Transcript Setting Career Goals

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Setting Career Goals
Keith Etherington
Law Society Council Member for Solicitors
Practising Civil Litigation
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Routes to
Partnership
Should this still be a goal?
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Once upon a time….
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Private practice, in-house, government
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But from 2011 Alternative Business
Structures – “Tesco Law”
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Entirely new regime
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Other threats:
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Jackson report – funding access to
justice may affect the viability of many
firms
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Completely new Solicitors Code of
Conduct built upon the idea of
“outcomes focussed regulation”
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Professor Stephen Mayson predicts that
by 2017 3,000 of the 8,500 firms with
fewer than 10 partners will cease to
exist
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This can no longer be assumed
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What are the firms main profit areas?
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Are these area likely to be the target of
bulk providers?
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E.g. conveyancing, accident claims,
wills & probate
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Is the firm heavily reliant on legal aid or
a single client?
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How old are the partners? Are you their
exit strategy?
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Should you choose owning equity in an
old structure or seeking senior
involvement in new structures?
First question to ask
What are the chances of this firm
being around in the future?
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The brave new world of ABS
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Variety of business models:
partnership, LLP, Ltd Co
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Legal disciplinary
partnerships – mixed lawyers
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LDPs – some non-lawyers
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Externally funded legal
services businesses
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Multi disciplinary practices
(MDPs)
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Considerations before joining a
business
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Risk of personal liability to
managers
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Tax position for managers
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Disclosure of financial
information
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Perceptions of staff, clients and
others
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Risk
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Why do partnerships still
exist?
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Worst of all business models
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Insurance protects against
most risks, but not:
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Discrimination claims
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Reputational damage
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Operational failures
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Strategic risks
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New opportunities with ABS
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Benefits of large corporations
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Decent pensions
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Proper maternity/paternity
leave
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Management, performance
and salary structure
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More chance of specialisation
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Personal career planning
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Partnership once seen as end
of career planning
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Treadmill of exams school,
university, post-grad
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Diligently attain partnership
but then what?
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30-40 years working life left
after that
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If owning the equity is your goal
Positioning yourself to succeed
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Associate – 4/5 years
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3-4 years as an associate
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then salaried
perhaps fixed share equity partner
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Current market
Economic Factors
The Disciplines
Transactional
Litigation
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Co/Co/Property/Banking
- Commercial Litigation
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Insolvency/Employment
- PI
Private Client
Niche
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Wills/Probate/Tax & Trusts
- Tax/Construction
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Conveyancing
Pensions/Planning/Environmental
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Where are the opportunities?
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Firm Type
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National/City/US firm
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Mid Tier/Niche
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New office opening
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High Street
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Firm Size v Remuneration
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Location
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Move for the opportunity?
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Practical Tips - Billing and competency assumed
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What makes you stand out?
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Niche specialism
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Work winning
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Managing key client
relationships
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Building a team
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Training/mentoring role
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Cross referrals
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Secondments
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Marketing
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What does this mean?
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Marketing at your level with clients
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Arranging dinners/drinks evenings, sports events
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Local networking groups
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Chamber of Commerce
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C&I Group, AWS, JLD
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Industry events, breakfast meetings
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Publish articles in legal journals
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Internal update bulletins/know-how
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Delivering legal update seminars to clients
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Your personal plan
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Marketing/work winning - see above
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Technical skills
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Skills set-niche v generalist
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Billing and chargeable hours
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Feedback from appraisals/Advice/mentoring from partners
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Administration i.e. WIP and general firm wide procedures
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Internal/external profile
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Training/mentoring junior fee earners
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Your firm’s partnership criteria (if published)
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Moving to another firm for
partnership
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Move with a view to becoming a partner – analyse risk
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Consider profile of practice
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Location change
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Client following – you v your firm - where is loyalty?
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Replacement
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Benchmarking
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Create a plan
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Set milestones
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Review regularly to assess
achievements
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Be prepared to change focus
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Expect to work hard as
competition fierce
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Don’t give up
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Other options to private practice
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Many opportunities in national
and local government
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Solicitors in the armed forces
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Working in house for a large
corporation
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Charity legal departments
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Judiciary
What type of
judge?
•District
Judge (Civil)
+ •District Judge (Criminal)
•Circuit
•How
Judge?
many more?
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Judicial Positions
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Assistant Judge Advocates General
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Costs Judges
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District Judges (Civil and Criminal)
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Employment Judges
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First tier tribunal judges (Social Entitlement Chamber,
Education and Social Care Chamber and tax Chamber)
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Immigration Judges
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Coroners
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And more than 30 others
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Benefits
 Challenge
 Flexible working hours
 Salary / Pension
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Judicial Salaries 2009/10
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District Judge, Tribunal Judge £102,921
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Circuit Judge, Regional Chair of ET £128,296
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President, Employment Tribunal £138,548
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High Court Judge £172,753
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Lord Justice of Appeal £196,707
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Lord Chief Justice £239,845
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Fee paid Judges
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Deputy District Judges etc
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Important first step before obtaining a full time position
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20 days sitting per year
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£468 per day
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But I’ve only just qualified…
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Key skills
1. Intellectual capacity
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High level of expertise in your chosen area or profession
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Ability quickly to absorb and analyse information
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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
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Integrity and independence of mind
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Sound judgment
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Decisiveness and objectivity
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Ability and willingness to learn and develop professionally
3. An ability to understand and deal fairly
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Ability to treat everyone with respect and sensitivity
whatever their background
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Willingness to listen with patience and courtesy
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Key Skills
4. Authority and communication skills
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Ability to explain the procedure and any decisions reached
clearly and succinctly to all those involved
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Ability to inspire respect and confidence
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Ability to maintain authority when challenged
5. Efficiency
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Ability to work at speed and under pressure
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Ability to organise time effectively and produce clear
reasoned judgments expeditiously
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Ability to work constructively with others (including
leadership and managerial skills where appropriate)
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Evidencing the criteria
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Keep a diary of key cases
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Voluntary work or other non-legal activity
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Have a date in mind when you will start the application
process
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Judicial shadowing
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Notes of making difficult decisions
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Application process
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Application form with three referees
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Written closed book exam
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Two closed book role plays
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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
Scouting for Boys
 It’s
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
+ As versatile as a Swiss Army knife
It can be used in many situations:
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Networking events
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Careers fairs
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Speaking to potential
employers
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If you are in a lift with
someone important
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Focussing your mind on
your key objectives and
successes in your
organisation
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How long should it be?
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Wide variation between
experts
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Minimum 20 seconds
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Maximum two minutes
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No reason why you can’t
employ both
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Use a short as a soundbite
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Then use the long one once
you’ve attracted interest
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Format of the soundbite
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Start with “a hook”
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Your first statement should
require the listener to ask a
question in return
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Avoid the tacky or corny
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Witty is good
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Example
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Hi, my name is Tom and I turn dreams into reality
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How do you do that?
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I’m a wedding planner for high income couples working
with elite status hotels across the world
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It may sound cheesy but…
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It immediately demonstrates self confidence and self belief
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In the UK it is unusual and so will make you stand out from the
crowd
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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
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About 200 - 300 words
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Dozens of examples on the internet
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Know your enemy!
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If you want a job explain how you will make more profit than
current employees
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If you want sponsorship emphasise the return on the
“investment.”
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The listener is likely to be thinking “What’s in it for me?” So
make it plain.
Structure
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Depends on what you
are pitching for
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If you are looking for a
pay rise:
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Who am I?
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Why am I worth the
extra money?
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What will the firm’s
return be?
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Why am I different to
other employees?
Things not to say
 I’m
skint
 You
gave Jane more so I
should get the same
I
want a new car
 Because
I’ll go
somewhere else (they
might just let you)
 Any
other sob story
What’s your USP?
 Unique
 Why
are you the best in your department?
 What
 Why
selling proposition
would the firm lose if you left?
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
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Who am I?
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Who are the target employers?
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Define THE employer
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What need or issue does the employer face?
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Identify yourself in terms of job function
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What do you contribute?
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Prioritize the benefits THEN
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Identify the SINGLE compelling reason for the employer to
hire you
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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Do’s and Don’ts
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Do’s:
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Sound effortless / conversational
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Rewrite your speech to remove odd words or clumsy
phrasing
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Practice
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Be confident and enthusiastic
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Maintain eye contact
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Stop if the listener is bored/not listening
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End with an action request: business card / interview
appointment
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Be short
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Don’ts
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Be shy
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Ramble / waffle
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Rush
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Focus on yourself
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Let it end with the listener thinking “So what?”
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Forget to update your speech regularly
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Sound monotone
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Go on and on and on and on
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STAND UP, SPEAK UP, SHUT UP
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Benefits
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If you are talking to a sponsor or potential employer this is
obvious
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Use as a team building exercise
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Underline existing committee job descriptions to give the
individual confidence in their role
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Transferable skill: useful for commercial breakfast meetings
Baden Powell said be
prepared
 Be
positive
 Be
passionate
 Be
potent
 Just
not
 Pathetic
 Petulant
 Or
perspiring
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GOOD LUCK!