Resolution launches national support network for junior family practitioners

Family law organisation Resolution today unveils its national YRes network for family solicitors, legal executives, paralegals, barristers and other professionals at the start of their career.

The changing state of family law practice has created great uncertainty in recent years for those entering the profession, with huge competition for fewer jobs and less work to go around between firms. YRes, which launches nationally this evening at Resolution’s Annual Conference in Brighton, gives aspiring family lawyers a career kick-start through training, networking and development.

Resolution YRes representative Lucy Loizou explains why support is necessary for aspiring practitioners:

'It’s a tough market. Competition is high for posts for newly-qualified family solicitors.

The way clients expect to be charged for services is also changing, which means less work for everyone. Clients are shopping around a lot more and are looking more to fixed fee arrangements and unbundling services, with many doing a lot more on their own in order to save costs. This means less work out there for firms and less recruitment at a junior level.

With today’s launch of national YRes, we aim to be a strong, unified voice for the next generation of family practitioners.'

YRes creates a positive environment for students and newly qualified family practitioners to develop their career, access specially targeted training and build their professional support network. It also supports junior practitioners to meet and learn from more senior professionals, which can help newly qualified lawyers access career opportunities that might not otherwise be available to them.

Lucy Loizou, who joined YRes in 2007 and has gone on to gain partnership at The International Family Law Group LLP and become a member of Resolution’s governing National Committee, agrees that networking is vital to lawyers wanting to progress their careers.

Lucy continues:

'We encourage YRes members to network with our more senior lawyers, as this may be a way of entering the field without having to go through rigorous applications processes. Meeting face to face in a social but professional setting can sometimes be a very effective door opener.'

YRes was originally founded as a regional London group in 1995, and has since spread to boast 23 regional groups and over 1,000 members across the country. Any Resolution member student, trainee or practitioner member with up to 10 year’s post qualification experience can join a YRes group in their local area.

Lucy says:

'I consider the YRes network to have been an integral factor in shaping me into the lawyer I am today. The YRes network helps practitioners build relationships with other local practitioners, which supports a collaborative way of working – the founding ethos of Resolution.'

More information on YRes is available here.