Solicitors...Returning to the Law

[Nailey]

Hi mummies...

I am having a lot of difficulities securing a job....I took a career break and ended up getting pregnant. I have been out of work coming up to 2 years but would like to return full time. I have no child care issues.

I have made a few speculative applications but nothing has transpired. Also spoke to a few agencies and they have sent my CV to a few firms but again nothing has transpired into anything.

My previous experience with recruitment agencies is a negative one. I found them really unhelpful, they never update me with anything unless the employer wants to do an interview then they are straight on the phone.

Anyway I am starting to get down. I qualified as a solicitor when I left my previous employer. I left with some PQE.

Any advice from anyone who has overcome this situation would be much appreciated. I really want to kick start my career again. I worked so hard to qualify as a solicitor and want to put all my experience to good use.

Thanks

[Somewhereoverthesanddune]

What area of law and were you in private practice before? I wouldn't expect the two year gap to be the biggest issue (unless you specialise in something that's changed massively like data protection).

[Nailey]

I did corporate law. I think brexit has made abit of an impact as well.
Thinking whether to maybe apply for paralegal jobs 😞

[Somewhereoverthesanddune]

How long have you been trying? Don't go for paralegal jobs yet - it will be hard to get back from that. I would be inclined to do temporary admin work for a few months if you desperately need the money rather than paralegalling.

Are you based in London? The uncertainty over Brexit is impacting the market but there are still plenty of corporate jobs in London being advertised on Legalweek for example. How many jobs have you actually applied for? At a junior level I think you're better applying for specific positions rather than sending speculative applications (that may be what you're doing).

I would sit and trawl through both job listings and the careers sites of all the major law firms and then send tailored applications to anything that looks half way suitable. A lot of work but your best chance of success. You can also register to be notified if certain types of vacancies come up on some (all?) law firm websites. If you're considering NQ roles (which is better than paralegal!) don't limit yourself to corporate only, apply for anything you think you can justify an interest in.

I can't help with recruiters as I'm not based in the UK so the ones that target me are a very different market but you're right - recruiters are in it to make money not friends and will only show you the love if they think they have a real chance of an opportunity. Can't blame them - they need to make a living!

Good luck! You might also get more of a response posting in either legal matters or chat. Not that many lawyers hang out in employment unless they're actually employment lawyers.

[Satsumaeater]

There are lots of legal jobs on LinkedIn, have you looked there?

[ShalomJackie]

Where are you? I know a firm looking for corporate lawyers that might be worth a speculative approach.

[underneaththeash]

I friends of mine who is getting back into corporate work again went to work for the government in the Brexit negotiation/regulation bit. I'm sorry, I can't be more specific, but it doesn't pay very well, but she's managed to get into something else after a couple of years. If you want to PM me, I can the email her and ask her more details

[EmeraldVillage]

In you are looking for work in London then I think you will get something but it may require some plugging away and you may have to agree to be paid at a lower PQE at least initially.

I’d be willing to have a look at an anonymised cv if you’d like. I am in house but have interviewed many junior lawyers in my time.

[LetticeFortescue]

Local authorities find it difficult to recruit lawyers because pay is low compared to the private sector, and they do need corporate lawyers. You could look out for locum jobs in that sector.

[Nailey]

Thank you for all your responses
I have applied through linkedin, agencies and the firm’s career page.
I will avoid the paralegal route for now. I noticed that GLS are recruiting.
I am based in West London so I can commute into central and I can also travel around so I can do Buckinghamshire, St Albans, Berkshire and Reading.
ShalomJackie - any chance that firm is near me?
underneaththeash and EmeraldVillage – I will pm you both
Also if anyone knows of any in house opportunities please let me know.

[thiskitten]

Wishing you luck! I don't think you can be employed as paralegal in a law firm if you have already qualified as a solicitor- there's a rule against it I think (could be remembering incorrectly). Don't think the rule applies if you work in house though. Hopefully it won't come to that though

[ShalomJackie]

Sorry no - it is a firm commutable from London but to the north rather than west.

[CoffeeAndCupcakes85]

Hi OP. I was/am in a similar position to you. I was out of work for 2 years (lost my job while on mat leave 1, just as we found out we were expecting DC2, so had very few options for getting a job at that stage). I am clawing my way back in by doing interim contracts. I’ve just secured a proper job (thanks in part to my interim experience) which is great, although frustratingly I’m now earning £5k less than as a trainee . It’s really hard but you can do it, you might just have to take interim / non corporate jobs for a while (basically anything to get a little experience and an up-to-date C.V.). Good luck!

[CoffeeAndCupcakes85]

P.S. I saw on Twitter today @interimlawyers are advertising for an interim corporate lawyer in central London. I don’t know what PQE they want, and you may not be able to drop everything on little notice to do it, but thought I’d mention it .

[LetticeFortescue]

www.publiclawjobs.co.uk/display-job/6730/Solicitor-Legal-Executive-–-Contracts.html?searchId=1536914235.94&page=1

[halesie]

Hi OP, law firms are starting to do "returnships" now so hopefully this is a good time for you to be coming back

Take a look at Reignite Academy - a bunch of City / US firms have just joined a programme to get parents back into the profession after a break.

reigniteacademy.co.uk

Hope it goes well for you.

[Aridane]

Have you looked at Lawyers on Demand?

[Careerdilemmas]

Op I have been looking for a new job as a corporate lawyer recently and there is a lot of work out there but in my experience the best way is to work with the recruiters. Some firms/companies only use recruiters and others will give preference to the CVs from recruiters where the recruiter firsts meets the candidate and/or does an initial filter. If they have time they will consider additional applicants via LinkedIn etc but they are all busy people and recruiters make their lives easier. For small in house companies they may be recruiting directly without using a recruiter ie on LinkedIn etc but those roles tend to be more commercial than corporate and often they are looking for a sole lawyer or you'd be part of a very small team with a lot of responsibility. Probably not the best if you are still fairly junior and looking to develop your experience and skills.