BCL Legal Continues to Defy Downturn with Five New Appointments

Manchester headquartered BCL Legal - one of the leading legal recruitment consultancies outside London which also has offices in Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Bristol and Reading - is continuing to buck the current downward trend within the legal and recruitment sectors following a number of key appointments within its senior management and consultant teams.

Despite the tough economic climate, the last year has been a period of strong growth for BCL Legal and these appointments come at a time when the company has recently reported a 40% rise in the number of partner level placements made by its private practice team. There have also been strong performances across the in-house and temporary departments which are predicted to grow substantially throughout 2010.

Four of the new starters will be working as fee earning consultants; Ben Hartridge joins the in-house legal team with a focus on placing solicitors and company secretaries in businesses across the North, whilst Ify Okpalugo will be advising paralegals and legal executives looking to work in private practice.

Ben Gates has joined the interim and temporary contracts team where he sources temporary opportunities for lawyers acting for private practices, in house legal departments as well as public sector and not-for-profit businesses across the Midlands. Joe Gregory places solicitors within private practices in Yorkshire and the North East with a particular focus on firms in Sheffield, Newcastle, Hull and Durham.

The final appointment is Sarah Thomas who joins as training & operations director. Sarah is responsible for the training and development of all consultants and how that interfaces with the day to day operations of the business. She previously worked for a multi sector international recruitment organisation for over 15 years and in the latter years she led its training programmes across its European office network. Most of Sarah’s extensive recruitment experience has been in providing solutions to financial and professional services organisations as well as private practice firms.

James Batt, director of BCL Legal commented; ‘The last year has been a really exciting time for us – especially in terms of growth and company evolution. Recruiting these talented individuals is integral to our plans for 2010 and to support our constantly improving offering. We are all excited about the appointments and I am sure they will each bring enthusiasm and experience to an already dynamic team.

James concluded; We recognise that our people are the life blood of the business so we believe Sarah’s appointment truly reflects BCL Legal’s commitment to providing a first class service to all clients and candidates.’

Sarah Thomas said of her new position; ‘I am really excited about my new role. BCL Legal has a great reputation thanks to its team of talented professionals so I look forward to aligning my skills to help drive the business forward.’

Contact Information

James Batt

Director

BCL Legal

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