The difficulties of recruiting qualified lawyers into the public sector have been signposted for many years now. Back in 2019, the Local Government Lawyer reported that recruitment and retention had “.”
Now, one pandemic, three national lockdowns and four years later, public sector legal departments continue to cite similar, if not increased, recruitment challenges. But there is light at the end of the tunnel. To discover more, ɫ spoke with Fiona Anthony, the Practice and Professional Development Manager at nplaw, to shed some light on how organisations like hers are helping the public sector to navigate and overcome recruitment challenges.
nplaw is a shared legal service hosted by Norfolk County Council, with many years of experience acting for clients throughout the public sector including councils, charities and schools.
According to Anthony, she and her peers at other providers have all been experiencing recruitment challenges for a number of years. The main challenge rests with recruiting at a senior level. To acquire such a candidate, “the right kind of person must be looking at the right time” Anthony said. Otherwise, nplaw often have plenty of brilliant applicants when recruiting for legal officers (their equivalent term for paralegals). Recruitment challenges are, now more than ever, staggered by seniority.
There are common misconceptions associated with working in the public sector, says Anthony. People consistently underestimate the value of the broad range of work experienced by those in legal teams, the sense of fulfilment and the salaries that can accompany it – especially at the start of their careers.
It all starts with nplaw’s 'grow your own' recruiting structure. A tactical choice was made to target candidates at the start of their careers – at the paralegal level – and then to invest in their progression. nplaw offer apprenticeship schemes, sponsor employees to undertake the Law Society’s Diploma in Local Government Law and provide management training courses to ensure development and progression at all levels of seniority.
When the Legal Practice Course (LPC) was the only route to qualification as a solicitor, nplaw often found themselves trying to compete for trainee solicitors against larger law firms in the private sector who would pay the course fees for the LPC. However, since the introduction of the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE), the public sector can offer graduate entry apprenticeships, using the apprenticeship levy so that staff can study for the qualification without incurring any costs themselves or at any cost to the practice. Law graduates can use this apprenticeship route to become solicitors, helping to make the public sector more desirable for attracting paralegals.
There were only a few trainee solicitors when Anthony joined nplaw 8 years ago. Since developing their structured trainee programme, their talent pipeline is flourishing. The structure is successful because trainees learn about the public sector environment and get to know that it's the right workplace for them.
Anthony believes they retain talent because of their training structure. nplaw’s ‘grow your own’ approach has awarded them a pool of enthusiastic and bright paralegals from which to recruit trainees and apprentices; they can apply to become a trainee solicitor or apprentice within six months of joining. When they start their training they know the organisation, the systems, and have colleague support.
For Anthony, this is a question she “hears all the time.” Many students she mentors ask whether there is a type of candidate nplaw specifically look for. She says they look for someone who is well-rounded, personable, and – importantly – has a life!
“Having a law degree means you know your stuff, which is all very well and good, but could I leave one of them in a room with a client and then come back and feel like I’m interrupting them?” said Anthony. That’s the level of interpersonal skill she searches for.
“People are often embarrassed about other work experiences that aren't necessarily grounded in the legal industry. I want to encourage them to put these skills on the table.” Anthony uses working at MacDonald's as an example of an experience that teaches patience, time management, working under pressure, and prioritisation.
With so much hybrid-working, potential candidates want to know that roles in the public sector can support them with the required technology. To support a ‘grow your own’ structure, it’s imperative to have access to online resources as potential graduate candidates – and anyone who’s a technology native – expect this level of provision nowadays.
Although not many people know this, at a junior level, the public sector can offer salaries that compete with private practice. The main drawcard, however, is the work/life balance.
“People don't understand the meaning of the words "flexible working" until they work in the public sector,” says Anthony. “The level of flexibility is unparalleled; the ability to work hours that enable you to take children to school, to scale up hours when appropriate to work full-time or to scale down to part-time or term-time only working… The public sector model of flexible hours has a major positive impact on the quality of life of those caring for children or older people.”
There is also the moral drawcard, of course. To have a purpose, make and see a difference in the community. Whether it’s driving past a doctor's surgery you helped secure funding for or a bridge you helped support the regulation of, working in the public sector can offer a rewarding and fulfilling sense of satisfaction that isn’t replicable elsewhere, says Anthony.
The public sector can also suit those for whom competing to become partner doesn’t appeal. Instead, it fosters a supportive environment, that’s much more collegiate and collaborative.
Anthony reiterates the same challenge that ɫ has heard from many in the public sector: lots of people are leaving it for the locum market. The transient nature of the work, for impressive financial award, make it difficult to compete with. And not knowing how to compete with the draw of being a locum remains an issue for many in the public sector.
“I would have to set up a consultancy if I knew the silver bullet to that problem!” exclaims Anthony. But she thinks the solution rests within the 'grow your own' approach as practised by nplaw.
“It may not be fast or solve short-term problems instantly, but the long-term investment in people will eventually prove a solution to our ongoing recruitment challenges. I just wish more people knew about the amazing benefits of working in our sector!”
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