Setting Career Goals

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Setting Career Goals

• Keith Etherington
• Law Society Council Member for Solicitors
  Practising Civil Litigation

2
Routes to Partnership

• Once upon a time.
• Private practice, in-house, government
• But from 2011 Alternative Business Structures
  Tesco Law
• Entirely new regime
• Other threats
• Jackson report funding access to justice may
  affect the viability of many firms
• Completely new Solicitors Code of Conduct built
  upon the idea of outcomes focussed regulation
• Professor Stephen Mayson predicts that by 2017
  3,000 of the 8,500 firms with fewer than 10
  partners will cease to exist

• Should this still be a goal?

3
First question to ask

• This can no longer be assumed
• What are the firms main profit areas?
• Are these area likely to be the target of bulk
  providers?
• E.g. conveyancing, accident claims, wills
  probate
• Is the firm heavily reliant on legal aid or a
  single client?
• How old are the partners? Are you their exit
  strategy?
• Should you choose owning equity in an old
  structure or seeking senior involvement in new
  structures?

• What are the chances of this firm being around in
  the future?

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The brave new world of ABS

• Variety of business models partnership, LLP, Ltd
  Co
• Legal disciplinary partnerships mixed lawyers
• LDPs some non-lawyers
• Externally funded legal services businesses
• Multi disciplinary practices (MDPs)

5
Considerations before joining a business

• Risk of personal liability to managers
• Tax position for managers
• Disclosure of financial information
• Perceptions of staff, clients and others

6
Risk

• Why do partnerships still exist?
• Worst of all business models
• Insurance protects against most risks, but not
• Discrimination claims
• Reputational damage
• Operational failures
• Strategic risks

7
New opportunities with ABS

• Benefits of large corporations
• Decent pensions
• Proper maternity/paternity leave
• Management, performance and salary structure
• More chance of specialisation

8
Personal career planning

• Partnership once seen as end of career planning
• Treadmill of exams school, university, post-grad
• Diligently attain partnership but then what?
• 30-40 years working life left after that

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If owning the equity is your goal

• Positioning yourself to succeed

• Associate 4/5 years
• 3-4 years as an associate
• then salaried
• perhaps fixed share equity partner

10
Current market

• Economic Factors
• The Disciplines
• Transactional Litigation
• Co/Co/Property/Banking - Commercial Litigation
• Insolvency/Employment - PI
• Private Client Niche
• Wills/Probate/Tax Trusts - Tax/Construction
• Conveyancing - Pensions/Planning/Environmental

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Where are the opportunities?

• Firm Type
• National/City/US firm
• Mid Tier/Niche
• New office opening
• High Street
• Firm Size v Remuneration
• Location
• Move for the opportunity?

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Practical Tips - Billing and competency assumed

• What makes you stand out?
• Niche specialism
• Work winning
• Managing key client relationships
• Building a team
• Training/mentoring role
• Cross referrals
• Secondments

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Marketing

• What does this mean?
• Marketing at your level with clients
• Arranging dinners/drinks evenings, sports events
• Local networking groups
• Chamber of Commerce
• CI Group, AWS, JLD
• Industry events, breakfast meetings
• Publish articles in legal journals
• Internal update bulletins/know-how
• Delivering legal update seminars to clients

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Your personal plan

• Marketing/work winning - see above
• Technical skills
• Skills set-niche v generalist
• Billing and chargeable hours
• Feedback from appraisals/Advice/mentoring from
  partners
• Administration i.e. WIP and general firm wide
  procedures
• Internal/external profile
• Training/mentoring junior fee earners
• Your firms partnership criteria (if published)

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Moving to another firm for partnership

• Move with a view to becoming a partner analyse
  risk
• Consider profile of practice
• Location change
• Client following you v your firm - where is
  loyalty?
• Replacement

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Benchmarking

• Create a plan
• Set milestones
• Review regularly to assess achievements
• Be prepared to change focus
• Expect to work hard as competition fierce
• Dont give up

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Other options to private practice

• Many opportunities in national and local
  government
• Solicitors in the armed forces
• Working in house for a large corporation
• Charity legal departments
• Judiciary

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What type of judge?

• District Judge (Civil)
• District Judge (Criminal)
• Circuit Judge?
• How many more?

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Judicial Positions

• Assistant Judge Advocates General
• Costs Judges
• District Judges (Civil and Criminal)
• Employment Judges
• First tier tribunal judges (Social Entitlement
  Chamber, Education and Social Care Chamber and
  tax Chamber)
• Immigration Judges
• Coroners
• And more than 30 others

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• Benefits

• Challenge
• Flexible working hours
• Salary / Pension

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Judicial Salaries 2009/10

• District Judge, Tribunal Judge 102,921
• Circuit Judge, Regional Chair of ET 128,296
• President, Employment Tribunal 138,548
• High Court Judge 172,753
• Lord Justice of Appeal 196,707
• Lord Chief Justice 239,845

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Fee paid Judges

• Deputy District Judges etc
• Important first step before obtaining a full time
  position
• 20 days sitting per year
• 468 per day

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But Ive only just qualified
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Key skills

• 1. Intellectual capacity
• High level of expertise in your chosen area or
  profession
• Ability quickly to absorb and analyse information
  
• Appropriate knowledge of the law and its
  underlying principles, or the ability to acquire
  this knowledge where necessary

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Key skills

• 2. Personal qualities
• Integrity and independence of mind
• Sound judgment
• Decisiveness and objectivity
• Ability and willingness to learn and develop
  professionally
• 3. An ability to understand and deal fairly
• Ability to treat everyone with respect and
  sensitivity whatever their background
• Willingness to listen with patience and courtesy

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Key Skills

• 4. Authority and communication skills
• Ability to explain the procedure and any
  decisions reached clearly and succinctly to all
  those involved
• Ability to inspire respect and confidence
• Ability to maintain authority when challenged
• 5. Efficiency
• Ability to work at speed and under pressure
• Ability to organise time effectively and produce
  clear reasoned judgments expeditiously
• Ability to work constructively with others
  (including leadership and managerial skills where
  appropriate)

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Evidencing the criteria

• Keep a diary of key cases
• Voluntary work or other non-legal activity
• Have a date in mind when you will start the
  application process
• Judicial shadowing
• Notes of making difficult decisions

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Application process

• Application form with three referees
• Written closed book exam
• Two closed book role plays
• Interview with three panel members

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More information

• www.judicialappointments.gov.uk

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The Elevator Speech

• Articulating your key skills

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Scouting for Boys

• Its a book not a criminal offence!
• Created the Scout movement 100 years ago.

• BP in scouting stands for

BE PREPARED!
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What is an elevator speech?

• An American concept
• Concise communication designed to be delivered
  in the time it takes a lift to travel from the
  top to the bottom floors of a building

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As versatile as a Swiss Army knife
It can be used in many situations

• Networking events
• Careers fairs
• Speaking to potential employers
• If you are in a lift with someone important
• Focussing your mind on your key objectives and
  successes in your organisation

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How long should it be?

• Wide variation between experts
• Minimum 20 seconds
• Maximum two minutes
• No reason why you cant employ both
• Use a short as a soundbite
• Then use the long one once youve attracted
  interest

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Format of the soundbite

• Start with a hook
• Your first statement should require the listener
  to ask a question in return
• Avoid the tacky or corny
• Witty is good

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Example

• Hi, my name is Tom and I turn dreams into reality
• How do you do that?
• Im a wedding planner for high income couples
  working with elite status hotels across the world

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It may sound cheesy but

• It immediately demonstrates self confidence and
  self belief
• In the UK it is unusual and so will make you
  stand out from the crowd
• It opens the door to a pitch about what you are
  trying to achieve and how the other may be able
  to help you

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Full elevator speech

• About 200 - 300 words
• Dozens of examples on the internet
• Know your enemy!
• If you want a job explain how you will make more
  profit than current employees
• If you want sponsorship emphasise the return on
  the investment.
• The listener is likely to be thinking Whats in
  it for me? So make it plain.

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Structure

• Depends on what you are pitching for
• If you are looking for a pay rise
• Who am I?
• Why am I worth the extra money?
• What will the firms return be?
• Why am I different to other employees?

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Things not to say

• Im skint
• You gave Jane more so I should get the same
• I want a new car
• Because Ill go somewhere else (they might just
  let you)
• Any other sob story

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Whats your USP?

• Unique selling proposition
• Why are you the best in your department?
• What would the firm lose if you left?
• Why are you more profitable?
• Which client are with the firm because of you?
• Which major cases have you won?

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Structure for a job seeker

• Who am I?
• Who are the target employers?
• Define THE employer
• What need or issue does the employer face?
• Identify yourself in terms of job function
• What do you contribute?
• Prioritize the benefits THEN
• Identify the SINGLE compelling reason for the
  employer to hire you

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Knockout blow

• Develop a statement of the primary
  differentiation of yourself
• The SINGLE most important thing that sets you
  apart from the competition

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Dos and Donts

• Dos
• Sound effortless / conversational
• Rewrite your speech to remove odd words or clumsy
  phrasing
• Practice
• Be confident and enthusiastic
• Maintain eye contact
• Stop if the listener is bored/not listening
• End with an action request business card /
  interview appointment
• Be short

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Donts

• Be shy
• Ramble / waffle
• Rush
• Focus on yourself
• Let it end with the listener thinking So what?
• Forget to update your speech regularly
• Sound monotone
• Go on and on and on and on
• STAND UP, SPEAK UP, SHUT UP

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Benefits

• If you are talking to a sponsor or potential
  employer this is obvious
• Use as a team building exercise
• Underline existing committee job descriptions to
  give the individual confidence in their role
• Transferable skill useful for commercial
  breakfast meetings

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Baden Powell said be prepared

• Be positive
• Be passionate
• Be potent
• Just not
• Pathetic
• Petulant
• Or perspiring

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GOOD LUCK!