Yes, really!
So, we’re approaching the end of September and most trainee solicitors have secured NQ solicitor roles – the majority of those successful individuals staying with their training law firms.
However, a number of those trainee solicitors found themselves taking roles that were not particularly suited to them. If you are one of them not enjoying your newly qualified position, have you thought about qualifying into real estate (or if you’re more of a traditional Brit, commercial property!)?
Trainee solicitors working at commercial law firms from 2008 have seen real estate solicitors and teams go through the mill, with redundancies, a severe lack of utilisation and client pressuring to drop fees being frequently recurring themes. So many trainee solicitors wrote off, and continue to write off, a career in real estate!
Well, now is the time to reconsider. Real estate qualification opportunities have boomed this Summer across Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield and with the residential and commercial property markets making more of a recovery month on month, it is a great time to think about your future as a real estate solicitor.
There has been a severe lack of recruitment (or retention) in real estate over the past 4-5 years, meaning it is truly a skill shortage area. With increased demand and lack of supply, there lies opportunity! Now is the time for those small or mid-tier firm trainees or NQs who have always aspired to move to one of the top tier firms to make that leap. Real estate partners have to be more open-minded to applications from junior solicitors operating or training outside of the upper echelons of the legal market and there is a multitude of examples of market-leading law firms recruiting junior real estate lawyers from smaller firms.
In terms of career progression, anyone who qualified into real estate in the past 3 years (and probably for the next couple of years) find themselves to be a highly sought after commodity, with less competition in the market and more of a chance to move up the ranks – even in this overpopulated legal space.
So, if you are still on the lookout for a real estate role – whether you’ve finished your training contract or have qualified into another discipline – now is the time to get in touch and make a really positive career move.
If you have been thinking about a move or would just like some general advice about options in the market, please feel free to contact Terry Cape or Chris Clarke on 0113 2385965.
CapeClarke is a leading niche legal recruitment consultancy operating across Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield, Newcastle, Liverpool and London. Please feel free to check out our priority legal vacancies by clicking here. Please note these legal vacancies are only a small selection of those we have been instructed on, so please get in touch if you do not see a role which looks suitable.
+44 (0)113 2385965 