Human currency

‘The banks have always hired assistants from law firms, particularly at certain times of the year,’ explains Chantal Omer, head of banking and in-house at the partners and teams arm of LPA Legal Recruitment. ‘Recruiting from an investment bank can be a costly exercise, as you have to guarantee the bonus, whereas with private practice lawyers that isn’t always the case.’

Omer feels that young lawyers find the more predictable working environment within a bank an attractive prospect. ‘At a bank it’s expected that you have a life, whereas a private practice lawyer can’t book a dinner date a week in advance and know that they’re going to be able to keep it,’ she says.

James Tsolakis at Citibank agrees: ‘It’s fair to say that law firms, both in the UK and the US, have been suffering with an associate retention problem, and that investment banks have broadly been the main beneficiaries of this. The journey from associate to partner is harder and much longer than it has ever been – the combination of that with other factors, such as lifestyle decisions, have contributed to that issue.’

A conversation with one investment bank senior director certainly added credence to that theory: he admitted that he made the switch from private practice because his wife had threatened him with divorce if he didn’t.

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