As part of The Qualification Season, a series of blogs by CapeClarke aimed at trainee solicitors looking to qualify in September 2019, we will give a brief overview of the market conditions affecting many of the core legal disciplines that trainee solicitors look to qualify into.
The next area of law for discussion is Private Client.
The Current Market
Much like family law, private client work is usually split between the larger firms and niche practices providing a variety of services to a wide range of clients. Services vary from those practices specialising in the increasingly busy area of Court of Protection Law, to those operating large volume teams servicing standard wills, to bespoke inheritance planning advice relating to High Net Worth clients.
This great variety of work, all coming under the umbrella of “Private Client matters” affords junior private client solicitors a good choice of areas within the discipline to qualify into and later specialise in.
At the risk of stating the obvious, there is always very much a need for private client solicitors to handle the management of estates of all sizes.
Is this a good career option?
Again, a steady and stable career in which the lawyers seem to feel fulfilled – we rarely speak to private client candidates who are disillusioned with this area and are looking to change discipline. It is an area which maintains good job security – teams do not really bolster unnecessarily and so therefore are not bloated teams looking to downsize dramatically in quieter periods.
With a lot of firms of all sizes hosting successful private client teams, there is plenty of opportunity to change specialisation within this exciting, varied area of the law.
September 2019 opportunities
Private client NQ roles escaping into the market are rare as departments have very good track records of ensuring they retain the internal trainee solicitors they like, but with the number of firms operating in this discipline there is always the chance of a number of roles appearing.
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 one of our dedicated consultants on 0113 2385965 or 0161 3000750.
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.
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