How Returner Programmes Provide Law Firms with Top Class Talent

This picture was taken on day one of the pilot Reignite Academy Return to Work programme in January 2019. Everyone was nervous and excited in (almost) equal measure.

Anne is now a Partner in the Commercial team at Michelmores, where she leads the London Technology and Innovation team. Manjit is Associate General Counsel at Ryan LLC. Kristin, who almost pulled out of the pilot Reignite Academy programme three times, is now a Senior Associate in the Tax team at CMS. I could go on ... they are all thriving.

To meet them, and the rest of the 2019 cohort, now, you would find it hard to believe they - or anyone else for that matter - ever had any doubts about their ability to return. Until, perhaps, you learnt that they'd all been out for anything from 4 to 17 years.

Everyone Has a Wobble

Returning to work after a career break can be daunting. Returning to the law, I'd suggest, can be particularly scary. How much has the law changed? How will I cope with the pressure of a billable hours target? Will the team accept someone who is so much older than them? Can I really do this? Am I definitely ready to go back?

Added to that the challenge of dealing with tricky partners (professional and personal), the tendency to set extremely high standards for oneself and the need to still be there for family, there is little wonder that most people have some sort of wobble in the first six months.

The beauty of a formalised Return to Work programme is that it anticipates these scenarios. Providing a fixed term contract takes the pressure off the "Am I really ready?" question. The provision of a mentor, a coach and a fully supportive environment means that molehills and bumps in the road don't become mountains and fully-blown car crashes. And the ability to test out what role to go in at means that the pressure to perform from day one is somewhat reduced (I say "somewhat" because of that constant tendency to set very high standards personally).

But that's only half the story. To take advantage of this tremendous talent pool, law firms, too, need to adapt.

What's Needed from the Law Firm

Adapt Your Screening and Selection Process

You'll be used to scanning a CV quickly - what was the lawyer's last role, where did they train, where did they study? Senior Associate Capital Markets, White & Case; Freshfields; Cambridge. Tick, tick, tick.

What if the last role was as admissions assistant at a university? Or as a volunteer at a charity? Or working at a high street firm in the Private Client team? How does that match with the role you're looking to fill? What if the applicant hasn't been in paid employment for ten years?

It's not unusual for us to receive CVs where the first page goes into a lot of detail about a voluntary role, an unrelated role which happened to fit in with school hours, a relocation to a new part of the UK or abroad and where it's only when you turn onto page two that you reveal the AmLaw, Magic Circle, Russell Group university bit.

And many recruiters won't even get to page two if page one doesn't impress.

You need to read the CV backwards, recognise that many women's careers don't follow straight lines and be curious about the motivation not just for historic moves but for a decision now to return.

New Questions

Similarly, you can't rely on the candidate talking in depth about their most recent transactions. At the Reignite Academy, we use an approach that is designed to look for future potential - motivation, drive, resilience, a growth mindset, curiosity - which we have found highly effective in identifying someone's ability to succeed. This means a new approach to interviewing and assessment.

Ditch PQE as a Guide to Role & Level

Louise, on paper, had over 15 years' PQE, 9 in private practice, 6 in house, beginning in corporate, some commercial and latterly as a data privacy lawyer. Not easy to label, particularly when those fifteen years was followed by a 10 year break to raise her children.

We tend to ditch the focus on PQE to begin with and work with candidates and law firms to establish what sort of work the lawyer would be comfortable doing. Familiar enough to build confidence but with enough stretch for them to feel that they are growing and learning. And with an acknowledgement that this can be reviewed at the 6 month mark, this approach tends to work well.

Create a Supportive Environment

At She's Back, I did research some years ago to ask returners what was the most critical factor in helping them succeed.

A manager who wants me to succeed.

The same is true in Law. Having a partner who is motivated to help them succeed, a supportive environment, a mentor and a great team around them makes all the difference. This includes small but important factors such as making sure that when they join, the returner is introduced to the team and the rest of the team understand their background and what they are bringing to the party. (Which, by the way, helps avoid the awkward questions and assumptions about age).

The Pay Off

When it works well, the pay off for the lawyers is clear. A return to a great, well paid, fulfilling career, working alongside like minded individuals.

For the firms? Access to super-motivated, mature, well connected, highly experienced women who also, by the way, bring that much-mooted quality to the team - diversity of thought.

Our Latest Programme

We are delighted to be partnering with DLA Piper to run a bespoke Return to Work Programme. One of the returners has began work this month and the others start in September. The quality is fantastic, as we knew it would be.

Future Plans

We are now planning a cross firm returner programme to launch in the Autumn. Do contact us if you'd like to know more.