Brent Harris, Vice President, Major, Lindsey & Africa gives an insight into the considerations and thought processes behind expanding their organisation.
At Major, Lindsey & Africa (MLA) in EMEA, we have been fortunate to enjoy some major milestones in 2024 – perhaps most prominently celebrating 20 years since we first opened our doors in London. Against the backdrop of this proud marker in the firm’s history, we’ve been delighted to announce several other landmark events this year, from ushering in Spring with the opening of our new Dublin office, to the more recent expansion of our London Partner Practice Group in the Autumn.
The legal recruitment market, much like the wider talent and search landscape, remains a competitive, yet buoyant one. As we enter the final months of the year, now is a time when many businesses in the executive search industry will be reflecting on the last twelve months and looking ahead to consider what they would like to achieve in the coming year.
The business of expansion
At MLA, we recently welcomed six new members of the team to our Partner Practice Group in London: all fantastic additions to the firm. This was a significant expansion for us, especially in such a competitive market. Large-scale hiring can feel intimidating, and it has made us reflect on one of the most important things when looking to expand a business: no matter the size, do so meaningfully. By this, I mean considering what the expansion will mean for your firm, your team and your clients; an exercise that we found both absolutely necessary and highly valuable in assessing our own growth strategy. Does this expansion come with a potential risk of future uncertainty, or unjustifiable costs? Will your teams be disgruntled or disheartened by the decision, potentially causing your top talent to vote with their feet? Our biggest consideration when implementing growth plans is whether this will truly add value to our teams and the firm. At our core, we focus on quality, service, and client outcomes – which is facilitated by meaningful hires that match our ethos. We spend time with candidates and seek to understand their strengths, hiring only when we feel the match is right. Not only is this valuable from a business perspective, but it’s also vitally important to ensure the firm’s culture is not adversely impacted. Money, time and reputation is the potential cost of hasty growth plans, so take time to consider whether this is the best decision for your team at the time, before going ahead. Another big factor when considering expansion is how the current market looks and being on top of any trends that may affect the outcomes for your clients, and the way your team may work. There are a few that we have consistently seen over the last year or so in the legal search space and being privy to these was invaluable.
The next generation of talent
There is increasing rhetoric surrounding Millennial and Gen-Z lawyers, and how their generational preferences are being translated into the profession. We recently conducted a survey on this, which highlighted the differing priorities between these age groups and previous generations. Whilst law firms are often unique places to work, with distinctive business structures and workplace environments, the prospect of integrating a new generation of talent and leaders is very much a universal phenomenon that businesses in all sectors are facing. We have found the most prevalent priority for Gen-Z lawyers in particular is work-life balance, and Gen-Z talent is highly conscious of the amount of time they spend working. The survey results showed that, more often than not, the Gen-Z cohort would consider leaving their role if hours were too high, or if they were consistently expected to work nights and weekends. This is even true if they were being well-compensated, as two-thirds of respondents also noted flexible working and increased time off as their two top incentives, beating higher salaries. Whilst this has at times attracted criticism of this generation as not working ‘hard enough’, what it really indicates is that they are a group that value their time, their wellbeing and their extracurricular activities as much as their professional role. They know that they achieve better results when they have an improved balance in their lives. This has had profound impacts on the world of talent search, as candidates are taking the time to understand the culture and expectations from a potential employer at the outset. In response, firms have rightly looked to improve internally. Whilst law firms cannot always be as flexible as companies in other sectors, due to the nature of client work and needs, they have become more mindful of time and more accommodating of flexible working arrangements. Firms are also more attentive to fair compensation and there is a far greater awareness and focus on mental health.
The rise of interim roles
Interim hiring has grown in popularity within the legal sector over the last ten years. Hiring lawyers on a flexible basis to service projects, large bodies of stand-alone work or to provide short-term staff cover has proven to be very cost effective for corporations and increasingly law firms. It is arguably a more streamlined way of working, and many candidates are able to get stuck straight into the role as soon as their contract begins. It is unsurprising that these roles are gaining a greater interest, as the shorter-term contracts allow for greater flexibility; both in terms of time (with some taking breaks in between interim roles) and also in terms of the roles and projects one takes on. It can be a great opportunity for legal professionals to test the waters of sectors they may not have worked in before and puts them in front of clients they may not have otherwise known. This greater insight into the multi-faceted legal profession is invaluable for many, and some may find a particular fondness for an area and decide to pursue that longer term. As noted above, this particularly aligns with the preferences of the Millennial and Gen-Z cohorts, so we do expect to continue this uptick in interim roles.
Looking ahead
The landscape of legal search is evolving and adapting to the new needs and preferences of the next generation, a positive change in a buoyant market. Looking ahead, I hope to see more expansion for MLA, be that in new sectors or geographies, where it matters most to our clients and candidates. We, like many of our peers in the global search community, are excited to enter 2025 pursuing our mission to organically develop through a meaningful and considered growth process and continue working hard for the sake of positive client and candidate outcomes.
