Written by Courteney Low With September being one of the busiest months for new divorce applications and family legal teams, Courteney Low explores the latest trends in divorce and family law. So, which trends do legal teams need to be aware of in 22/23? Automation Family law has always traditionally relied on human interaction and has therefore remained relatively untouched by automation. However, significant delays in family law court proceedings in recent months means digitalisation methods and alternative dispute resolution procedures are likely to accelerate in the next couple of months ..read more

We sit down with Thomas Brown, our specialist Legal Recruiter covering London & the Home Counties.   It’s been just over a year since I started my journey with William James Recruitment and quite possibly the best year that I’ve had in recruitment to date. Thinking back to when I first walked through the doors of recruitment, I would never imagine the place I am in now in such a thriving industry with over 5 years of experience under my belt. I started as an Apprentice in Resourcing and worked my way up to a bona fide Legal Recruitment Consultant, which speaks volumes to the fact tha ..read more

Written by Richard Taylor Richard Taylor is an accomplished domestic and international Legal Recruitment Consultant. He works exclusively on specialist hiring briefs with top Law firms across London, Europe, the US, and the UAE. What is the main difference between contingency hiring & retained search? Retained recruitment, often called search & selection or executive search refers to recruitment agencies that work exclusively on specialised roles and dedicate all of their attention and resources to filling one requirement at a time. The recruiter is paid an upfront fee compared to con ..read more

Written by Cameran Waite.  Cameran Waite, Legal Recruiter for Yorkshire & the Northeast. Last September, Bloomberg Law's Attorney Workload & Hours Survey reported that nearly half of all lawyers surveyed said they were either actively looking for new jobs or open to offers. By now we’ve all seen the stats, but what are the real reasons people are leaving law firms? 1) A lack of autonomy Lawyers score 90% for wanting autonomy in their role. As a profession, it tends to attract hard-working and self-sufficient people who are used to independent study. As such,  management ..read more

Earlier this month a number of professionals used LinkedIn and other platforms to #breakthebias and call out the prejudices that they face around subjects such as childcare, breastfeeding, and parental burn-out. As a way to honour the day, we’ve compiled a list of our favourite recent quotes from working Mothers in the legal profession.   Jessica Hampson, Owner & Director at CEL Solicitors Jessica spoke out about her experience of unconscious bias as she made her way from London to Manchester for a business meeting. She wrote, “I wonder about all of the invisible bias that my male c ..read more

Written by Danielle Lawton The new PSIRF structure will replace the current Serious Incident Framework by Autumn 2023, but what does this mean for Clinical Negligence Litigation?  What exactly is the new framework? The new Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF) is a structure designed to develop and maintain processes for responding effectively to patient safety incidents. At the heart of the framework, is the aim to ensure that learning how to prevent incidents is prioritised. The approach, therefore, takes a preventative rather than reactive method towards improving patient ..read more

Written by Paul Wingfield New insight suggests there has been a surge in Corporate and Commercial Lawyers moving to Manchester and the wider North West. In the last several months we’ve seen a massive influx of lawyers moving to top 50 law firms in Manchester and the Greater Manchester area. In particular, around a third of Corporate and Commercial Lawyer moves in the last year have been to Manchester. [1] Across all specialisms, lawyers are moving to Manchester predominantly from Southern regions in the UK like Greater London and the South East as well as other Northern regions like Merseysi ..read more

The UK government has announced that they plan to close 77 more courts by 2025. This is not only made possible by the emergence of remote hearings but might indicate their permanence post-pandemic. During the pandemic, remote hearings took place so that the justice system could carry on uninterrupted but as we’ve seen in other industries, remote technology is apparently here to stay. Earlier this year the Lord Chief of Justice for England & Wales, Lord Burnett laid out some long-awaited protocols for remote hearings. He stated that Crown court hearings should be remote “where it is lawful ..read more

Written by Lauren Irvine Top 3 skills to add to your CV if you want to be hired by leading law firms. Traditionally law firms have focused on the same set of skills when recruiting lawyers such as relationship building, transaction experience, and project management. But, with the ever-changing landscape of the legal sector, which skills are law firms hiring for in 2022 and beyond?  Soft skills Alongside legal knowledge, It might be time to call out your soft skills on your CV. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) lists a number of standards for successful lawyers. Examples include ..read more

Andre Kacperski, Associate Director & Divisional Lead for the Midlands (Middle) with Talbots Law, winners of the award for Legal Firm of the Year (Left), and hosts Phil Oldershaw & Ed James (Right). On the 9th of June 2022, we were delighted to attend the City of Birmingham Business Awards (COBBA) celebrating the finest businesses and business leaders in Birmingham. The event organised by Downtown In Business was hosted at the Park Regis Hotel in Birmingham. The event, which has been running for 4 years acknowledges and celebrates companies and entrepreneurs who have made a succes ..read more