Carrie Heller, president and founder of the Heller Group Legal and Executive Search, would add tax and insolvency to the list. Heller says while recruiters are seeing an uptick in overall demand – especially at larger firms, which did very little hiring in the years after the 2008 financial crisis – the recovery is not as robust at the junior levels because firms are doing more outsourcing and using technology to keep client costs down. “If you look at 2007 versus today, the major firms certainly bring on fewer students to that kind of work,” she says. Click here to view the entire story.

Press Archives - Leading Legal Recruiters | Lawyer Recruitment Agency Toronto

Q: Legal Job Outlook for 2017

“Hiring for in-house positions continues to be strong and companies continue to build up strong in-house teams. That’s definitely a trend that we continue to see.” Because companies are looking to cut costs, they’re beefing up their in-house teams in an effort to be less reliant on external counsel, which is good news for lawyers seeking work in that area, says Heller. Law firms, meanwhile, she says, are on the hunt for lawyers who have their own books of business and those with expertise in the technology sector who are looking for counsel-type roles. “We continue to see an emphasis from firms for candidates who’ve developed strong business development skills, both the desire to engage in these types of activities at the junior level and who have success in these areas. It’s not just about your technical skill set. There’s a lot of pressure for lawyers within firms to really show their ability to build a client base.” Due to the improving economy and globalization, Heller notes there’s also more demand for lawyers who have experience in mergers and acquisitions, a sector that all but died after the stock market meltdown in 2008, and for those with a background in securities. “We have a number of firm clients looking for talent in the securities area where a few years ago that was not the case. There is least some interest in bringing people on in that area.” Commercial real estate and information technology are also sectors that are rife with opportunities for lawyers and that is expected to continue in 2017, says Heller. Click here to view the entire article.

Q: Focused job hunt takes time, flexibility

Louise Woollcombe remembers once meeting a job candidate at 6 a.m. Even though the workday technically only began at 9, the candidate was typically in the office by 7, and Woollcombe said, “they didn’t feel it was appropriate to meet during business hours.” So an early-morning meeting was the best option. “In a perfect world, every aspect of your [job] search would be done outside of business hours. Realistically, that doesn’t always happen,” said Woollcombe, a senior consultant with The Heller Group, which specializes in the recruitment and placement of lawyers. “If it’s something that can’t be helped…don’t feel guilty, but make sure you get your job done,” she said, about the difficulties lawyers have in finding a job, when they still have a job. With their schedules packed with meetings and hearings, and long and sometimes erratic work hours, lawyers face several challenges when it comes to searching for a new job or career opportunity. Click here to view the entire article.

Q: On the Record: First Year Associate Jobs on Bay Street

These numbers prompt a delicate question: is the broader legal market in a tailspin? “I don’t think so,” says Carrie Heller, president of The Heller Group, a legal recruitment agency in Toronto. “There are still big deals happening in the corporate world and firms are busy. So the market is not weak. But it is changing .” Take document review and due diligence: a mere 10 years ago, such tasks were mainstays of a rookie lawyer’s job description. No longer. More and more firms, says Heller, now outsource that work to contract lawyers who cost far less than associates. So firms may be just as busy as they were last year, but they can do the same amount of work with a shallower pool of juniors.

Q: New lawyers set to face toughest test in job market

However, Carrie Heller, president of The Heller Group, a Toronto-based legal recruitment firm, says 2016 should shape up to be a good year for lawyers seeking work, as 2015 has been busy. Areas that had been slow such as securities and corporate tax law picked up steam in 2015 after several quiet years as a result of an improving economy, which has translated into more corporate transactions and issues involving tax matters, says Heller. Real estate law was also consistent in 2015 and will likely gain momentum next year, and intellectual property law and IT law will also be areas of interest going forward, she says. Heller also expects to see continued growth of non-equity and counsel positions within law firms in 2016 because that allows partners to hire lawyers and have them progress within the firm without having to dilute the equity of existing partners. “That has been around for the last few years but we will continue to see more of that in 2016.” Click here to view the entire story.

Q: Survey Shows Gender Gap in In-House Income

Toronto recruiter Sherri Pinsler, of The Heller Group, says she is seeing women at low- and high-level positions in-house and with the mandates she works on “the pay is the pay is the pay” and compensation doesn’t differ based on gender. That said, it could become an issue if someone is already in-house and as Foy notes, how someone negotiates when they come into a company can influence what salary level they are at, and long-term it can become difficult to catch up and lead to a pay equity issue. “I would say, in fact, we’ve had a lot of mandates where we’re noticing companies across a variety of industries saying to us ‘make sure you present a diverse slate of candidates.’ I find people are actually looking to correct imbalances,” says Pinsler. Sometimes, pay differences can also occur if the person started in-house and progressed up, compared to someone who came from private practice and were brought into the company at a higher rate for similar work. “All that said, I did hear anecdotally a very senior in-house lawyer say she heard other people in her company who were men were at a higher pay level, so I would say it’s out there, but we are noticing companies being very cognizant of promoting women and the pay scale is the pay scale,” says Pinsler. Click here to view the entire story.

Q: Setting out in a new direction

“You shouldn’t jump in too fast, especially if it’s a dramatic change,” says Sherri Pinsler, senior consultant at The Heller Group, a legal recruitment firm in Toronto. “Before you go and change your practice area, I think it’s worth investigating and finding out what’s really motivating you to do it. “Make sure that you’re interested in the new practice area. If you think it’s unhappiness with the practice area you’re in you want to cover off everything and make sure of that.” Pinsler, who specializes in recruitment and placement of associates and partners in law firms and corporations, often hears from candidates who want to change practice areas. Whether it’s a small shift, like going from a general practice area such as corporate law to a niche such as IT law, so something larger such as shifting from commercial litigation to corporate law, she recommends they reflect on the reasons behind the change. Click here to view the entire article.

Q: Feeling Underappreciated?

Carrie Heller, the president of the Heller Group Legal and Executive Search, says associates do have these types of conversations, and the best way to get results is to go in there prepared. “Make sure you have a clear picture of your numbers, your hours, your reviews,” she says. “What have the partners been saying about you? Do you deserve to be recognized? Be ready to talk about your business-development activities over the past couple of years, and bring a business plan for the future if you have one. You want to come to the table with all that information.” Click here to view the entire article.

Q: Bell Starting to Toll on Billable Hour

Carrie Heller, president of legal recruitment firm The Heller Group, says the reduced emphasis on billable hours was exemplified by the recent overhaul of the bonus structure at Bay Street behemoth Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP. Earlier this year, the firm announced it would begin factoring in mentorship, client generation, and other non-billable work when assigning associate bonuses. “It’s not just about someone who can put their head down and churn the work out any more,” says Heller. “Firms ideally want to see an associate who can work hard, and has the technical ability, but also one who can generate work for the firm. Those are the ones that are going to be considered for partnership.” At smaller firms, revenue generation has long been incentivized with commissions on work brought in, and the survey showed 39 per cent of respondents offered some sort of commission to associates, up from 26 per cent last year. The value of the commission varied between 10 and 50 per cent, depending on the firm. Heller says the legal market overall feels cautiously optimistic in Canada: “It’s not booming by any means, but things are picking up and confidence is starting to grow,” she says. Click here to view the entire article.

Q: New RBC GC comes from U.S. Banking System

Bay Street legal recruiters say they believe there were definitely good internal and domestic candidates for the job but RBC’s decision to go with someone with broader global experience is a trend they have been seeing for a number of years. “I know RBC had some very strong internal candidates and there are also some very strong domestic candidates they could have considered but I also understand the decision,” says Carrie Heller of The Heller Group. “It’s an increasingly global market and I think financial institutions are responding to that new reality. He [Onorato] has a very impressive background and you can see why he can bring in a fresh perspective, new strategies, and objective analysis of the bank’s operations.” Click here to read the entire blog.

Legal Job Outlook for 2017

Carrie Heller is quoted in the December 16, 2016 edition of The Lawyers Weekly on the job market for 2017.

By Jennifer Mitchell|2017-05-17T13:47:18-04:00December 21st, 2016|Archives, Press|Comments Off

Focused job hunt takes time, flexibility

Louise Woollcombe is quoted in the December 2, 2016 edition of The Lawyers Weekly on tips for managing your job search.

By Andrew Blair|2017-05-17T13:56:11-04:00November 30th, 2016|Archives, Press|Comments Off

On the Record: First Year Associate Jobs on Bay Street

Carrie Heller is quoted in Precedent Magazine on the changing legal market for new lawyers.

By Jennifer Mitchell|2017-05-17T13:53:15-04:00November 7th, 2016|Archives, Press|Comments Off

New lawyers set to face toughest test in job market

Carrie Heller is quoted in the December 25, 2015 edition of The Lawyers Weekly on the legal job market in 2016.

By Jennifer Mitchell|2017-04-08T19:03:16-04:00December 23rd, 2015|Archives, Press|Comments Off

Survey Shows Gender Gap in In-House Income

Sherri Pinsler is quoted in Canadian Lawyer Magazine on the results of the 2015 Association of Corporate Counsel Global Census.

By Jennifer Mitchell|2017-04-08T19:03:16-04:00October 20th, 2015|Archives, Press|Comments Off

Filling the Demand

Carrie Heller is quoted on the in-demand areas for legal hiring in the September 2015 issue of Lexpert Magazine

By Jennifer Mitchell|2017-04-08T19:03:16-04:00September 17th, 2015|Archives, Press|Comments Off

Setting out in a new direction

Sherri Pinsler is quoted in the September 11th issue of The Lawyers Weekly on advice for lawyers looking to change their practice area.

By Jennifer Mitchell|2017-04-08T19:03:16-04:00September 8th, 2015|Archives, Press|Comments Off

Feeling Underappreciated?

Carrie Heller is quoted in Lexpert Magazine's September 2015 issue on advice for senior associates on how to have difficult conversations with law firm management.

By Jennifer Mitchell|2017-04-08T19:03:16-04:00July 23rd, 2015|Archives, Press|Comments Off

Bell Starting to Toll on Billable Hour

Carrie Heller is quoted in the 2015 Canadian Lawyer Compensation Survey on the reduced emphasis on the billable hour.

By Jennifer Mitchell|2017-04-08T19:03:16-04:00July 13th, 2015|Archives, Press|Comments Off

New RBC GC comes from U.S. Banking System

Carrie Heller is quoted in Canadian Lawyer's Legal Feeds Blog on the new General Counsel at RBC.

By Jennifer Mitchell|2017-04-08T19:03:16-04:00May 5th, 2015|Archives, Press|Comments Off