Cambridge Law Magazine - September 2012 article

Remote working or working from home:  Motivation and procrastination

By Alison Thorne llb lpc Fellow of the Institute of Recruitment Practitioners  

Director and Legal Recruiter LEX Recruitment Ltd   www.lexrecruitment.co.uk

 I am very lucky to be able to work from the sanctuary of my own home, avoiding traffic, office politics and the continual struggle of trying to look vaguely presentable.  I established LEX Recruitment in 2007, having read law at the University of East Anglia and then the Legal Practice Course at the University of West of England.  I soon married a soldier and children came along which meant that committing to a training contract was problematical.  When the time to start work again arrived, working from home, placing lawyers seemed like a sensible option.  I had years of recruitment experience behind me and this was a way of using my legal training. 

However, there are real issues with working from home alone.  Isolation and loneliness can be a problem and occasionally I can find myself having lengthy conversations with myself, out loud.  Afraid of going too bonkers, I probably find someone in Tescos to chat to.   Also, I have a tendency to think that housework is far more important than it actually is.  By the time all the windows are clean I know that I have no other jobs to do and I should really get the desk work done.  I have developed the art of being constantly busy without actually achieving anything.   It would be great to have a boss to give me a look out of the side of their eye to encourage me to focus and stop messing about.  Otherwise, I am able to carry on avoiding desk duties indefinitely.   

By procrastinating I am preferring to deal with low priorities rather than high priorities.  This eventually starts to cause me stress and guilt.  However the pressure of the guilt can often mean that once I have turned the corner and start the work again, I am capable of herculean tasks and I work efficiently and effectively.  It is a sporadic work method, but as I am a mother with horses, home and family to manage, it seems to works somehow.  Occasionally I envy the 9-5 work method in the office.  It would be lovely to leave the other responsibilities behind sometimes.

Lawyers are now able to work remotely from home and access the firms’ case management and databases, as if they were in the office.  There are other lawyers who have chosen to work independently from home.  Mark Foley a Collaborative Family solicitor and founder of Linked Law  believes that there are great benefits to working independently and from home.  Overheads are low, you have the flexibility to work when you want.  He is able to work relatively paper free and visits clients in their own homes which has many benefits.  Mark has developed a network of independent lawyers who are able to cross refer work from each others’ clients http://www.linkedlaw.co.uk/.   When I mentioned I was writing this article he laughed out loud and declined to comment.  This has led me to assume that perhaps we all struggle with home alone working sometimes. 

But it does work; working from home is, in the main, very successful.  I have the flexibility to work all hours.  I regularly work through the night sorting emails, searching candidates and resourcing for potential clients.  I think that I do miss seeing people on a daily basis, which is now partially compensated with Linked in and Facebook.  Home alone working requires discipline and commitment.  Pressure and fear of failure keep me motivated and on track.   

Cambridge Law Magazine Article by Alison Thorne

Norfolk Law - The Eurozone Crisis and its effect on our Regions' Legal Recruitment

The Eurozone Crisis and its affect on our Regions’ Legal Recruitment

The Eurozone Crisis and its affect on our Regions’ Legal Recruitment

by Alison Thorne LLB LPC Fellow of the Institute of Recruitment Practitioners Director and Legal Recruiter

LEX Recruitment Ltd www.lexrecruitment.co.uk

Economics and politics are NOT my thing, so when I was asked to prepare an article to discuss the impact of the Eurozone crisis on legal recruitment, I found myself feeling slightly light headed and a bit giggly.  I would far rather give an update on how my horses are enjoying this mild winter.  In fact, anything EU or Euro usually puts me catatonic and when this topic was first mooted, in my mind, a naked ski down a mogul field, in full public view, seemed more preferable.

As in any year, 2011, saw highs and lows, highs notably being two Royal Weddings and lows the constant worry of a double dip recession.  The beginning of last year saw Japan subjected to an earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown.   Also Afghanistan has rumbled on with our Soldiers still far from home putting their lives at risk.  We have also seen “extreme shopping” (an Ab Fab quote – I can’t claim that!) in the form of the inner city riots and looting.  However, we should be minded to keep things in perspective.   Whilst the Euro crisis and economy cause us concern and hardship, health and family should always be the most important factors in our lives.

We are almost blasé about the roller coaster of Eurozone headlines; sovereign debt crisis, bailouts, Prime Ministers stepping down and rescue plans. More recently the headlines are discussing plans to form a new Treaty to have an inter-governmental agreement to tackle the crisis.  The consensus opinion is that European leaders are bracing themselves for a turbulent 2012, with widening deficits that force borrowing but increasing austerity measures which slows growth.  The country to watch in terms of recovery for 2012 is Italy.  As well as managing its budget deficit and debt, they are advocating longer work hours and reforming laws which have so far rendered Italian businesses unproductive and uncompetitive.  These measures should stimulate economic growth, sending a clear message to the financial markets.

The matter in hand is to consider how our legal recruitment is to be affected by the Euro crisis.  It is a point in fact that employers have been “hoarding” skilled workers and that unemployment for 2011 is not as high as it should have been.  Learning from the mistakes of the last recession, companies have been slow to lay off key workers hoping that the upturn is not too far off.   Preferring to pay the cost of retaining staff, through cutting hours and pay decreases, as opposed to the high cost of recruitment and training costs once the economy has improved. 

The employment Minister Chris Grayling claimed in early January that, “the high unemployment figures are the consequences of the crisis in the Eurozone”.  However, the Institute for Employment Studies have countered this by saying that the “labour market has been in the doldrums since well before the Eurozone problems kicked off”.   However, whichever came first, whether it’s the chicken or the egg, harm will have been done in terms of eroding confidence.  Unpredictable and weak markets reduce short term visibility which affects employer and candidate confidence. 

As a recruiter placing legal fee earners to the region I can say there are the recruitment market is still fluid,   candidate flow is slow, with employees less likely to consider a move unless it’s for personal reasons.  I do not expect to see many redundancies as most of the firms have consolidated their positions on staff levels.  If there are to be any redundancies I would expect them to be amongst the less qualified staff leaving the more qualified and managerial staff unaffected.

   

And to a new year and new beginnings.   Since 2009, we have seen a few Firm merger s and buyouts and even some complete new start ups, namely BBL Family Law, a specialist family law practice and KB LAW Solicitors, criminal and litigation solicitors.  Ross Burrows, barrister and partner of KB LAW says that, “Ultimately getting the basics right is essential to our growth and development.  We are not trying to grow too quickly. However, in order to pursue our development plans we have recently had to recruit a senior solicitor - (through LEX Recruitment).”

I am looking forward at worst to a steady year and at best, a complete blinder of a great year in terms of business.  I hope you think so too!  Health, Wealth and Happiness for 2012.   Alison@lexrecruitment.co.uk.