Did you know that Oyster is a “go to” recruitment consultancy for some of the leading shipping firms in the legal sector? Indeed, right now, we have a number of opportunities in the UK, Hong Kong & Piraeus for shipping lawyers and barristers. We are particularly interested in contentious lawyers with Dry Shipping experience and especially those lawyers who are 4-5PQE+ with aspirations for partnership and a knack for developing new business.

More generally, we are keen to develop our professional network of shipping lawyers and, not least, those lawyers considering relocating overseas and interested in working in jursidictions including Piraeus, Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong.

So whether you are a newly qualified lawyer looking for your first role post-qualification, a junior lawyer considering a move or indeed a shipping partner, with a potential following then we’d be delighted to hear from you. Alternatively, you may just wish to discuss the market, salaries and the potential options available to you. If so, then please don’t hesitate to contact us.

A quick note to provide you with a market update and, in particular, to draw your attention to some of the latest opportunities we are currently acting on.

In general, domestic recruitment activity levels amongst our law firm clients remain steady in respect of both fee earners and business services. However, there is considerable activity in areas such as Shipping and Corporate Insurance. There is also significant demand for partners, counsel and associates in Financial Services Regulation and Funds and this, together with Shipping, is an area we are very focused on just now.

Within business services, HR Directors continue to look very closely at their cost base and new ways of doing things. We expect to see an uptick in demand of HR Business Partners and Interim HR professionals. Demand for Business Development Managers, particularly those with sector-specific experience, is also in evidence.

In East Anglia, a number of clients report a growing demand for construction and real estate lawyers.

Further afield in the Middle East, clients report that economic activity in Dubai, in particular, is on a firmer footing than hitherto and that this could well lead to further recruitment. The demand for construction lawyers remains strong. We also expect to see an increase in demand for projects lawyers in Doha.  Demand in business services is more muted.

The month of October sees Oyster Search & Selection celebrate its 4th birthday and with it the opportunity to reflect on how far we have come since we first launched the business in 2008 and, perhaps more importantly, to look ahead at what next. We are proud to have established relationships with a select number of leading law firms, corporates and financial institutions and to have worked with a diverse range of partners, associates and business services professionals across a number of different jurisdictions. We believe that these relationships, combined with our continued focus on delivering a tailored, flexible and cost-effective service within our core areas of expertise, such as Shipping, Financial Services and Human Resources will stand us in good stead as we look forward to the next 4 years.

Thursday 4 October saw the launch of Oyster Search & Selection’s new website which for the first time will enable candidates the facility to search our vacancies online. The facility is designed to complement our search and selection services. Not only will this enable Oyster to add value to our clients in terms of meeting their immediate hiring needs but we hope that it will also provide the foundation for a long term partnership with a broader number of professionals and especially the prospective law firm partners and business services directors of the future.