Legal Recruitment Blog

As legal recruiters, we regularly hear of horrific interviews that have gone badly wrong and these are some of the things that people have turned up with and seriously affected their chances of success.  1)    Their Mother. We have actually had instances of candidates turning up to job interviews with their mother in tow and both sitting in the reception area of the company or firm they are interviewing with and becoming the source of great fascination amongst the staff.  Why on earth would anyone take their mother to a job interview?  But it happens. If your mother has given you a lift to the location or offices of the firm you are interviewing with, then park her in the local Costa Coffee. Do not for a second think it is a good idea to let her come into the building with you when you are attending for an interview. It is a terrible idea and one to be avoided like the plague. 2)    A naff carrier bag Your choice of carrier bag c...

It is estimated by a number of different bodies (including CIPD) that the average cost of recruiting a new member of staff at all levels, from junior assistants through to senior executives is over £4,500 plus VAT. This takes into consideration agency fees, training fees, time taken to do the recruitment if not using an agency and the time taken by the new employee to settle into their role before they become productive. Recruitment agency fees can be a considerable chunk of money. At junior level they can range from about 10% through to 20% of the first year's annual salary or package, and at a senior level they can be as much as 35% of the package. Putting this into perspective, if you recruit a chief executive or senior manager on a salary of £100,000, your agency fee could be as much as £35,000 plus VAT. This cost can be prohibitive for small firms and preclude them from even considering using the services of a recruitment agency. But what if there was an alternative t...

Summer 2015 10% Donations - Nominations Needed  It is time for us to take any nominations for our charitable trust - we were due a trustees meeting last month but it has been carried over. We hope to provide continuing support to a number of our existing charities, including the British Stammering Association, LawCare and a school in Tanzania, but apart from this we are open to suggestions. We do not, as a matter of policy, donate to any charity paying staff more than £75k. Email any suggestions to cv@ten-percent.co.uk . About Ten-Percent Legal Recruitment  We are a specialist legal recruiter, covering both permanent and locum roles across the whole of the UK. Over 11,000 lawyers are registered with us and we have access to a range of external and internal job boards and websites where we do not have candidates available ourselves. We also assist with recruitment advice and assistance, regularly advising partners and practice managers on suitable salary and package lev...

Updated Locum Hourly Rates of Pay - August 2015 Hourly Rates of Pay for Locum Solicitors and Legal Executives Locum hourly rate payment varies widely according to the demand, length of assignment, level of experience and advance notice available. Hourly rates go up during the summer (June-September). NB: These rates are intended as a guide only. Hourly rates can vary according to the location, duration and level of expertise. August 2015 Private Practice Law Firm Rates: * Conveyancing Locum Solicitors – 1-5 years PQE, handling residential standard sale price only – £26-30 per hour (slight variation for central London – £29-35 per hour). * Conveyancing Locum Solicitors & ILEX – 5-35 years PQE, handling all levels of conveyancing including managing a department – £30-£40 per hour, including central London. * Commercial Property Solicitors – 1-40 years PQE - £35-50 per hour. * Wills & Probate Solicitors and Executives – 3-35 years PQE – £35-43 per hour. * Fam...