Why Become a Locum?

For me, it was because I got bored with being in the same place. I had a couple of conventional jobs where I was employed. I knew the ropes. I got on with my co-workers, it was a long time ago, but I do not remember feeling unhappy. Back in the early 1990s, there was not the same pressure to meet targets that there is now but it had started. Over the next three decades, that pressure has increased, especially in the big city firms. I remember someone telling me that he had been told to log all the time he spent on a case, even though he was thinking about it in the bath! I’m still not sure if he was joking to this day. I did not have a problem with meeting targets, as long as they were realistic ones, but I started to feel like a machine, whose sole purpose was to make a certain amount of money each year, and it started to take the pleasure out of the work. But, at the end of the day, that’s arguably what it’s about, churning out the work, sending out the bills, week in and week out. Being a locum, I quickly found was different. Firms want locums for all sorts of reasons. It could be to keep the department going after a fee earner has left, while a suitable replacement is found. Those sorts of assignments tend to last between 3 to 6 months, especially these days, not so much when I started, as Firms are more particular now than they used to be in looking for the right person to fill the permanent vacancy. It is expensive and time-consuming, placing adverts, using agents, interviewing, and they want someone ideally who will stay for a long time so it’s not just a case of whether they have the ability and experience to do the job, it’s also whether their face fits with the ethos and aims of the firm. With these sorts of assignments, Firms will expect something similar, but not to the same degree, from the locum, and will want the locum to keep on top of the billing, but not as rigidly as would be required from a permanent fee earner, to bring in new work, so that when the new fee earner joins, they will be able to hit the ground running. Maternity and paternity bookings which can go on for longer, are similar. I quite enjoyed these assignments, it was a challenge to get the department into shape, but there was usually time to do it and make your mark, to hand the department over in a robust and profitable state. These days, Firms will often take on a locum for much shorter periods, a week or two, when a fee earner goes on holiday. When I started, back in the early 1990’s this was not so common, Firms would more often than not, try and make do without cover, but clients’ expectations these days have increased, and Firms are constantly trying to offer a better service. Time limits, the quick turnaround of internet correspondence and the increase in deadlines in many areas of law backed up with costs penalties for non-compliance, means that even for relatively short periods, specialist locum cover will be wanted to keep the department running smoothly. With these sorts of assignments, the workload can be more intense, dealing with matters the absentee fee earner has not had time to deal with before going on leave or finishing off what is due to happen in their absence. Most fee earners will do leaving notes but this requires an ability to quickly and accurately assess what needs to be done, to prioritise the most urgent matters and to deal tactfully and patiently with sometimes very demanding clients. I found these types of assignments sometimes exhausting and demanding but often exhilarating and satisfying, trying and hopefully succeeding, in keeping it all together. If you are like me and enjoy a challenge, being a locum could be the right move for you. #Nomad