Life as a young lawyer

These are testing times for young lawyers throughout the country and in the North West young lawyers are no strangers to the uncertainty of the legal market.

With some of the region's most high-profile and sought-after firms merging with greater heavyweights, and smaller firms closing altogether, it is inevitable that paralegals are fearing for the already-scarce training contract opportunities and trainees too are pondering their post-qualification prospects.

Fierce competition

Those who have previously secured a training contract for a future date have found themselves thrust back into the ever expanding pool of wannabe solicitors and competition between those qualifying for a job after their training contracts end is fiercer than ever.

The main challenges in obtaining a good position in the region appear to be centred on each candidate's desired specialism. In the North West, business is booming for aspiring property and banking solicitors.

As the market takes a turn for the better and property prices are still at an affordable plateau for many, property lawyers are in great demand, however, as a result of the recession, large redundancies have left a gap in the now much-improved market. The banking and insolvency sector is also enjoying a rise in work as businesses wind down and face bankruptcy; a bittersweet paradox for the legal profession.

Prospects are not so favourable for those wishing to continue their work in the criminal, family, or personal injury fields, which will remain busy indefinitely. However, they will certainly feel the pinch from the legal aid changes and Jackson reforms. These are historically very popular areas of law and it is unfortunate that young lawyers in the North West may now have to reconsider their chosen specialism due to a lack of profitability for each firm.

Not only have the changes had an adverse impact on access to justice, they have also affected the enthusiasm of young lawyers, who feel that the benefit they are providing to society has not been recognised and considered in implementing changes.

Take, for example, the personal injury sector. With such stigmatic labels as 'ambulance chasers' and often biased press citing a correlation between rising car insurance premiums and the amount of personal injury claims being expressly stated, it is easy to forget that these lawyers are helping people who have been injured through no fault of their own. As a personal injury lawyer, I can only hope that these claims encourage insurers to better monitor their clients to prevent accidents occurring in the first place.

Amy Cassell, a trainee solicitor at Express Solicitors, notes that more personal injury firms are employing non-qualified fee earners to reduce overheads as a result of the changes in cost rules. Her fears for her future earning potential as a personal injury lawyer are likely shared by all young personal injury lawyers, who cannot ignore the dramatic difference in fee income since the Jackson reforms were implemented.

The demise of legal aid in the criminal and family sectors has also worried trainees who have found that in either field, job prospects are virtually non-existent. A trainee at a large regional firm was disappointed to find that, despite her commitment to criminal defence work, the legal aid changes meant that she would have to either move to a different department upon qualifying or leave the firm entirely.

Implied necessities

Nonetheless, the North West's young lawyers are a tenacious bunch. Those who have aspired to a legal career for years and have invested in the necessary legal education will no doubt not let the uncertainty of the current market prevent them from working hard to achieve the job for which they have waited.

Manchester in particular is home to the largest and most engaged junior lawyers' group in the country, the Manchester Trainee Solicitors' Group (MTSG). Hundreds of trainee solicitors and paralegals turn out every month for the busy calendar of events, showing that they are prepared to network and improve their skills and employability to ensure they are best placed in the market.

Legal reforms aside, training contracts and newly qualified jobs alike are difficult to come by and candidates will benefit from their involvement with groups such as the MTSG and the networking opportunities they provide. A flair for marketing and business development are priceless attributes which will now be implied necessities for any young lawyer, alongside strong technical ability, as law firms strive to maintain or improve their standing in the North West market while attracting new work.

The market is improving and there are opportunities in every field for those with great client skills and work-winning ability. While young lawyers are aware of the potential implications the recent law reforms have had on firms, in the North West they are prepared to improve their CV to overcome the challenges the changes have put before the region's firms.

Raana Afsarpour is a solicitor at Express Solicitors and chair of the Manchester Trainee Solicitors Group www.expresssolicitors.co.uk