This is not one of your average New Year recap posts, but more a reflection on a change in trends which just so happens to fall in January. So maybe it is a recap of sorts. Maybe the trends are here to stay or are just a fleeting variation with normal service resuming soon. Who knows. Weโll be sure to let you know in our next recap/not recap post.
The main bulk of our roles were typically box tickers. Straightforwardย instructions with specific experience levels, technical areas, and locations. It was round pegs for round holes. There was some wiggle room, however, whether it be considering a newly qualified for a finalist level role or adjusting the specialism ever so slightly as long as the main knowledge area remained broadly in line. Now, the parameters are very much stuck with little to no freedom to deviate. Firms are unable to push the boundaries of their needs, making it more difficult to source talent to fit the more structured tick box in the current candidate led market.
Weโve seen a shift to less conventional roles, whether it be a small deviation or a departure from the norm entirely. More fluid responsibilities are becoming a trend with patent attorneys stepping away from their typical prep and pros, to a focus on litigation legends and UPC specialists. Cut and paste UK patent attorney positions are no longer taking up the majority of our working week with international roles taking centre stage, and SE Asia and Germany acting as top players currently.
Lockdown may be a distant memory, however the impact it had on working structure is still very much alive and well with the location of roles no longer being restricted to the physical four walls of the office. Hybrid working is now an expectancy with the belief that less time in the office absolutely does not mean less productivity for the firm. The only exception to this being our inhouse opportunities, which still require near enough full time in the office.
Partner? Head of Department? What used to be a rare, painfully long process is now more streamlined and increasingly common with firms becoming experienced and less nervous about recruiting at that level. One London firm in particular is doing it exceptionally well and is currently on the lookout for their Biotechnology practice
To name a few we have Singapore opportunities a plenty, contentious matters in Munich, start-up strategists in the UK and US, and business development and brand-building for firms across the UK and further afield.