a guide to lawyers looking to work in london west end & niche city firms

A WORKING GUIDE 1

a guide to working inwest end & niche firms

taylorroot.com

London - UK

2 GUIDE TO WORKING IN WEST END & NICHE FIRMS

Taylor Root is the only legal recruitment agency in London with a team that focuses exclusively on West End, Niche City and Boutique firms. Since its inception in 2006 the team has developed an unrivalled expertise in assisting top quality London and regional candidates move to mid-sized and niche firms in London.

Our competitors tend to focus only on Magic Circle and large International firms whereas Taylor Root has a specialised team that reflects the unique nature of the London legal market. There is a broad spread of mid-sized and niche firms with outstanding reputations in their areas of focus, that take pride in the fact that they have a different culture to the City law firms.

At Taylor Root we regularly speak to lawyers who either already work for West End and niche firms or are seeking something different from their careers. Our West End & Niche City team specialises in working with candidates that are looking for a change and want to work at law firms that offer a different working culture to City law firms.

There is life outside of the large City firms. Although not alwaysas well known as the City practices, West End and niche firmsoften have exceptional reputations in their sector. There are many factors that help to distinguish these types of firms fromtheir City counterparts:

• Culture• Size & sector• Clients• Geography• Salary• Prospects

INTRODUCTION What is a West End/niche firm?

A WORKING GUIDE 3

The Market

Typically West End and niche firms follow the same recruitment pattern as the larger City practices, albeit on a smaller scale and with a slight delay. Firms in this market have taken a cautious approach to recruitment over the last few years. Most recruitment has tended to focus on replacing existing staff rather than for growth purposes. However, there remains a steady flow of job vacancies at the junior to mid-level of the market and there are plenty of opportunities for ambitious solicitors.

It is often remarked that West End/niche firms offer a collegiate and supportive working environment. This contrasts with some of the large City practices, where some lawyers feel that staff can sometimes be seen as a commodity in a firm’s relentless pursuit of bigger clients and larger profits.

One of the key reasons that lawyers tend to be drawn to West End/niche firms is the fact that they typically provide a far better work/life balance than the City practices. Of course, like any law firm, you are still expected to work hard, but there is an unwritten understanding that people also want to try and enjoy life outside the office.

culture


Size & sector Clients

Traditionally West End/niche firms have been well known for the strength of their Media, Private Client, Commercial, IP and Property practices. However, this is an oversimplification, and our team will often assist with filling roles in sectors as diverse as Corporate, Projects, Family, Immigration, Tax, Finance and Employment.

Niche law firms will often have a more diverse client base than some of the larger City practices. There will be less emphasis on work with large institutions such as banks and pension funds; however, this will be offset by more entrepreneurial clients, high net worth individuals, medium-sized companies and public bodies.

Size/focus Geography

West End/niche law firms can range in size from small breakaway teams from larger City practices, to full service practices with over two hundred lawyers.

Some West End & niche firms strive to provide full service practices to ensure that they can meet all of their clients’ needs. However, there are also a significant number of smaller practices that have decided to focus on a particular are of strength, often in areas where the City firms tend not to be as strong, such as Media, Family and Private client work. Many of these firms will be undisputed leaders in their field.

While it is true that there is a greater concentration of niche law firms in the West End than other parts of London, they are not exclusively found there. The reality is that they can be found across London, including the City, Mayfair, North London, South London as well as areas such as Liverpool Street, Farringdon and Islington.

A WORKING GUIDE 5

salary

The general rule of West End/niche firms is that the salaries are lower than City firms. A typical niche firm salary can be anything from 10 - 25% less than it might be at a Top 20 law firm. Of course, the trade off is often a vastly improved work/life balance. There are, however, several firms that are able to offer salaries that compare favourably to Magic and Silver Circle rates as a result of their focus on a particular niche market and client base.

PQE West End Niche CityNQ £40,000 - £55,000 £50,000 - £60,0001+ £45,000 - £60,000 £57,000 - £65,0002+ £50,000 - £63,000 £60,000 - £67,5003+ £55,000 - £68,000 £63,000 - £70,0004+ £60,000 - £72,000 £70,000 - £80,0005+ £65,000 - £76,000 £75,000 - £90,0006+ £70,000 - £80,000 £80,000 - £100,0007+ £80,000 - £95,000 £85,000 - £105,000Junior Partner £100,000 - £135,000 £110,000 - £135,000


Prospects

Lawyers at West End/niche firms often have enhanced long term career prospects over some of their City counterparts. West End/niche firms will typically have smaller teams, which enable lawyers to gain a large amount of experience at an early stage. This can result in an accelerated career path and earlier promotion to partnership.

In addition, lawyers will usually get greater exposure to clients and this will assist them in developing strong long term relationships as well as helping to build up their own practice. This contrasts with City firms where there will be a lot of institutional clients that are effectively embedded within the firm making it extremely difficult for a lawyer to build their own client following. One of the most common reasons that people leave City firms is because they realise that they are unlikely to become partners in their current practices. This is far less of an issue at West End/niche firms.

Over the last few years there have been a number of mergers of mid-sized firms as the London legal market has adapted to the changes in the global economy. As a result, City law firms are becoming larger and lawyers are finding that they are working longer hours with partnership even harder to attain. There has never been a better time to move to a West End/niche firm, for the following reasons:

• Work/lifestyle balance• Smaller teams• Hands-on responsibility• Client contact• Development• Excellent and diverse experience• Close client relationships and contacts• Fast track to partnership

Why move to West End/Niche firm?