First of all a very Happy New Year.

It is early days yet in 2015, but the signs are that law firms remain keen to recruit across a range of practice areas. Current opportunities in East Anglia include:

Senior Associate, Real Estate

Senior Associate, Tax

Senior Associate, Private Client

Senior Associate, Agriculture

Associate, Shipping

Associate, Corporate

Associate, 2-5PQE, Commercial IT

Associate, 2PQE Procurement

Associate, Tax

Associate, Agriculture

For further details of these and other opportunities in East Anglia please contact Michael Pickup at Oyster Search & Selection. Similarly, if you are thinking of relocating to the East Anglia region in 2015 and/or simply wish to find out more about the recruitment market for lawyers in the region, then again please get in touch.

As the year draws to a close and a new year beckons, for some people it provides an opportunity to reflect on their professional careers and to consider “what next?” In some cases, the answer will be to look at the options overseas. This may mean relocating to an overseas jurisdiction for the first time or perhaps it signals a desire to return home.

The international nature of our client base means that invariably we receive instructions from clients to recruit for positions overseas. In the past, for example, we have recruited lawyers in to Greece, Dubai and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and HR professionals in to Hong Kong and the UAE.

We hope to continue receiving such instructions in 2015 so please do feel free to get in touch should you be contemplating a move overseas. In the meantime, here is a smattering of our latest international opportunities:

Legal

4-8PQE Corporate M&A and Finance Lawyers, Law Firm, Sydney

2-5PQE Corporate M&A Lawyer, In-House, UAE

3-6PQE Dispute Resolution Lawyer, Law Firm, UAE

Master Mariner, Law Firm, Asia

Human Resources

Senior HR Business Partner, Financial Services, Germany

HR Manager, Law Firm, Hong Kong

Wishing you a Happy Christmas and Best Wishes in 2015

I’m conscious of the fact that it has been sometime since I last wrote with an update about the Business Services recruitment market and thought it appropriate, therefore, to comment ahead of the Christmas break.

What is and has been evident for sometime is that the recruitment market remains busy as the economy continues to pick up, client sentiment improves and the outlook appears generally positive, despite wider political and economic uncertainties in Europe and May’s General Election here in the UK. What has also been evident, more so in the past few months, is the fact that there is a real dearth of candidates, not simply in more obvious areas such as Reward but also, for example, at HR Business Partner and Senior HR Business Partner level too.

With no obvious signs of the situation abating any time soon, there is no doubt that we are living in a candidate-driven world, with greater competition for the very best candidates.  Client’s attitudes are noticeably changing as a result and reflected, for example, in having a more flexible approach to a candidate’s skills and experience and, on some occasions, flexibility on pay or working hours.

To give you an idea, here are just a few of the mandates we have at the moment:

Head of HR/Senior HRBP, Financial Institution, Continental Europe

Practice Manager, International Law Firm, City

Senior BD Manager, International Law Firm, City

HR Manager, Law Firm, City

L&D Manager, International Law Firm, City

HR Manager, Law Firm, Hong Kong/Asia

Looking ahead, we anticipate a particular need in a few specific areas of Business Services including needs at Director/Head of level in Human Resources, Business Development and IT/Technology.

With the trend towards increased demand for Business Services professionals set to continue and with a very real shortage of candidates then 2015 promises to be a challenging year ahead and one which, from a candidate’s point of view, offers real opportunity.

Wishing you a very Happy Christmas and New Year

I’m conscious of the fact that it has been sometime since I last wrote with an update about the legal recruitment market and thought it appropriate, therefore, to comment ahead of the Christmas break.

What is and has been evident for sometime is that the legal recruitment market remains busy as the economy continues to pick up, client sentiment improves and the outlook appears generally positive, despite wider political and economic uncertainties in Europe and May’s General Election here in the UK. What has also been evident, more so in the past few months, is the fact that there is a real dearth of candidates, not simply in more obvious areas such as Financial Services and Real Estate but also, for example, Commercial Law (eg. TMT) and Construction.

With no obvious signs of the situation abating any time soon, there is no doubt that we are living in a candidate-driven world, with greater competition for the very best candidates.  Client’s attitudes are noticeably changing as a result and reflected, for example, in having a more flexible approach to a candidate’s skills and experience and, on some occasions, flexibility on pay or working hours.

To give you an idea, here are just a few of the mandates we have at the moment:

In-House

2-3 PQE Asset/Trade Finance Lawyer, Bank, City

2-6 PQE Corporate Lawyer, Financial Services, UAE

Private Practice

Senior Associate, Corporate M&A, International Law Firm, UAE

3-5 PQE Debt Capital Markets Lawyer, Law Firm, UAE

Mid-Level Commercial Lawyer, Law Firm, Cambridge

2-4 PQE Corporate M&A/ECM/AIM Lawyer, Law Firm, City

0-4 PQE Financial Services Lawyer, International Law Firm, City

PSL Corporate, Law Firm, Nationwide

With the trend towards increased demand for lawyers both in-house and in private practice set to continue and with a very real shortage of candidates then 2015 promises to be a challenging year ahead and one which, from a candidate’s point of view, offers real opportunity.

Wishing you a very Happy Christmas and New Year

Let me begin by saying that I hope you have had an enjoyable and relaxing summer. Of note, through the July and August holiday season was the continuing demand for HR professionals brought on by a mix of employee resignations, internal promotions and organisational change. This trend was particularly noticeable at the more junior levels, although we are beginning to see signs of recruitment at Manager, Senior Manager and Head of HR levels. I expect this trend to continue to pick up in line with the economic upturn and improved client sentiment.

So as to illustrate the uptick in demand for HR professionals, below is a list of some of the current opportunities we are acting on. Naturally, we’d be delighted to hear from you should any one of these opportunities be of interest to you and/or you simply wish to discuss your career more generally.

Head of Human Resources, Professional Services, City

Senior HR Business Partner, International Law Firm, City

Senior HR Business Partner, Financial Services, Germany

HR Business Partner, International Law Firm, Hong Kong

Human Resources Manager, Professional Services, City

HR Business Partner, International Law Firm, Dubai

Reward Manager, International Law Firm, City

Compensation Analyst, Financial Services, City

Senior HR Adviser, “Magic Circle” firm, City

HR Administrator(s), Law Firms, City

Graduates/HR Trainees, Financial Services, City

As ever, for further information about these and other roles, please contact Michael Pickup at Oyster Search & Selection on +44 1728621012 or email him at michaelpickup@oystersearch.com.