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The legal industry in Ireland is undergoing major changes at present, as the demand for different skill-sets follows current market trends, writes Michelle Nolan.

The vital components for legal professionals in the current market are experience, flexibility, business acumen and the right attitude.

The residential property market has slowed down considerably meaning that the conveyancing sector which has been a lucrative and constant source of income for many firms over the past decade has dried up for the time being.

The commercial property market has followed suit meaning that business is quiet amongst the departments in firms in this area also. The lack of business mean that firms are certainly taking stock of budgets and head count and unfortunately this has resulted in a number of employees in the legal sector being made redundant over the past few months. This figure could certainly increase as the demand for Solicitors with experience in property matters decreases. 

The number of Solicitors that qualified from Blackhall in the past eight years accounts for more than one third of the whole profession. Last year saw the largest amount of Solicitors qualify.

I would imagine that apprenticeships will become more difficult to acquire over the coming years. This should not discourage would-be legal eagles, but over the coming years, firms will look to how quickly a new recruit can slot into their set-up.

In brass tax terms, new recruits will be required to go that extra mile in influencing firms to take them on. This means being able to offer additional knowledge acquired through extra training whether from specialised diplomas or masters, working perhaps as a legal executive for longer periods of time prior to qualifying and seeking to set themselves apart from their colleagues in Blackhall.

They should be asking what makes me different to my tutorial group?  Moving into the marketplace in the next year or two will be difficult and setting trainees apart will position candidates nicely when it comes to being noticed.

What can a newly qualified solicitor do?

Well for starters, don't blink. You've made your career choice so stick to your guns but know that you'll have a harder time finding employment once your training contract does end. This means adding more to your C.V. as indicated above in terms of masters or diplomas and continuing professional development.

Money Money Money

Salaries and bonuses for Solicitors have increased dramatically over the past few years with newly qualified Solicitors in certain departments in certain larger firms receiving a salary of €64,000. The market won’t be able to sustain this and therefore salaries and bonuses will not be as generous as they have been. I believe that candidates will no longer be in charge of determining their own worth. This will revert to be the employer’s decision and those seeking employment will have to be realistic.

It is not all doom and gloom!

There are growth areas within the legal sector which include insolvency/debt collection, commercial litigation, environmental and planning, construction, corporate and commercial and financial services. And obviously there are still the old reliable areas such as probate, litigation and criminal practice.

Smaller practices and sole practitioners may have to diversify into other areas of practice, give a higher standard service or even merge with another practice in order to share overheads such as rent, general utilities and staffing costs.

Inhouse Advisor and Inhouse Counsel positions are increasing as financially it can make more economic sense for companies in all sorts of industries as well as financial institutions and financial services to have a legal expert on the premises and as part of the organisation.

I see a growing trend that employers will employ Solicitors on a contract basis for one year or two years to cover certain cases and/or large projects. Again, this comes down to budgets.

Legal Executives will become more of a recognised body and profession over the coming years. They play a pivotal role in many firms and in-house legal departments in Ireland but their profession is not as well recognised like the way it is in the Unites States or in the UK. Due to the fact that their salary scale is not as high as that of Solicitors it may make more financial sense to employ them instead of Solicitors in certain areas of law. 

Confidence is key…. Be positive.

Michelle Nolan is a Director at Lex Consultancy. www.lexconsultancy.ie