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Rohini Jannu
Private Practice team
Melbourne office
Commerce & Industry
The UK in house market continues to attract some of the best legal talent the UK market has to offer. Quality and mixture of work, proximity to the business, alternative career paths and competitive salary packages are just some of the reasons lawyers are turning to in house positions to realise their career aspirations. Whilst the continued hike in law firm salaries has clearly had some impact on the in house market companies and banks continue to expand their legal teams and whilst financial motivation is key for many candidates, most are able to see the numerous benefits of working in house.
As has always been the case boom areas of the in house market such as the IT, energy or banking sector remain candidate driven and company's and banks all tend to compete for similar types of individual resulting in premiums being paid for these type of candidate. Equally, specific legal skill sets continue to attract demand from companies and whilst corporate appeared to be the most in demand of these back in the late 90's, general commercial has been and remains the most sought after practice area for company's; in relation to banks derivatives and funds remain massively in demand.
With organisations continuing to increase their existing legal teams to support the ever increasing demand for support from the business, increasingly more companies are recognising the (numerous) benefits of employing in house counsel and are looking to employ their first in house counsel. Whilst saving external legal fees is clearly one of the benefits, adding value to the business and the deal management process are also key factors.
For clients, the more unusual the role the more likely it is that they will have a larger pool of candidate from which to choose. Thus, sole counsel roles or positions for general counsel / heads of legal remain fiercely sought after. Whilst roles for litigators or employment lawyers tended to be a rarity, over the past few years the in house market has evolved at such a rapid rate that in some organisations/banks the degree of specialism can often mirror that of full service law firms. However, even within these institutions the role of an in-house counsel can still differ so greatly from that of a lawyer in private practice, which allows for in-house roles to remain highly sought after, and for the in-house market to remain buoyant.
For further information on the UK in-house legal market and/or job opportunities in this sector contact:
Julian StoneT. +44 (0)20 7415 2828
E: julianstone@taylorroot.com
