“PeopleBridge is a simple concept that has been in existence in the UK for many years,” says Matthew Cahill, partner and head of structured finance and debt capital markets with law firm William Fry.
“Since we launched last September we have experienced huge demand from major banks, large corporates and others,” he adds. “They may have a big project on, or an M&A deal going through or need maternity-leave cover. On the other hand, there are senior people out there with 10 years’ experience or more who may want to work flexibly.”
The timing for the new business couldn’t have been better. “We have hit the post-Covid sweet spot,” says Cahill. “It’s a very different country now. Before Covid, a candidate couldn’t say they wanted to work three days a week in the office and the other two at home. There is now an acceptance that flexible and remote working works. We are being approached by companies who are offering great opportunities for lawyers and are paying top rates.”
He gives the example of a client company which had reduced its physical real estate during Covid. “They needed to hire a lawyer to work fully remote because they don’t have the space to accommodate them. We also have a lawyer working in Donegal who only wants to work remotely. She is now working for a leading Irish healthcare company based in Dublin with no need to commute up and down.”
For lawyers interested in availing of the PeopleBridge service, the process starts with sending in a CV. “Provided they have the right level of experience, training and background at the higher end of the legal services world we will put them on our panel,” says Cahill. “It’s very much a matchmaking service. We find out what candidates want in terms of working arrangements, salary expectations and so on. Then we match them with clients. We typically take on a fixed-term contract of employment with William Fry. Companies looking for short-term resources don’t want the hassle of employing people. Another advantage is that it gives companies and candidates a chance to have a look at each other. We expect many of them to be employed permanently by the companies on a basis that suits both of them.”
PeopleBridge also offers a degree of comfort and confidence to companies which use the service. “They know the William Fry brand is behind the person they are taking on. We interview candidates to the same standard as we would if we were hiring them directly.”