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Much like the rest of the economy, the public sector remains the cornerstone of stability within the legal sector. April has been particularly busy, helped along by the new financial year and access to new budgets.
While it’s undeniable that there are more candidates on the market from private practice, particularly in planning and property, the reality is that the pool of good lawyers with public sector experience has hardly changed and for those with such experience, there are a number of opportunities to be had across different practice areas.
The Baby P case continues to impact upon childcare teams, with heavy caseloads and mounting pressure commonplace.
The Baby P case continues to impact upon childcare teams, with heavy caseloads and mounting pressure commonplace. Positions are wide-ranging from paralegals assisting with bundling to external consultants reviewing the functions of an entire social services team. Demand for adult social services lawyers is also on the increase but there appear to be few lawyers on the market with the right skills and experience to fulfil these roles.
Commercial contracts are getting busier, not for specific projects but due to an increase in workloads as local authorities try and reign in costs and outsource less. There has also been a small rise in opportunities for debt collection lawyers in local authorities, as reduced budgets are sparking a need to call in outstanding debts. Employment lawyers, particularly on the contentious side, remain in demand as redundancies, restructuring and performance related dismissals continue. This increase in work can also be put down to a rise in equal pay disputes within the public sector.
Understandably insolvency remains busy, with personal debtor petitions rising to a record high in the first 3 months of 2009. This shows little sign of changing. The “Debt Relief Order”, which was introduced in April 2009 and allows consumers with debts of less than £15,000 and minimal assets or surplus income to write off debts without a full-blown bankruptcy order may also have an impact but it is too early to tell at this stage.
Regulatory law is going to be a key area to follow in the coming years. Regulations are likely to tighten following the exposure of the lack of guidelines in both the financial markets and the care system over the past year. Keep an eye on the FSA as there will undoubtedly be a flurry of activity as new financial regulations are born. Elsewhere, the merging of the Healthcare Commission, The Social Care Inspection Commission and the Mental Health Act Commission to become the Care Quality Commission will be an interesting one to watch as they take on the huge task of streamlining the regulation of the care industry.
Legislative drafting is another specialism in constant demand across Whitehall. It is a rare and unique skill to be able to draft legislation and statutory instruments and there is always a continued supply of work to be done in this area. Demand can fluctuate as bills are pushed through quickly. It is worth noting however that this is a particularly difficult area to break into and it is only likely that you would be considered if you went through the Government Legal Service at an early stage in your career or have experience within Parliamentary Counsel overseas.
