Bowd

FAQs

General Questions

We are different because:

  • Our business was created to solve key problems for both law firms and lawyers which no other service was addressing.
  • Most of our clients are law firms but we also support in-house teams when there is a fit.
  • We pay our lawyers well and charge our firms fairly which preserves their profitability.
  • We attract lawyers who want more from their careers, who are not hanging up their boots but trying on a new pair instead. This means we have top notch lawyers who can add value to law firm environments.
  • Every business decision we make is tested to ensure that our law firms, lawyers and the profession, all benefit.
  • Our policy is to focus on lawyers who are SA level and above so that nothing we do disrupts the training of junior lawyers within firms.
  • Our CEO put her name on the door because she is prepared to stake her reputation on this business. The buck stops with her in everything.
Of course! Our lawyers are top-tier lawyers and most have years of in-house experience.

Usually, the best time for corporate counsel to engage us is when there is difficult or highly specialised work that none of your usual service providers can help you with. We can also help if you need a senior lawyer to fill in for your GC or other senior member of the team.

Another good time to call us is if your CFO has written you a blank cheque and it’s burning a hole in your pocket – definitely call us then.

We are perfect for:
  • Specialist expertise that is not available elsewhere in the market, while you’re still recruiting or that you only need for a fixed period.
  • Complex matters that require more than a lawyer. For example, a lot of political understanding (internal or external), challenging commercial clients, or additional skills such as negotiation or project management.
  • Senior lawyer coverage for a GC or senior manager.
  • A specialist lawyer skill. For example, to lead a negotiation or manage a large legal-heavy project
  • A task for a barrister or partner if you could get the needed time commitment. For example, a General Counsel sabbatical or negotiations with a Government entity or regulator).

Law Firm Questions

Our model is designed to tempt the best lawyers back into law firms by increasing financial incentives and removing key blockers that prevent most lawyers from staying at firms.

Other companies are built around competing with law firms and servicing the in-house market. We are here to make law firms stronger, not to undermine their business.

We also place an emphasis on our culture and values. Our lawyers are looked after and feel part of our team, which helps them look after you.
We have built our pricing around the law firm financial model. When you use one of our lawyers, you don’t need to allocate many overheads to that resource. With these savings, you should expect roughly the same profitability from one of our lawyers as from one of your own, based on hours worked and billed.

Our financial model has been accepted by every law firm CFO so far. We’re confident it will work for you.

You will be shocked to know that our financial model has made it through every law firm CFO without a hitch so far. I know. Those guys argue over the price of the sandwiches. This proves we probably aren’t charging enough.
Yes we know. But remember, all the major law firms ‘forgot’ to put many graduates through their usual graduate programme between 2008 and 2013.

There are anywhere between 500 and 3000 lawyers who would normally have been qualified through those programmes but never made it into the big firms. This means that lawyers from 6-11PQE are as rare as hen’s teeth and there is only a small pool of 3-6PQE lawyers. It took most firms a while to ramp back up to anywhere near their pre-GFC numbers.

Unicorn mid-level lawyers don’t exist. It’s not your HR’s fault that they can’t find any. However, amazing, talented, skilled, blooded senior lawyers do. Give them a go!

Nope. We have heaps of lawyers who want to work full time. However our focus is on getting the perfect fit for you. This means we may offer someone part time, or even two people part time if we think that is the best fit.

Lawyer Questions

Yep. We add significant loading on top of a standard salary. This means that you get compensated both for the casual nature of the work and the additional risk factors involved with contract and temporary work.

Our goal is to secure around 150% of a full-time equivalent standard market salary.

We’d love to go over these details with you over the phone so please give us a call. Rest assured, we pay really well by anyone’s standards.

You don’t commit to us beyond what we commit to our client on a given placement. We promise them, you promise us. Aside from that, you can do anything you like – work for yourself, work for someone else, jump between secondment companies looking for the best deal. Think of it like an open marriage.

Lovely. Just make it clear to our Matchmakers and we can flag you for that kind of work as well as, or instead of, traditional legal work.

We don’t mind where you work but it’s on a case by case basis. You tell us what you want and we will talk to the firm for you. Usually the firm will want some face time, particularly at the beginning of a placement but the rest can usually be worked out.

We sure can. We will work with you to understand your strengths and skills that are attractive to law firms and what you can expect from a placement. We will also analyse your career experience to make sure you will be comfortable in a law firm environment and that you will enjoy the work. 

We will also discuss any potential training sessions that might be helpful for the law firm to provide. 

Ultimately, we only put you forward if we’re confident that you’ll be a good fit for a firm and if you’re feeling good about taking on the placement.

Sometimes we do and our hope is to build more of this kind of ‘gig’ work for those who want it. Register with us and we’ll keep you in mind.

We will do our absolute best, but can’t make any promises.

Yes, please do. We’ll put you forward if we think the role could be done remotely or with limited travel and you’re the right fit..

Yes – we want to know when you are dual-qualified. Sometimes we get opportunities with overseas firms, usually with no need to travel.

Yes we are. Get in touch if you feel inspired and tell us how you think you could help.

We started out only working in corporate and commercial law, but demand for help with family and other private lawyers has been irresistible.  Get in touch with us if that’s you and you’re interested.