Two years ago Nigel Knowles, Ed Smith and Richard Chaplin published an article in Legal Week under the auspices of the Managing Partners' Forum (MPF). The article, 'The Unsung Heroes', was intended to be a clarion call to law firms to better appreciate the importance of client service professionals (CSPs) for the success of the business.

Readers might recognise the terms 'non-fee earners', 'backroom' or 'support staff' as the aliases under which CSPs still operate. This in itself would suggest that perhaps the message has still not hit home among large sections of the legal industry.

Further evidence might be found in a story which appeared in Legal Week earlier this year, when Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer apologised to a number of hastily dismissed 'backroom staff', who were made redundant on the spot as part of an internal restructure ('Freshfields apologises to sacked support staff', Legal Week, 4 May, 2007). One could not help but wonder: would a group of fee earners have been similarly treated in a spate of downsizing?

This is by no means a criticism of Freshfields. The language of law firms has not changed significantly since the MPF's 'Unsung Heroes' campaign. An artificial divide still exists between fee earners and non-fee earners.

Change happens

For a number of reasons this trend is unlikely to continue. Firstly, the war for talent is not exclusive to lawyers. Across the UK, industry employers are fighting harder and smarter to get the staff who will help their businesses grow.

When we talk about client support professionals in law firms we are not just talking about the tea lady or the chap who fixes the photocopier, but IT staff who keep your emails running and implement new systems, marketing and new business teams which help win tenders and finance officers who make sure you are not facing a Serious Fraud Office investigation.

These are not peripheral roles but the lifeblood of any commercial organisation and deserve to be treated as such.

Which brings us to reason number two. Once the Legal Services Bill passes through Parliament, law firms could well find themselves competing with everyone from insurers to supermarkets. These highly-commercially minded organisations have embraced disciplines such as human resources (HR) and marketing and made them boardroom positions.

The Government plans to make it possible for non-lawyers to attain partnership status. So ask yourself: how long will it be before your firm makes its chief finance officer or HR director a partner? And what, then, will become of the perceived boundary between fee earners and non-fee earners?

More than money?

In terms of remuneration, law firms are ahead of the game. For example, in our experience, a secretary working in a professional services environment can expect to be paid 5%-10% more than in other industries. Similarly, basic salaries for in-house IT and marketing staff are considered among the best available. Holidays and pensions are also generous.

However, a big issue for law firms is retention and this is linked to issues related to career progression. Again, there is a disparity between how the career paths of solicitors are mapped out in comparison with CSPs. Lip service is paid to appraisals and continuing professional development, and systemic failures further undermine attempts at retention.

What motivates you to keep doing your job? Money is normally only one part of the equation. People also need the prospect of progression and reward.

It is hard to cultivate a career path in one firm. One candidate I spoke to recently has worked in five law firms in the past eight years. She started off working for an in-house IT helpdesk, before becoming an IT trainer (training new starters on using the IT system) and then helping to develop and implement new IT systems. Despite the fact that she is capable and well-liked, she has had to move each time she wanted a promotion.

Her career path could probably have been carved out within one law firm but it was not sign-posted and few of her managers had any reason to do so. They get no points for developing staff and, as a result, attach little importance to it. This leads to unstable teams and staff churn.

Bonuses are paid out to CSPs depending on the firm's performance. They will rarely be linked to the performance of the individual (as they are for fee earners). Therefore, without the carrot of promotion or the promise of a bonus for good personal performance, it is easy to see how a well-qualified professional could get stuck in a rut.

Law firm management needs to work harder to apply the same discipline to managing their CSPs as they do their fee earners.

Implementing bonus structures for a successful marketing campaign or the rolling out of an IT project would be a good start. Ultimately, however, a change in mindset is required.

Alex Beeley is a recruitment consultant at EJ Group.