Is interim just for senior solicitors?

The interim market has progressed rapidly in London over the past couple of years, with many firms looking to engage solicitors and PSLs on an interim basis for a number of different reasons, such as:

• Cover a gap in permanent recruitment
• Assist with a busy period
• Help with a large case
• Parental leave
• Secondment
• Cover a long-term absence

When a law firm is looking for interim cover, there are many circumstances where they will look to cover like with like. This means that if they are losing a junior member of staff (due to parental leave, secondment or leaving the team for an extended period), they would then certainly look to cover with an interim solicitor at a similar level.

There are times when a firm will hire a senior resource, who is able to come in and hit the ground running, ultimately relieving the stress and pressure that can occur in a team. The same as they would hire a junior solicitor on an interim basis if a junior member of the team were to be secondment to a client.

Interim is a popular option for senior solicitors as it allows for a great deal of flexibility. For example, if you only wish to work for six or nine months of the year to keep your hand in law, while enjoying an extended holiday for the other few months, then you absolutely can; same for less senior solicitors!

Junior solicitors may see interim as an opportunity to gain exposure to a number of different areas of law, improving upon their existing knowledge and variety of skills, while working within different teams.  

There are a number of reasons why a solicitor would look to enter the interim market across different levels of PQE, which is again why there is no set PQE level for an interim solicitor.  Working on the interim market gives you a great deal of flexibility, it allows you to work with a variety of firms and teams all of which will have a different way of doing things, culture and processes, and it allows you to take off extended periods of leave.

If you are an interim solicitor or thinking about entering the interim market please reach out to Sandra Pavlou at sandrapavlou@taylorroot.com.