The Director of Interim, Joshua Blake, comments on the Interim Legal Jobs Market

It's undeniable that the legal jobs market has seen a massive increase of demand, and everyone has been feeling the pressure. In a conversation with Joshua Blake, the Director of the Interim at Montresor Legal, he comments on the current state of the market, and how its affected the interim job market specifically:

"The interim market reflects the permanent market to an extent. The current buoyant economic?climate has?increased demand for contract lawyers in?the same areas as the permanent side. We are in fact frequently working on roles which have arisen to provide cover for delays in permanent hiring."

So, why are we seeing such an increase in demand?

"The market for contract lawyers is also similarly affected by candidate supply issues prevalent in the permanent markets. There are?several factors at play but (ironically) perhaps the biggest reason for the short supply of contractors is in fact the permanent market itself. Due to the increased?demand, wage inflation and IR35 legislation, many?contractors are applying for (and getting) permanent roles."

What is a common approach you're seeing to tackle this?

"One interesting approach we are seeing more of is temporary-to-permanent engagements?whereby firms can 'try before they buy' and use a contract as a trial period for a potential permanent role."

How are employers affected by the current market?

"In order to compete with permanent roles, interim roles often need to pay high rates to be enticing enough to keep people contracting and offer?longer durations?of six months+.."?

As the Director of Interim, how is Montresor Legal's Interim team navigating its way in the market?

"Whilst supply of contractors in the legal field is less than previous years, there is still a deep contractor pool made up of people who have made a very conscious decision to work as consultants, not tied down to one institution and free to take breaks as they please. The trick is to know who will be available, when and what offer will be enough for them to be interested in the role.?"

To chat further about the interim job market, Joshua can be reached at [email protected]

Josh began his recruitment career in 2015 and prior to joining Montresor was a manager at a global PLC. Josh's team look after all Interim roles at Montresor Legal across private practice and in-house. He has particular expertise in financial services and tech.