Insight & Advice

Advice: Associates

Decisions made now will affect the rest of your career. It is essential, therefore, that you take the time to consider all your options and evaluate how each of those options might impact on you and your career.

Work
Is your work satisfying you? Are you feeling too specialised or not specialised enough? Is your team too large, making it difficult for you to stand out from the crowd? Are you getting stuck working for one partner when you would prefer greater diversity?

We can advise you on what every law firm has to offer, in terms of the deals/cases they handle, the size of their teams, and the nature and set-up of their practices.

Culture
The word “culture” means different things to different people. There are numerous factors that impact on a firm’s culture, including:

• the size of the firm and its teams;
• the firm’s attitude to business development (Some firms are more entrepreneurial and encourage their fee-earners to market and network from day one. Marketing can have very different meanings to different firms.);
• the client base (Is it smaller businesses and individuals or large multinational organisations or a combination of both?);
• the firm’s ambition and strategy;
• the size and structure of the partnership; and
• diversity.

Career prospects
Are you going to make partner at your current firm? What does this entail and how do you get there? These are, of course, questions that you should be asking in appraisals. However, we can advise from an external point of view and give you the benefit of our extensive experience.

The critical juncture is the period approaching the 4-5 years’ pqe level, when it is vital that you are at the right firm and working hard to impress in the run-up to partnership. Certain law firms have a strong track record of making internal promotions every year. Don’t leave it too late – early planning can help ensure that you are at the right firm at the right time.

Location
Are you thinking about changing location at some point in the future? Moving between regions or countries or switching to an in-house role requires careful early planning to ensure that you make your move at the right time and keep your career on track.

Work/life balance
Law firms’ policies and attitudes to achieving a work/life balance may be of keen interest to you. Smaller firms may, but do not necessarily equate to fewer hours. Larger firms may have more support and resources, such as 24-hour data production, up-to-date precedents and a comprehensive know-how system. The size of the team can also play a key role. Because there are fewer people to share the work, small teams get stretched at times, particularly in busy periods. Holidays and sick leave can also have an impact.

You should consider a firm’s billable-hours targets as well as the strengths of a firm’s practice. Is it transaction-based or not? Will international work mean regularly working to international time zones?

We can discuss all the options with you and advise you on which law firms offer a work/life balance in your practice area without the need for you to compromise on the quality of work. You should be aware, however, that achieving a better work/life balance may mean having to compromise on salary.

Keen to quit?
You may have decided that you are at the wrong firm, for any number of reasons. Our advice is to stay calm and not resign – even though your every instinct may be urging you to do so.

You are in a much stronger position if you are searching for a job while still employed. Having to explain to potential employers why you don’t have a job means that you will start the interview process on the back foot. Rightly or wrongly, negative inferences may be drawn. A few weeks away from the office can quickly turn into a few months. During that time, changes may occur that are beyond your control, such as economic and market fluctuations. If your practice area becomes less busy, the opportunities available to you are bound to be affected.

Further factors
You should also consider the following factors:

Different practice areas: Historically, corporate lawyers and finance lawyers received higher remuneration than their litigation-focused colleagues. However, there now appears to be little marked difference between the pay of contentious and non-contentious lawyers.

Bonuses: Many firms have spent considerable time and expense on evaluating their remuneration packages. Consequently, bonuses vary from firm to firm. In some cases, bonuses can comprise a considerable part of associates’ remuneration, with some bonuses making up as much as 40% of salary.

Some bonus schemes are transparent and reward associates solely on meeting and exceeding billable hours, with sliding scales for even higher billings. Other schemes are more discretionary and reward associates for such factors as their contribution to marketing or their all-round input to the firm. Some schemes combine both methods. Although there are differences of methodology, there is also considerable consistency, with the vast majority of law firms now offering bonuses.

Benefits: Most law firms offer a comprehensive benefits package, ranging from standard benefits like private health insurance and a pension through to more sophisticated benefits, such as a concierge service. Some firms offer flexible benefits packages that allow you to select the benefits most relevant to you.

Over 5 years’ pqe?: When you get to 6 years’ pqe, there are no clear bandings and salaries do not increase in such a dramatic manner as they do at lower pqe levels. The salaries of partners at many UK City law firms start at £120,000-£130,000 and there is invariably some daylight between the remuneration of senior associates and junior partners. At some firms, there is, therefore, a salary ceiling for senior associates.

We would be pleased to discuss your career with you and evaluate whether a move is right for you. Please contact us to arrange a discussion.