Law Report - 2015 Annual Review

February 2016

VACANCYSOFTB u s i n e s s I n t e l l i g e n c e t h r o u g h V a c a n c y D a t a

VACANCYSOFTB u s i n e s s I n t e l l i g e n c e t h r o u g h V a c a n c y D a t a

CONTENTS

ABOUT OUR DATA

Magic Circle and US-Headquartered Firms in London

Other Firms in London

Regional Recruitment

In-House Recruitment

Every day Vacancysoft monitors careers centres on thousands of company web sites, and gathers links where there is change. These links are then classified automatically, and in the case of relevant content, by Vacancysoft staff. The vacancies are found in the course of normal operations; we eliminate duplicates in the vacancies and process them according to our proprietary rules.

To create most of this report, Vacancysoft analysed 9 900 vacancies recorded in 2014-15, from any firms or companies that offered vacancies for lawyers within England or Wales. Vacancies for roles specialising in Personal Injury or Family law were excluded.

For trend analysis of in-house recruitment on page six, we analysed 1 900 vacancies, from 430 companies, for which Vacancysoft has records going back before 2014. This allows like-for-like comparison.

03

04

05

06

VACANCYSOFTB u s i n e s s I n t e l l i g e n c e t h r o u g h V a c a n c y D a t a

www.vacancysoft.com 03

Magic Circle and US-Headquartered Firms in London

In 2015, we saw nearly 350 vacancies for lawyers published by Magic Circle or US-headquartered firms in London. This was an increase of 57% over the previous year’s total.

Traditionally strong practice areas for these firms have continued to dominate the marketplace: Banking & Finance alone was just under a quarter of all roles, and Corporate / M&A and Real Estate were each close to 10%. Real Estate vacancies grew spectacularly versus 2014, more than doubling, but the other two areas grew more slowly, below the 57% average across.

The next practice area which grew faster than average was Regulatory. Within Regulatory practices, the largest specialisms in 2015 were Financial Regulation, which grew quickly, and Competition, which actually shrank slightly versus 2014. Other practice areas which grew faster than average included Employment, Insurance, and Technology.

Vacancy growth was spread very unevenly among firms. The two standout firms were Clifford Chance and Hogan Lovells. Clifford Chance created more additional vacancies in 2015 than any other firm in this part of the market; its greatest growth was in Banking & Finance roles, where Asset Finance was the fastest growing specialism, but it also advertised more vacancies than in 2014 in the Corporate / M&A, Real Estate, Regulatory, and Technology practices. Hogan Lovells added fewer vacancies than Clifford Chance, but grew at a faster proportional rate. Its vacancy growth was also focused on Banking & Finance, where Asset Finance and Leverage Finance grew fastest among specialisms.

Among the largest specialisms in this market, the fastest growing was Risk Management within Insurance practices. The recent trend to hire non-fee-earning Professional Support Lawyers also continued and expanded.

Vacancies by Practice Area

Vacancy Growth in Selected Large Firms, 2015 vs 2014

Baker & McKenzie

Linklaters

Clifford Chance

Hogan Lovells

Vacancy Growth in Selected Large Specialisms, 2015 vs 2014

Banking & Finance

Real Estate

RegulatoryCorporate/M&A

OTHERS

Additional Vacancies Proportional Growth

20% 40% 60%

AVERAGE FOR MAGIC CIRCLE/US HQ FIRMS57%

80% 100% 120%PROPORTIONAL VACANCY GROWTH

140% 160%

20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120% 140%

Tax

Structured Finance

Capital Markets

ADDITIONAL VACANCIES

PERCENTAGE GROWTH

Risk Management

Professional Support

2 4 6 81 3 5 7

VACANCYSOFTB u s i n e s s I n t e l l i g e n c e t h r o u g h V a c a n c y D a t a

www.vacancysoft.com04

Putting aside Magic Circle firms and those headquartered in the US, we saw 150 other law firms advertise for lawyers in London in 2015. Collectively, they advertised over 1 100 vacancies, an increase of 39% over 2014.

The pattern of hiring across practice areas for these firms is similar to the pattern for the top tier firms: Real Estate, Banking & Finance, and Corporate / M&A are three of the four largest practice areas, although among these firms Real Estate takes the top spot. The slowest moving of the four largest practice areas was Corporate / M&A, which grew only 19% year-on-year (against the 39% average), and the fastest moving was Litigation, which offered 60% more vacancies in 2015 than in 2014.

Again mirroring the top-tier firms, Technology and Insurance were two of the fastest-growing smaller practice areas. Unlike in those firms, though, vacancies in Regulatory practices grew slower than average. Energy and Tax also grew more slowly than average.

Although there are 150 firms in this market segment, it’s a top-heavy segment, and the busiest 19 firms offered half of all the vacancies. The largest recruiters here are all Silver Circle or international full-service firms. Pinsent Masons stayed at the top of the list, with 80% vacancy growth versus 2014. Herbert Smith Freehills was the fastest-growing Silver Circle firm; its additional recruitment was mostly in Corporate / M&A, Litigation, and Real Estate.

Considering individual specialisms, demand for technology lawyers increased by the greatest rate. Professional Support Lawyers were also in increasing demand, suggesting some change in working practice in the 24 firms that sought them.

Vacancies by Practice Area

Changes in Roles Advertised, Selected Large Firms

Firm

Pinsent Masons

Dentons Europe

Herbert Smith Freehills

Norton Rose Fulbright

Berwin Leighton Paisner

DLA Piper

Addleshaw Goddard

Taylor Wessing

Eversheds

24

17

16

10

8

5

2

0

-10

Selected Fast-Growing Large Specialisms

Real Estate

Corporate/M&ABanking & Finance

Litigation/Dispute Resolution

OTHERS

Specialism

Technology/Media/Telecoms

Real Estate Finance

Compliance

Planning

Residential Real Estate

Risk Management

PSL's

13

23

11

14

13

13

24

433%

288%

275%

233%

217%

163%

160%

Additional Vacancies2015 vs 2014

Additional Vacancies2015 vs 2014

ProportionalGrowth

Other Firms in London

VACANCYSOFTB u s i n e s s I n t e l l i g e n c e t h r o u g h V a c a n c y D a t a

www.vacancysoft.com 05

Most vacancies for lawyers in England and Wales are not in London. 2015 saw 3 900 vacancies across the English regions and Wales, 40% more than in 2014. This means that the regional market grew only very slightly slower than the London market, which grew at 41% year-on-year.

The South East remains the most important region outside of London, and the only region besides Wales to grow more quickly than London, at 45% year-on-year. Southampton and Reading were two of the South East cities with the most additional vacancies in 2015; Blake Morgan and Clarke Wilmott increased their hiring in Southampton, while Blandy and Blandy increased their hiring in Reading.

The South West and the Midlands performed very similarly over the year. Both grew by about 35% versus, both advertising about 185 more vacancies. The economically smaller regions of the North West and the North East & Yorkshire grew slightly faster, at or above the average rate of 41%.

We saw 59 additional vacancies in Wales in 2015, fewer than in any region except East Anglia. Since there were so few roles offered there in 2014, however, this represents a 70% increase in hiring.

Bristol, Birmingham, and Manchester were the busiest cities outside London for legal recruitment. Surprisingly, given their relative sizes, we saw more vacancies in Bristol than in Birmingham. Birmingham is growing the fastest of the three, though. Both international firms (including Pinsent Masons and PwC Legal) and UK nationals (such as Shoosmiths and Browne Jacobson) have expanded their recruitment there in 2015.

Vacancies by Region, 2015

Vacancy Growth by Region

Top Regional Cities

City 2015 Vacancies

Bristol

Birmingham

Manchester

Leeds

Cardiff

Cambridge

Southampton

Sheffield

Liverpool

Newcastle Upon Tyne

284

273

269

187

99

96

93

87

84

82

3%

28%

9%

16%

48%

19%

35%

85%

65%

71%

Vacancy Growth2015 vs 2014

Greater London

North-East/ Yorkshire WalesEast Anglia

South East Midlands

North West

South West

70%

45%

43%

41%

41%

41% NATIONALAVERAGE

38%

34%

27%

70%

27%

Regional Recruitment

VACANCYSOFTB u s i n e s s I n t e l l i g e n c e t h r o u g h V a c a n c y D a t a

www.vacancysoft.com06

In-House lawyers were in great demand in 2015: with over 1 500 positions advertised, we saw demand rise by 74% compared to 2014.

Companies in the Financial Services industry offered the most in-house roles over the year: nearly 600 were offered and this was 38% of all in-house vacancies. Technology, Media, and Telecoms (TMT) was the second-busiest industry, but offered only 21% of roles in comparison.

Vacancy growth across industries was concentrated in the smaller ones, although none performed particularly poorly. Financial Services vacancies had grown 64% from 2014, and TMT’s had grown by 20%. Consumer Goods and Services (CGS) vacancies, however, grew by 93% overall, with constituent sectors Retail and FMCG adding at least 60% more vacancies, and smaller sector Luxury Goods also growing rapidly.

Retail was not only the fastest-growing large sector in CGS, it was the fastest-growing large sector in any industry. Demand for lawyers also grew in some other large sectors, although Pharmaceuticals was the only other large sector to beat the average growth rate.

Looking at the busiest banks, there is no clear pattern to their growth or decline in hiring. The largest, Barclays, expanded its hiring across multiple specialisms. Finance-related specialisms grew quickly, of course, but there was also increased hiring for specialists in litigation, M&A, and technology. RBS also grew quickly, but outside of finance specialisms, it was chiefly searching for lawyers with regulatory experience. Nationwide, the last bank to grow dramatically, advertised for specialists in litigation and real estate as well as banking.

In-House Vacancies by Industry

Growth in Largest Sectors

Sector

Retail

Pharmaceuticals

Accountancy

Commercial Banking

Software & Computer Services

Media Broadcasting / Publishing

Insurance

Technology Hardware & Equipment

Investment Finance

Telecommunications

108%

76%

63%

60%

29%

26%

12%

0%

-2%

-5%

Vacancy Growth2015 vs 2014

Trends in Largest Commercial and Investment Banks

Financial Services

Public Sector / NFPConsumer Goods & Services

Technology, Media & Telecoms

OTHERS

Bank

Barclays Bank

JP Morgan Chase and Co

Royal Bank of Scotland Group

Nationwide Building Society

HSBC

Goldman Sachs Group

Lloyds Banking Group

Citigroup

Société Générale

30

-12

24

41

2

10

2

-3

4

Additional Law Vacancies2015 vs 2014 Trend

In-House Recruitment

VACANCYSOFTB u s i n e s s I n t e l l i g e n c e t h r o u g h V a c a n c y D a t a

About Us• Launched in 2006, we provide Business Intelligence through Vacancy Data on subscription.

• We publish vacancy data daily, tailored to your needs, so you can be informed of client activity.

• Primarily used by recruiters, our service enables consultants to have a rapid response when Organizations post jobs thus facilitating Business Development and Client Management.

• Our data sets are also used by Executive Search, Consulting Firms, Business Services and Strategy Managers to facilitate a more client centric approach.

• For more information about us please contact James Chaplin by email: james.chaplin@vacancysoft.com

Free Trial• On a daily basis we monitor over 500,000 companies for change.

• We configure an account for you with filters matching your needs (So you decide which roles, sectors, locations you want to be kept informed about).

• You start getting daily emails from us with all relevant vacancy data.

• You also get an access to our online database, enabling you to search all activity in the market meeting your needs.

• After you decide which data packages you want our unit based pricing means so you only pay for what you find adds value.

• To set up your free trial today contact support@vacancysoft.com

Vacancysoft LLP is a limited liability partnership.Registered in England and Wales.

Partnership no. OC327354.

Registered office: Vicarage House,

58-60 Kensington Church St, London, W8 4DBVAT: GB 886 1961 74