Why the UK doesn't like lawyers in M&A
JPMorgan has appointed a senior lawyer as co-head of its North American M&A business.
In case anyone's wondering, this is NOT an indication that lawyers can become M&A bankers in London.
"Lawyers are at the bottom of the candidate pile," says one M&A recruiter who fills associate and junior VP roles. "It used to be easier for lawyers to move across, but at the junior end of M&A there's now much more emphasis on hiring people with financial engineering capability."
In order of preference, he says most banks would therefore prefer to hire experienced associates from their rivals, followed by accountants, followed by lawyers - but only in times of desperation.
Why is this?
Paddy MccGwire, founder of boutique Cobalt Corporate Finance, says there are, "probably 10% of lawyers who would make great corporate financiers.
"The problem is that a lot of lawyers are very process focused and transactional," MccGwire says.
"However, if you can find a commercially-minded lawyer, who can interact well with clients AND who has the attention to detail associated with the legal profession, they can be great," he adds. "We hired a guy from Clifford Chance a few years ago and he was perfect for the role."
Lawyers' comparative lack of popularity in M&A in London is unfortunate. M&A recruiters say they get plenty of applications from the legal profession. "They usually apply one or two years post qualification," says one. "Suddenly they realise banking is a lot better paid."
