The Law Societies of Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Bromley have joined together in a joint venture initiative to launch their own Legal Recruitment Service online, employers4lawyers.com. We hope that we can reduce the money pouring out of the profession to employment agents by offering these services to our members.
The four Societies between them cover the South East corner of England and have a catchment area which extends into South London. In addition to the four founding Societies, Middlesex Law Society and Worthing Law Society are supporting the venture. The societies have each invested monies themselves to fund the venture and have secured sponsorship from Mutual Health.
We are offering a recruitment service at a very competitive rate – currently 10 per cent of a year’s salary for a successful job placement for members of the founding law societies and a little more for firms outside these law societies. All firms can use the service, however. For firms carrying out publicly funded work, a further discount is available.
Candidates can register their details and upload their CV, together with exclusion choices. Their details are then posted on the site in a form “cleansed” of personal details and made available to prospective employers. Personal details are withheld until a firm has expressed an interest, and the candidate has given their approval for the details to be made available. There is no charge to the candidate.
Firms register on the site and submit details of a vacancy. Firms are informed of those candidates who have expressed an interest in the vacancy and who are happy for their details to go forward. Interviews can be arranged online but after that the process goes off-line for the final stages.
Other Law Societies are active in the field of legal recruitment including Devon and Exeter where there is a very successful service which has developed over 20 years and is led by Tony Steiner. There is also the online service offered by Manchester Law Society which is now very well established and has hundreds of vacancies available at any time, with a team of 7 people operating their service.
The launch of the Recruitment Service by Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Bromley is a useful way of generating funds for the mutual benefit of the Societies from a recruitment service that offers a competitive rate to potential employers. We hope that many firms will now support the initiative.
Robert Ryder is a partner in Vizards Wyeth of London, Dartford and Paris, and a director of the company Legal Recruit (South) Limited, who trade as employers4lawyers.
Email rr@vizardswyeth.com.
