Lawyer Monthly Magazine - January 2019 Edition

9 Monthly Round-Up JAN 2019 www. lawyer-monthly .com Analysis of national statistics has revealed that a short- age of employment oppor- tunities for law graduates could be resulting in urgent demand for alternative ca- reers in the legal sector. The review of national high- er education and job statis- tics by legal sector digital marketing expert mmadigi- tal suggests law graduates are at risk of unemployment as opportunities within the oversubscribed sector be- come increasingly com- petitive. According to data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), UK uni- versities produced 21,000 new law graduates in 2017, while High Fliers Research Limited reported only 733 legal sector vacancies in the same year. That is over 28 graduates to each job. The data exposes law stud- ies as the subject account- ing for the lowest graduate employment rate across all non-scientific subject areas in the UK. As few as 44% of graduates secured a role across all industries last year. mmadigital’s analysis shows that for many law graduates, retraining for alternative careers might be necessary to land a job after leaving university. mmadigital found profes- sional services, including HR, sales and marketing, to be by far the largest employer of law graduates However, just 28% of law graduates have been suc- cessful at gaining employ- ment in this sector, com- pared to 48% of graduates from alternative subjects. Furthermore, CIPD data shows that 92% of law grad- uates will earn less than the average graduate starting salary within these roles re- gardless of degree clas- sification. Comparatively, mmadigital discovered this was the case for only 69% of social studies graduates, 74% of computer science graduates and 57% of edu- cation studies graduates. Dez Derry, CEO at mma- digital explains: “Expertise in law plays an integral role in our business model by add- ing value to specialist cus- tomer acquisitions for the legal sector. By harnessing knowledge of the law in the primary processes of claim reviews we can efficiently reject the claims that are unlikely to be able to be pursued by a law firm.” Alia, Legal Assistant at mmadigital and recent law graduate says: “There are intricacies to sensitive cases like PI and medical negligence claims that can invalidate a claim immedi- ately, but details go unno- ticed by someone without experience of UK law.” Dez Derry adds: “The law graduates who come to us are ready and able to apply their learnings in a fast-paced environment. According to National Stu- dent Survey (NSS) data this is the case for 78-92% of law graduates, but opportuni- ties are lacking.” Research carried out by global professional ser- vices recruiter, Morgan McKinley, reveals that the majority (74%) of 6,500 re- spondents want a second referendum. Then when asked how the participants would vote in a second referendum, 3% said they would prefer May’s current deal, 22% would choose Leave and 75% stated they would Remain. Hakan Enver, Managing Director, Morgan Mckinley said: “An overwhelming 74% voted in favour of a second referendum. It is apparent there is a cross section of the UK who feel as though they deserve the option of determining the UK’s future relationship with the European Union.” One respondent com- mented “there has been a material change of facts since the referendum of 2016. The reality is nothing like the picture that the Brexit campaign painted in 2016. The people should be allowed to rethink their position based on the new information.” Three Quarters of Professionals Demand a Second Brexit Vote Law Graduate Employment OpportunitiesAren’t Passing the Bar, Official Data Suggests BREXIT LEGAL Enver continues “On the flip side, there is equal pressure from others who feel that democracy has allowed a decision to be made and that we should prepare for what the UK’s future looks like not being part of the EU.” Another quoted “a second vote doesn’t clarify how to hon- our the first. It either just delays the process or gives the message to the elec- torate that if Parliament doesn’t like your decision, we’ll ask you to keep vot- ing until you vote the way we want.” Morgan McKinley’s lat- est London Employment Monitor highlighted a 39% decrease in Financial Ser- vices jobs available com- pared to November 2017. “The uncertainty of Brexit means that businesses are stalling on committing to major projects. In turn, this limits investment in talent and prevents organisations from future growth. Add to the mix infighting within the Government, a vote of no confidence, as well as a divided nation. All this combined means we are fast becoming a laughing stock to the rest of Europe. Having come from a posi- tion of strength, we are now on the back foot.” “Whilst many across the country believe remaining in the European Union is the right thing for the UK, you will find others who strongly disagree. Being in the EU currently offers ac- cess to a single market and passporting rights that al- low freedom of movement across European borders, by restricting this, it can al- low trade agreements with other countries. Therefore, free movement of talent with other nations, who are arguably more aligned to core sectors such as Technology and Financial Services, could become a reality.” There were 6,500 respond- ents to the survey, with many professions repre- sented; Financials (39%) and IT (26%) made up the majority. The age ranges that responded were 18- 24 (3%), 25-34 (24%), 35-44 (32%), 45-54 (24%), 55-64 (14%) and 65+ (3%).