Senior lawyers lack confidence about their future job prospects, unconvinced their business contacts will help them forge a career outside law. Friederike Heine reports

The majority of senior lawyers are anxious about their future career prospects, with many doubting the value of their business contacts outside of the support structure of their law firm, according to Legal Week's latest Big Question survey.

In a legal landscape where regular lateral moves throughout a partner's career are now commonplace, many feel uncertain about their future career path. Seventy-four percent of respondents expressed some level of anxiety about their professional future – including 30% who said they were 'quite' or 'very' anxious – while only 26% felt completely confident.

Although 70% of respondents expressed confidence that their client base would follow them to a new firm, only 40% felt that their existing network of contacts could aid them to achieve a successful career in business. The remaining 60% said that they were either 'a little' or 'very' unsure as to whether their contacts would help them forge a successful career outside of the law.

Ashurst capital markets partner Nick Holmes said: "With some notable exceptions, lawyers are often valued for their technical abilities more than for their general commercial nous. I think some lawyers overestimate the ability of their business contacts in helping them to achieve a successful career in business.

He added: "Having spent a couple of years in a completely different career before entering the legal profession, I have found that I am quite well suited to the law – I found working in marketing for an oil company to be a bit of an intellectual wasteland."

SR Search partner Nick Holt said: "There is a natural insecurity among partners about their client base. The magic circle and leading City firms have done a good job of institutionalising their client relationships, but there is certainly a risk connected to any lateral move."

One out of every five respondents said that they 'definitely' see themselves having a meaningful career after the law, with a further 56% stating that they would 'maybe' take up a post-law vocation or that it was 'very likely'.

Hogan Lovells corporate partner John Basnage commented: "It is primarily the younger, more flexible partners that consider a career outside of the law. Some very experienced partners may considersenior positionsatone of the banks orinstitutions, such asthe Financial Services Authority. Partners in the middle of their careers rarely move outside of their practice area."

One responding partner commented: "The outlook of those who enter the law tends to be very conservative and that tends to be reinforced by years of giving advice and practise. 'A lawyer does not a good businessman make' it would seem is the general rule, so there is a lot to learn if the transition is to be made successfully."

Seventy-eight percent of respondents said they would be interested in taking on a senior non-partner role, for example as a consultant, in the later years of their legal career, including one in four who responded 'very much so'.

In addition, almost two thirds (62%) expressed confidence that they would be able to find an equivalent or better position at another law firm if they were asked to step down.

Weil Gotshal & Manges private equity partner Marco Compagnoni added: "Partners considering a change of career may find it hard to find an occupation that is as highly remunerated as their previous position, which presents a dilemma for many."

Holt added: "There aren't many partners who have made a successful transfer into business – in fact, you would probably be able to count them on the fingers of one hand."

Partners on changing jobs

- Only 11% are 'very confident' that they could build up a successful career in business after working in law
- 24% believe it is unlikely that they will have a meaningful career after the law
- Almost one in three (30%) doubt that their clients would follow them to another law firm if they were to move
- Just 26% of partners are completely confident about their future career