Conveyancing recruitment: a 2014 roundup


The Michael Page Legal team were inundated throughout 2014 with requests to assist with the recruitment of residential property solicitors. The market was buoyant, teams were busy and there was continued demand to recruit at all levels.

In addition, the recent change to stamp duty in December has seen some commentators and industry experts predicting as much as a 5% rise in house sales in 2015. This will inevitably maintain and, most likely, increase the demand from law firms to recruit into their residential property teams.
If you are considering moving roles, now is the time to look at the market! 
Whilst firms are still very much focused on attracting the best candidates, 2014 has seen our clients develop a new level of flexibility in residential property recruitment. For example, we have seen:
  • Solicitors moving from high street practices into large commercial law firms
  • Law firms recruiting solicitors who, mainly due to the recession, have not practiced for a number of years
  • An increase in the recruitment of locum solicitors as oppose to law firms being completely focused on permanent solutions
  • Property teams recruiting solicitors that may currently have a mixed caseload (i.e. private client and property) but have a desire to focus purely on property work
  • Increased recruitment at the paralegal level where law firms have struggled to recruit qualified solicitors
We are currently working with a large number of law firms in the West Midlands, East Midlands and East Anglia who are looking to add to and grow their conveyancing departments. In fact, it is fair to say that even when a law firm does not have an active vacancy, they still very much want us to be presenting them with strong residential property solicitors on a speculative basis.
Therefore, if you cannot see a vacancy on our website that completely ties in with what you are looking for, it is likely we will still be able to help and generate some interest in you in the market.

Are you interested in opportunities at the moment? 

If so, please get in touch for a confidential discussion about residential property opportunities at either [email protected] or 0121 634 8807. If you are not considering opportunities but know of somebody who is looking to move, please pass on these contact details. You can browse our current legal jobs or contact us page to locate your local Michael Page Legal team.