So we’ve looked at the dark side for aspiring trainee solicitors, now let us try to be wholly un-British and look on the bright side!
Whilst the recession has clearly had an impact on the legal profession it seems that it has not been hit anywhere as hard as other industry sectors when it comes to graduate positions.
A report on the 2009 graduate market from High Fliers Research shows that graduate vacancies in the legal sector have dropped by 7.5% compared with an average drop of 13.5% across the UK’s top 100 graduate employers. Some sectors have been hit much harder, however, with investment banking seeing a scary 35.2% reduction in vacancies.
Whilst scant consolation for those who are struggling to secure a training contract, it does go to show that the legal profession remains relatively stable and it bodes well for the profession recovering relatively quickly when we do start properly coming out of recession.
Many law students are also deciding to take positive steps themselves by using the current job market as the perfect time to take a gap year. They figure they can be away from the job market when it’s in its worst state and hope that it has picked up by the time they return home. It also gives the opportunity to undertake voluntary work or something similar which can help make a CV stand out from the crowd.
As for training contract vacancies, it may be that we are starting to see the odd green shoot of recovery with the recent news that CMS Cameron McKenna is taking on additional trainee solicitors in Bristol and that Irwin Mitchell is increasing its number of trainees from 27 to 32 for its September 2009 intake.
Due to many of the big firms recruiting their trainees two years in advance we may start to see a return of confidence in recruitment policy next year. Firms will be recruiting for 2012/13 by which time we will hopefully be far down the road to economic recovery so the hope is that firms recruit accordingly.
Of course, the market is still tough but its not all doom and gloom. As ever, a good, well researched, well prepared and well presented candidate should have no problem in securing a training contract in the current market.
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