Young lawyers stung by overspecialised market
OVERSPECIALISATION in the legal profession should be dismantled as young solicitors trying to find work have been hit the hardest by recent cutbacks at commercial law firms, said The Law Society.
Young lawyers specialising in banking, property and commercial law are having a harder time finding employment as a result of the global recession, said the legal body.
“In the property boom, there was a great demand for conveyancing lawyers but, in the recession, this is not the case and many will now find it difficult to find or retain emoployment,” said Heidi Sandy, chair of the Junior Law Division at the Law Society.
She said that younger lawyers have taken the brunt of the economic downturn, which is in part due to early specialisation in their careers.
As a response, The Law Society has joined forces with The College of Law to provide a two-day course, which will teach the basics behind private client law and practice in a bid to give struggling lawyers a shot at getting back onto a successful career path.