Seminar highlights

Business services roles in law have been growing in status for some time. Today’s most senior roles are truly leadership positions, with Director-level business services professionals often enjoying a seat on the management board. At the same time, jobs have both developed in terms of their remit and sophistication, while new business services roles are coming into play all the time, bringing into law fresh skills and both broadening and deepening firms’ capabilities. New roles are flourishing in areas like technology, innovation, change, pricing, project management, data science, shared services and product management. And they are blurring the lines between traditional functions in BD and marketing, HR, finance and IT, allowing for a more integrated approach to the successful development of the modern legal business. But what does this mean for successful business services recruitment in law? In a market in which the demand for business skills far exceeds the availability of good talent, how can firms attract and retain the best? Law firms need to be able to think ahead, to understand their strategic objectives to enable the right recruitment decision-making well into the future. An open-minded approach is then key: law firms cannot source all the new skills they need from within the sector; knowing how to bring in the right talent from outside of law is critical for delivering the capabilities required to drive business growth. But so too can thinking about what your firm can offer great candidates – not just in terms of compensation and career development opportunities, but also in relation to flexibility in the workplace – for example, through part-time or job-sharing roles. In a world in which employees are increasingly prioritising employers who are willing to think differently about the way we work, offering flexibility to all is fast becoming a differentiator for law firms seeking to secure the best business talent. At Totum, we help law firms scope out roles and source the best talent from both within law and beyond. If you are a candidate or law firm and would like to know more about what we do and how we can help you, contact [email protected] Click here to see the full slides from Deborah’s ‘The Future Workplace’ presentation.