Legal Jobs in Devon & the South West

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Finding a Job in the Legal Sector

The legal sector in the South West is incredibly diverse and varied, and offers a wide range of employment opportunities to unqualified and qualified legal and other business professionals. The largest proportion of the employment opportunities in this region are within law firms, often referred to as private practice.

These firms are typically operated as partnerships, where the partners collectively own and govern the business, and are responsible for its strategy, profitability and growth. This sector is highly regulated and everyone working within it is expected to meet strict standards around risk mitigation, regulatory compliance and personal conduct.

There are various practice areas that can make up the overall structure of a law firm, including corporate law, family law, intellectual property, criminal law and more. Candidates work within each area to become specialised in a singular area of the law, and develop their knowledge over time.

The larger the firm, the more specialisms may be offered, and some firms are known for their focus on particular types of clients or sectors. For example, some South West firms have legal teams who particularly understand farming and agriculture businesses and work with them on a variety of business and private matters.

It is also possible to work as an ‘in-house’ lawyer or in a legal support capacity, where a business is large enough to warrant employing their own legal resources.

Find a role in the Legal sector

The qualifications required to work in the legal sector depend on the role you would like to do. Routes to full qualification as a Solicitor (Lawyer) in the UK have broadened considerably in recent years, and many firms now support people through various routes, including offering formal training contracts and on-the-job qualification training such as the SQE and the Solicitors Apprenticeship Scheme.

Recognised legal qualifications such as CILEX are particularly popular in certain areas of practice, and can be gained by studying whilst you work. Many firms will provide study support towards the costs and time associated with obtaining these qualifications.

If you’re starting your career in law, you might find roles such as Legal Administrator, Legal Assistant or Paralegal a good place to begin. Depending upon the firm, you may be able to join them with little or no experience as long as you can demonstrate a positive attitude and strong client service skills.If you’re a qualified Lawyer, your level of experience, the type of clients you work with and your practice area specialism will make some firms more suitable for your next career move than others.

The types of roles available to legal candidates are Solicitor, Paralegal, Legal Secretary, Corporate Lawyer, Family Lawyer, Employment Lawyer, Tax Lawyer and Legal Consultant. As you progress through your career, you could also become a Partner at a law firm, or start your own practice.
Our team will work with you to understand what it is you would like to achieve if moving firms, and advise on which firms in the region might be able to deliver what you are seeking.

Hiring for Legal roles

Like all of our sectors, we work closely with hiring managers and in-house recruitment teams to understand your specific requirements, and the context in which the new recruit will be working. Our approach is to partner with law firms and act as an extension of their business when representing them to prospective candidates in the market, so giving us your time to appreciate what makes your firm different is an important part of the process.

Once we have agreed on the scope of your requirements and terms of business are in place, we will use a range of resources and techniques to source potentially suitable prospects for you to consider. Charlotte and the team meet with all legal candidates in the first instance (via Teams or in person) to ensure their skills and requirements match with your role. We take time and care to get to know what matters to our candidates, what their motivations and concerns are, in order for us to recommend them as a fit for your business.

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Common interview questions for Legal roles

• How do you handle difficult conversations with clients?
• Tell me about a time you had to interpret complicated laws or regulations.
• Describe a challenging case you have worked on and how you approached it.
• What steps do you take to resolve conflicts?
• How do you ensure compliance with legal and regulatory requirements?
• What is your experience with client billing and time management?
• How do you handle confidential information?
• How do you stay updated with changes in the law?
• How do you approach building relationships with new and existing clients?