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The market continues to be tight as we enter the third quarter and the trend towards cautious hiring continues. The upside to these market conditions is that clients tend to be very focussed on any headcount they do have and interviews therefore generally progress quite swiftly.

The third quarter is traditionally the final major recruitment quarter for Investment Banking clients as the fourth quarter tends to be more concentrated on preparing base and bonus calculations for existing staff and forecasting budgets and headcount for the first quarter.

Carter Clarke has made recent placements in the following areas: Structured Products; OTC derivatives; ISDA and Cash Equities. There are ongoing openings in the following areas: Funds; Funds regulatory; Structured Products; Private Wealth Management; Energy and Commodities; Litigation; OTC Derivatives and ISDA. There are also ongoing requirements for the following European qualified lawyers: German qualified energy lawyer; Swiss qualified energy and funds lawyers; and French qualified or non-qualified ISDA negotiators.

If you would like to discuss this market analysis in more detail please do not hesitate to contact Carter Clarke on 0208 318 4646 or at info@carterclarke.com.

Now that the bonus announcements and payments have been made by the majority of the leading investment banks we traditionally start to see an increase in headcount. However, whilst there are undoubtedly opportunities out there for experienced lawyers in a number of key specialist areas including: Prime Brokerage; OTC derivatives; Funds; Asset Management; Private Wealth Management; Securitisation; Capital Markets; and Regulatory and Litigation, the vast majority of these positions constitute replacement rather than new headcount and we have yet to see the banks look to increase their teams in any meaningful way.

The positive aspect of this is that headcount is treated very seriously and there is an avoidance of the frivolous hiring we have previously seen in the recent boom years. This in turn means lawyers moving in-house at this point can feel assured of their long term job security.

Moreover, it is certain that a number of existing in-house lawyers will look to make inter-institutional moves as and when new opportunities arise, and this will in turn increase fluidity and new opportunities in the market as the year progresses.

Historically there were fewer in-house roles within the banking and finance sector in the final quarter of the year, when institutions sought to protect the bonus pool as much as possible for those who had contributed to the year's profits. In recent years headcount has been much more reactive and so this pattern has not been so visible. As we enter the final quarter of 2010 this natural slow down in end of year hiring is once again visible.

We would expect there to be increased headcount in late January / February once bonuses have been paid out. Nevertheless, we are continuing to source candidates for ongoing roles with the following skill-sets: securitisation; capital markets; derivatives; structured products; funds; prime brokerage and litigation. We are also actively seeking native French and German speaking finance candidates. Now is the ideal time to take stock of your career, consider your long term goals, discuss them with us and get your CV in shape for the New Year.

Additionally, there has been continued talk in the media that we are seeing evidence of a 'double dip' recession, but it is probably too early to say. Throughout this financial year transaction volumes have been increasing and institutions have been returning very positive quarterly results.

The in-house banking and finance recruitment market continues to gather momentum as we approach the third quarter. For the first time since the market peaked in summer 2007 we are being instructed on multiple hires by our banking clients. Recent instructions include: Debt Capital Markets, Equity Capital Markets, Corporate, Credit Derivatives, Litigation, Prime Brokerage, Securities, Structured Products, Funds and Commodities. We are also seeing clients request specific European language skills and experience, which is a positive sign that we are returning to better times as these are generally perceived to be 'luxury' hires.

Given that recruitment is continuing to gather momentum across all areas it is always worth calling to discuss your options.

In-house recruitment is gathering momentum as we progress further into the first quarter of 2010. Whilst recruitment in 2009 consisted largely of replacement hires into core product areas only, all of the major banks are now generally increasing their headcount. We have now begun to receive instructions outside of the 'core' Derivatives, Funds and Commodities areas which dominated last year. Since January, positions have arisen within Equity Capital Markets, Debt Capital Markets, Institutional Securities, Corporate and Litigation.

The news on compensation is positive too with most of the banks opting to take the 50% tax hit on a global basis meaning that local salaries remained largely unaffected despite what the papers suggest. An additional upside is that most of the major banks have now re-weighted total compensation towards the base meaning that lawyers moving in-house for the first time are less likely to be required to take an up-front hit in order to do so.

Looking forward to the second quarter we are likely to see further headcount arise as bonuses are paid and in-house lawyers who have been stationary due to poor market conditions start to look around.

As we look forward to the fourth quarter, things are starting to look more promising within investment banking and within financial markets generally. For the present most headcounts are restricted to fixed term contracts or interim positions, but this looks set to change come January as deal flows continue to increase. If you are thinking about making a move, now is the time to start discussing your aspirations and goals.

Candidates with experience of structured funds, hedge funds, asset management, regulatory, derivatives (especially equity) and commodities are likely to be in the greatest demand with clients already expressing an interest in these skill-sets as soon as headcount frees up.

In the meantime there are open roles within smaller finance houses and asset managers so it is always worth calling to discuss your options.

There is no doubt that we are experiencing challenging times in the legal in-house recruitment sector. However, there are some encouraging signs of increased activity in the City as some of the better performing investment banks begin to hire again in key areas.

Elsewhere we are also witnessing other positive developments with positions arising at hedge funds and asset managers, as well as other financial services and energy companies.

In an interesting twist to the general economic mood, this changing market has spurred some to take the plunge and commit to exciting start up ventures, which in turn look set to hire in coming months.

"Working with Chantal has been an absolute pleasure from start to finish. She is as personable as she is professional and the whole process of finding my new role has felt like a true partnership. She has an almost unique approach to recruitment, combining an in depth personal knowledge of her clients and a rare willingness to see transferrable skills in her candidates rather than just positions and professional qualifications. This meant that she was able to help me make a far from obvious career change in a very tough market. There is no comparison between Carter Clarke and any other recruitment firm I have ever dealt with. I would have no hesitation in recommending Carter Clarke to anyone thinking of a change in career, or just looking for some advice on their next move."
Alastair Ferguson (Candidate)