Have you ever fancied yourself as the next Alicia Florrick or Harvey Spektor? While the drama and excitement of courtroom battles attracts many people into the field, the realities of the legal sector aren’t always so glamourous. But this is a prestigious and buoyant job market to work in. The main part of the legal sector that jobs are available in is in conveyancing – that’s the legal process around buying and selling property.
Houses are selling like hot cakes in Greater Manchester, and prices are soaring. Many law firms are optimistic about this trend continuing and are keen to expand their conveyancing teams. The only problem? There’s a real shortage of legal professionals who work in property law. And that’s going from senior lawyers through to legal secretaries.
Many blame the financial crash of 2008 on the shortage – work dried up for conveyancers and they moved into other sectors, leaving some of their skills out of date and preventing them returning. The Law Society Gazette even reports that staff shortages in conveyancing is delaying even straightforward house sales. Others are blaming relatively low wages and long working hours on a struggle to attract staff into the sector.
Many law firms are taking matters into their own hands however, and are eager to train enthusiastic individuals to work in conveyancing. And with lots of potential for building a successful career, this is a powerful pull for young people looking for work for the first time, whether that’s training programmes for Law Graduates to become fully fledged lawyers, or taking bright school and college leavers into junior office roles where they can prove their worth.
So whether you’re a recent graduate, school leaver, or simply thinking about a change in career, a career in the legal sector might not offer all the glamour you see on the TV, but there are plenty of jobs and excellent prospects out there for people who are willing to put the work in.
