Immigration law is one of the most competitive areas of law for recruiters worldwide. In today’s globalised market, businesses are constantly looking to expand their operations. They not only recruit globally but also have mobile workforces. As a result, there is a constant need for senior immigration lawyers.
Businesses rely heavily on immigration lawyers to manage a wide range of immigration related matters including the management of global mobility programmes and their response to regular government changes and updates.
Rising Demand Driven by Global Change
There has been a surge in the number of businesses requiring the services of a business immigration lawyer. Many businesses now undertake international recruitment, undertake global projects and embrace worldwide mobility strategies. As a result, businesses are sending employees abroad, sponsoring foreign workers and setting up international operations in key locations.
A lot has changed over the last 5 years, governments around the world have made a multitude of changes in relation to Immigration including the creation of new routes, the imposition of employment restrictions, compliance requirements and many changes to the Visa application process. And if all that wasn't enough along came COVID-19 creating a whole new set of challenges including increased Immigration Backlogs and changed Immigration Policy.
Immigration Law is a notoriously complex and nuanced area of law. Many employers are looking for more than just an immigration solicitor who can simply prepare and submit a visa application. They require advice on a wide range of issues, including risk management, workforce planning, pay structures and a whole host of other matters.
What employers really want is an immigration lawyer that can provide an in-depth understanding of immigration law and policy, but also fully understands the commercial pressures that employers have to work under when recruiting and moving workers internationally.
What Employers Are Looking For
Although immigration law is still the cornerstone of the business immigration lawyer practice, the skills required to practice successfully are changing. Most jobs involve a high volume of visa applications and a huge emphasis on compliance. What employers are looking for is staff who can deliver an efficient and quality service. Countries that offer a high quality of life and the opportunity to work across a number of destinations are generally of interest as are multi-national companies.
In-house teams often want immigration lawyers who can work closely with their human resources, global mobility and compliance teams. An immigration lawyer with a broader understanding of the wider labour market and corporate strategy issues is likely to be more successful in an in-house role.
Candidate Shortages and Retention Challenges
It is quite challenging to find good business immigration lawyers. There are not many lawyers that are experienced. There are not that many lawyers looking for a job as the majority are already employed in another practice, so it is quite a challenge to try and persuade them to move to your business.
One of the toughest competitions in the hiring market exists between firms for mid-level to senior associate attorneys. This group generally consists of lawyers who have between 5 to 15 years of experience since law school. They can work independently on large, complex and intricate matters and have built extensive and long standing relationships with their clients. These candidates are continually courted by many firms and as a result, are in a position to negotiate their compensation packages with relative ease.
Salary Expectations and Market Pressure
Salary is rarely far from a candidate’s mind, culture, flexibility and career prospects are all very relevant. So, while candidates may wish to move out of what they see as an administrative role dealing with straightforward cases, they will want to do something more interesting and engaging.
You should consider whether you are able to deal with more complex, varied and perhaps more emotive cases internally, or whether it would be preferable to involve more senior, in-house lawyers to ensure that any important legal issues are addressed, in the same way as you would in an in-house law department.
How Alchemy Supports Immigration Recruitment
Alchemy Global Talent Solutions works with law businesses, consultancies and in-house immigration teams all over the world to attract and deliver the correct calibre of candidates to meet their immigration law needs.
We source talent from Paralegal through to Junior Associate, Senior Associate, Head of Department and Practice Head.
Our in-depth knowledge of the various industry sectors and the immigration recruitment market also means that we can also assist employers in attracting the calibre of candidate they are looking for, whether actively job seeking or not. The recruitment industry is a highly competitive business and the knowledge and skills we have gained means that we can assist employers in their search to appoint the best experienced Immigration Lawyers.
