Articles From the Team
The number of in-house solicitors has doubled since 2000!
Following a survey by The SRA it is estimated that there are now 25,600 solicitors working in-house - this figure is twice the number recorded in 2000 and represents approximately 18% of all solicitors.
This is great news for the in-house legal community and concurs entirely with what we in the in-house legal recruitment team at BCL Legal team have observed. Over the past 12 months in major locations across the UK we witnessed on average a 20% increase in legal vacancies. These new vacancies were spread across a range of industries including Financial Services, Industry and Manufacturing and Retail. What was most exciting was the ‘new’ nature of the majority of these roles - they were growth roles not refills.
It has been well documented that the desire to work in-house has increased in popularity in the past 10 years. A recent headline boldly stated that 75% of Associates wanted to make the move in-house! In many instances it is seen as a ‘route out’ from private practice however if that is a lawyer’s sole motivation they are unlikely to get past the first interview!
Client’s of BCL Legal that have recruited additional lawyers in the past 12 months includes: Siemens, Iron Mountain, PCC, Alliance Boots, BAE Systems, Gazprom, Manchester United, Appsense and BUPA.
If you are interested to discuss a move in-house contact the in-house legal recruitment team at BCL Legal.
Mark Levine is Director of In-house at BCL Legal.