Canadian Lawyer

August 2009

The most widely read magazine for Canadian lawyers

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LAW OFFICE MANAGEMENT It may be time to throw caution to the wind and welcome a new wave of lawyers riding to the short-term rescue. BY JUDY VAN RHIJN locum stigmaShedding the W hen exhausted small-firm law- yers, pregnant professionals, and overworked departments in cash-strapped firms are looking for a hero, calling on a legal locum can be the answer to their prayers. Although the use of locums has never been part of the Canadian legal culture, in coun- tries like Britain, the United States, and Australia it is a long-established and completely unremarkable practice. With the creation of locum registries in two provinces, the time has come for a change of attitude towards the legal equivalent of guns for hire. Christopher Sweeney, president of ZSA Legal Recruitment, is aware that legal locums are a large and thriving segment of the legal profession in many foreign jurisdictions but has seen very little interest in the concept at home. "It's the chicken and the egg," he says. "Law firms traditionally haven't used them so there is a limited demand. As a result, lawyers are not drawn to doing that sort of work." He believes there is a stigma attached to locum work in Canada. "There has been a perception that lawyers who are doing short-term contracts are not good enough to get a permanent job. As a result, lawyers are desperate to get a permanent position. They think they will not be taken seri- ously as lawyers otherwise." Sweeney points out that if you don't have top talent going into the posi- tions, then people's experience of hiring locums is not as good. "They would 14 A UGUST 2009 www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com rather muddle through and make do. It is a vicious circle and that is why it has been a very low-key and low-profile practice in Canada." Sweeney believes that attitude is short-sighted. "If there are exciting jobs we can fill them with high-quality lawyers. At the moment, we have a few dozen at any one time but there is not a groundswell of demand." In other countries, there is a large demand and good quantity and qual- ity of supply. Kelly Wadkins, managing consultant at Sacco Mann, a British legal recruitment firm, says it is usual to hire a locum when there is sickness, maternity leave, or other reasons for being absent, as well as when there is an influx of work into the firm. "It is a solution that is used across the profession," she says. JEREMY BRUNEEL

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