Recruitment is always an investment but, in these turbulent times, it is more important than ever to have a robust process in place so that you can hire confidently.
As a specialist legal recruiter, Legal Southwest will help you to recruit carefully, so that you can find the right, long-term candidates for your firm.
As we all adjust to the new landscape brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, businesses are looking forward, planning for continuing challenges and finding different ways of working. While many law firms put a temporary freeze on recruitment during the first lockdown in the UK, we have seen a thaw in recent months, particularly for certain teams and sectors.
Hiring somebody new is an investment in many ways and it’s always important to have a robust recruitment process. This is all the more vital in the current situation, when you need to be as targeted as possible.
Legal Southwest is a specialist legal recruiter, providing law firms with an efficient way to access a carefully-vetted pool of candidates. This allows you to be very specific with what you are looking for, so you can recruit effectively and confidently.
Our end-goal is always to find the right person for the right position at the right firm.
How we help law firms recruit well
What sets Legal Southwest apart from generalist recruitment agencies?
- We know the market
Our understanding of the legal sector in the Southwest comes from over thirteen years’ experience getting to know the different cultures and priorities at firms. This means that when we select candidates, we are confident that they are going to fit in and have the qualities you are looking for.
We like to stay hands-on with this process, maintaining direct contact with our clients and candidates. We build good working relationships with firms, so that we can have honest conversations to ensure we find your best match.
- We focus on quality over quantity
Wading through a stack of CVs when half the candidates are unsuitable certainly isn’t productive. We handpick our candidates for both the firm and the role, so that we only send the most relevant applications. This ensures that candidates have already been tailored to you, so you can concentrate on the next stage of the recruitment process.
- We recognise that suitability is about more than just experience
A candidate may tick all the boxes on paper but we appreciate that there is more to a successful recruit than this. That’s why we get to know our candidates, so that we can really identify what they are looking for. Some people will thrive in a corporate environment, while others prefer a family feel. By matching candidates with firms that will meet their career goals, we ensure that they are a good long-term fit.
- We look after our candidates
Our reputation and marketing attracts quality candidates, and we always deal with them fairly and with integrity. It’s a small (legal) world in the Southwest and confidentiality is hugely important – we never send a candidate’s CV without permission. As a law firm, this means you can be assured that every candidate is serious about their application to you.
Our candidates also know that we will work efficiently to match them where they are most suited, rather than sending their CV for any and every legal job going in the area. It’s just not our style to waste anybody’s time with unsuitable applications! We want the best result for both our client and our candidate.
- We take a long-term approach
We look at much more than the immediate scope of a role. Our clients want to employ people who see a future with the firm and are committed to helping it grow. When we talk to our candidates, we take the time to find out their career aspirations, what motivates them and their priorities. This allows us to match talented professionals with firms they can flourish in, so hopefully both will benefit from a long-lasting relationship.
We’ve been doing this for a while…
Legal Southwest has been helping law firms to recruit the best candidates since 2007.
Sarah Dart and Michala Willson built up a great deal of experience in general recruitment at a leading blue chip agency, where they both became directors. After leaving to start their families, Sarah realised that there was a gap in the market, with no specialist legal recruiters in the Southwest. She launched Legal Southwest to serve candidates and law firms across Devon, Cornwall and Somerset, with Michala joining shortly afterwards.
Over the years, we’ve worked hard to foster our reputation for quality legal recruitment, developing our knowledge of the local legal sector, building excellent relationships, running seminars and sponsoring events such as the Law Awards.
Our goal is to bring together talented professionals with like-minded organisations. We genuinely want the people we place to be happy and fulfilled in their roles – we all spend so much of our time working, it should be something that we enjoy!
And, of course, making sure that our candidates are happy in their new positions, means that our clients will also be happy. It’s this emphasis on what’s best for both that means you can be confident your legal recruitment is in safe hands with Legal Southwest.
Legal Southwest is a specialist legal recruiter, bringing together talented professionals with like-minded organisations. Take a look at our current vacancies or contact us to find out how we can help you.