In what has been a turbulent two years for the legal sector, with many jobs lost, that Leeds law firm Clarion has bucked the trend and recruited 12 new hires in the first quarter of 2024 is welcome news for the business and private client services focused firm.
Last month Clarion announced the appointment of a new legal director, Katie Bullock, who joined the firms’ Court of Protection and Personal Injury Trust team and who brings with her some 12 years’ experience dealing with high value and complex Court of Protection (COP) matters. The appointment of Katie Bullock is the first senior appointment of 2024, with 62 employees having already joined the firm in 2023, as Clarion continue their goal to create an entrepreneurial environment for the best legal talent across the region that in turn better understand their clients specific needs and at times, complex requirements.
Senior associate, Sandeep Sandhu, joined the Family team at Leeds law firm Clarion with over 18 years of experience in the field and the firm has also made four associate appointments across practice areas, including Real Estate, Employment, Private Wealth and Contentious Private Client, with a further five new starters in support teams across the business.
Speaking on the appointments, Roger Hutton, joint managing partner at Clarion, said: “These appointments are an integral part of our national growth strategy, alongside our plans to create an entrepreneurial environment and attract the best legal talent across the region. I know that our latest recruits will play a key role in delivering these plans and helping our wider team in continuing to deliver outstanding service and guidance to our clients.”
In 2022 Clarion were recognised as one of the UK’s ‘Best Companies’ to work for, in the large company category in recognition of their ‘world-class employee engagement’. Additionally Clarion have been named as No.1 Law firm to work for in the UK, the No.2 Large Company to work for in the UK and the No. 3 Best Company to work for in Yorkshire, of any size.
Commercially speaking in 2022 The Lawyer reported that Clarion is the third fastest growing law firm in Europe, based on growth over the last five full financial years.
Bucking the trend
Although overall activity in the UK legal sector hit record levels last year as the sector generated £43.7bn in revenue, there was a significant overall drop in new job vacancies and a sizeable reduction in headcount for mid-tier law firms.
Despite conveyancing suffering one of the worst drops in the sector since the mini-budget of late 2022, real estate was the top skill in demand by the sector despite its market share having slipped from 22 per cent in 2022 to 18 per cent in 2023 on the back of a hefty 37 per cent fall in vacancies in the real estate sector, as the commercial property sector had slowed down from the onset of the pandemic.
Despite the ‘whiplash reforms’ decimating many personal injury firms, (largely small tier) vacancies in personal injury roles increased by 15 per cent in 2023, taking the segment’s share of the overall market from 6.4 per cent in 2022 to almost 10 per cent by the end of 2023.
A rather fitting comment on the legal sector job vacancy movements was said by James Chaplin, chief executive of Vacancysoft who commented “The tidal nature of the economy can be seen when looking at the legal sector.”
Other Legal News
Rise in dishonest injury claims / Credit hire boom powers law firm profit surge / New compensation scheme to be set up for victims of child abuse / Victims offered more than six times injury compensation following appeal
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