “as a campaigning lawyer against racism it is extremely concerning to learn that there are those in our profession who have Britain First posts appearing on their Facebook page”.

Kendall qualified as a solicitor in 2003 and works at the CPS office in Hull, according to the Law Society’s online database.

An SRA spokesperson told Legal Cheek that the organisation could neither “confirm or deny” whether it had received a complaint.

The code of conduct for prosecutors reminds CPS employees that posts on social networks, such as Facebook and (adorably) MySpace, are “open to public viewing and scrutiny”. It also says that “employees must not compromise their political neutrality”, although more in the context of “political activity” than the expression of opinion.

A CPS spokesperson said: “Impartiality and fairness are central CPS values and these are underpinned by a clear code of conduct. Any allegations of inappropriate behaviour are taken very seriously and investigated thoroughly”. Legal Cheek has also attempted to contact Kendall directly for comment.

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Five industry experts share their top tips

As part of The University of Law’s (ULaw) ‘Staying Set for Success’ event series, ‘Life as a global business lawyer in Hong Kong’ took place, virtually, with an expert panel from Clifford Chance, Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF), Linklaters, Mayer Brown and ULaw.

Expertise was provided by Clifford Chance partner, capital markets, Mark Chan; HSF partner, debt capital markets, William Ku; counsel and head of competition at Linklaters, Marcus Pollard; Mayer Brown partner, corporate and securities, real estate funds and real estate markets, David Ellis; and ULaw’s pro vice-chancellor external and founding dean of the Hong Kong campus, Peter Crisp.

The panel laid out their predictions on the impact of COVID-19, gave further detail on life working in Hong Kong, and provided some general careers advice and their opinions on the future for the industry. Here are their best bits:

The COVID-19 pandemic

The panel were asked to discuss the challenges faced by their respective firms in light of COVID-19. Impact on revenue and the working environment seemed to be the predominant concerns among the experts.

“Alike most other law firms, our business was impacted,” Mayer Brown’s David Ellis said. Despite this, it’s not all doom and gloom. HSF’s William Ku suggested that most global economies and businesses will revive and recover. “Fundamentally, the legal industry is about delivering the legal advice that clients need — and that need will always be there,” he told over 275 students tuned in online.

The panellists also considered that more remote or online work might be conducted in the future. Some members of the panel were willing to concede more credence to the possibility of regular remote and online work more than others.

While Ellis suggested that many people will want to return to the office, the panellists agreed that “the greatest significance will be agile working”. Although working away from the office was once considered a no-go for lawyers, Linklaters’ Marcus Pollard stressed that the pandemic has shown how overcoming the technical challenges inherent in having “99% of our entire office working at home” has proven that it can be done.

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Clifford Chance’s Mark Chan predicted “more flexibility around working arrangements for lawyers, including working from home and having video conferences outside the office”. In addition to conference calling and home-working, ULaw’s Peter Crisp predicted an “acceleration” in the use of online facilities in dispute resolution and a hastening towards online courts. By extension, such a move would help to minimise the financial impact on law firms affected by the closure of courts in Hong Kong.

Lawyer life in Hong Kong

The conversation then turned to life as a lawyer in Hong Kong and why, according to the panel, it is an excellent place to live and work.

In terms of cultural experiences, the panel reflected on the “conservative” business approach adopted by many HongKong-ers. Indeed, referring to male and female colleagues as ‘Mr’ and ‘Mrs’ is commonplace, as is wearing a tie in the office. The tossing of business cards across the table, for example, is also deemed insulting. Perhaps the “old school” approach still in place in Hong Kong does much to uphold and reward those who demonstrate an aptitude for legal work in what is an internationalised, business-focused city.

Careers advice

So how can students best prepare themselves for a career in law in this uncertain climate?

According to the experts, the lockdown was an opportunity for aspiring lawyers to improve their employability. The panel encouraged students to brush up on their commercial awareness and be ready to demonstrate their “flexibility”. Pollard urged students to adopt a “business as usual mindset”, citing the example that restructuring and insolvency may be areas of practice that could be more active over the next 12 months.

But do Hong Kong lawyers of the future need to know the local lingo? HSF’s Ku noted that those applicants who lack local language skills, but wanted to work in Hong Kong, would “need to bring something else to the table”.

The future

What did panel members believe would be the biggest challenges faced by law firms in the next five years?

They opined that harnessing the use of technology would be pivotal to ensuring that firms stay ahead of their rivals, while the assumption follows that firms which are not ready for it will be left behind.

The risk that legal work will be commoditised by increased use of technology will heighten the sense that firms need to ‘remain relevant’ to clients and prove the ‘added value’ that will persuade companies to pay the fees needed to ensure their long-term financial success. Indeed, the need to come out of lockdown with a bang, it was suggested, will likely spark a battle for recruitment, clients and quality work.

As the world attempts to navigate itself out of a global pandemic, the onus will be on training contact hunters and firms alike to adapt to and flourish in the post-COVID-19 global setting. As far as the panel is concerned, it’s all to play for.

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Also implements reduced working week option

Baker McKenzie has introduced a series of new measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the option for lawyers and staff to take part-paid summer sabbaticals.

The global giant said the extended holidays were part of a range of voluntary working options to ensure the strength of its business while providing employees with “as much job security as possible”. The firm did however stress that partners will “bear the brunt of any impact”.

It is understood that the sabbaticals will last between six weeks and three months.

Bakers — which briefly shuttered its London HQ in February following a suspected case of COVID-19 (it turned out to be a false alarm) — has also implemented a new optional reduced hours programme, which will see some lawyers and support staff work a four-day week for 85% pay.

It is also deferring salary reviews for all staff for at least six months, pushing back decisions on bonuses until later in the year, and pausing recruitment activities with the exceptions of graduate recruitment and strategic lateral hires.

Alex Chadwick, London managing partner, said: “We have navigated the COVID-19 economic environment well so far. This is because of the full service global nature of our firm, our local strength and the continued delivery of the highest standards of client service.”

He added:

“As the economic landscape begins to shift, we need to ensure that we are well positioned so we can continue to protect the strength of our business while preserving jobs. This means adopting a prudent and measured approach temporarily until the economic picture becomes clearer.”

Bakers isn’t the first big legal player to offer its staff extended breaks. In April, Legal Cheek reported that Shearman & Sterling was offering its lawyers and staff sabbaticals of up to six months at a third of their annual salary, while Reed Smith has introduced a scheme which allows employees the option to take up to three months unpaid leave.

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COVID-19 response measure follows Slaughter and May salary decrease

Allen & Overy (A&O) has cut the salaries of its newly-qualified (NQ) solicitors by 10% in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The magic circle firm confirmed this morning that the salaries of its September 2020 qualifiers will drop from a minimum of £100,000, comprised of salary and sign-on bonus, to £90,000. This represents a 10% decrease from 2019.

Last year, A&O upped its NQ pay package by as much as 20% from £83,000 to stretch to the six-figure-sum, following the summer City pay war.

Fellow magic circle firm Slaughter and May confirmed a month ago that its NQs will earn £87,000, a reduction on the £92,000 base salary, while Linklaters is understood to be still considering its NQ pay position.

A spokesperson for A&O said in a statement: “Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and in line with measures we have introduced across the firm in response to it, we have made the decision that lawyers qualifying in September 2020 will receive a minimum total cash of £90,000, comprised of salary and a sign-on bonus.”

The statement continued:

“We would like to take this opportunity to recognise that this is a time of great concern for students wondering what the future will hold for them and to state that we have not reduced recruitment levels for the next generation of Allen & Overy lawyers.”

The spokesperson confirmed to Legal Cheek that A&O’s second year trainee cohort will remain on first year pay in line with the firm-wide pay freeze. First year trainee solicitors earn £46,500.

Today’s news is a marked shift on last year’s narrative in which we saw City firms complete with their US rivals in London to top the NQ pay league. Some US firms pay their newbie associates a dollar-pegged salary in excess of £130,000.

Freshfields, however, has decided against an NQ pay cut in spite of the uncertain financial climate brought about by COVID-19. The magic circle’s top payer will continue to pay its rookie talent £100,000.

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