One size does not fit all
One size fits all; or so goes the trusted old adage. However, in reality, applications of this rule are limited to a small few set of circumstances. If you’re buying a new hat, well then you might be able to get away with a one-size-fits-all item. On the other hand, if you’re looking to buy a new pair of shoes, you’re very unlikely to squeeze into a pair of size 6s if you normally wear a 12!
The same approach should be taken to staffing an in-house legal team. You don’t just want a legal professional, you want the right legal professional.
We recently sat down with Paul Garth, one of our Account Directors based in Australia, to ask him about how he helps clients in APAC to find the right interim legal professionals.
What general characteristics do you look for in an interim legal professional?
I value diversity on the bench and really try to dig into more than the technical skillset, which naturally must be strong.
Lawyers have a shorthand, developed over years working with other lawyers. As most of our roles are in-house, our consultants need to be able to communicate up and down organisations. That ability to adapt to a new organisation, to adapt their style and their risk profile to a new situation is key and broad experiences tend to suggest such an ability.
What factors are important when trying to find the right candidate for an assignment?
Most clients focus on technical ability. It is easy to articulate and often easy to judge based on training or projects worked on.
The softer skills are what tends to make or break an assignment though, so this is another area we take a great deal of care trying to identify and match. Then you need to consider administrative elements like availability, PQE and where a candidate is based. It’s no good suggesting a great candidate in Hong Kong if the client needs them to be in the office 3 times a week in Melbourne.
How important is compromise in finding the right candidate?
There are always hot areas of demand in the market so it’s inevitable you are talking a client through expectations and compromise.
It’s a common trap for a lot of people in management level roles to hunker down and think ‘I’ll just do it myself’ when their perfect match isn’t immediately available. However, it’s usually a band aid solution and only sustainable for a short amount of time.
One of the biggest ironies of what we do is seeing a client ‘too busy’ to think about resourcing. It can be a little self-defeating when that happens, but I must admit, I’ve been there often myself too.
Is there a benefit to factoring interim resourcing into long-term legal strategy versus being reactionary as a client?
There absolutely is. Reactionary means pressure and pressure is likely to mean bigger compromises.
Working in an effective interim solution gets you the right people for the right length of time, often out of the right budget to allow work and projects to continue at pace.
How do you think Pinsent Masons as a law firm helps to strengthen the offering Vario have for legal consultants?
People go into consulting as a choice. It fits them. One of the things I think they miss though is a network back into the legal industry, a finger on the pulse as it were.
It’s not impossible to achieve, but it takes a bit more of a conscious effort to keep in touch when you aren’t seeing the same people at the desk beside you day after day.
Pinsent Masons has a wonderful culture of collaboration and connection and I think consultants benefit from that as much as we do as a firm.
Get in touch!
If you’re interesting in finding out more about our offering in Australia, please get in touch to see how we can help your business.
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