Has probate work gone out of fashion?

My firm has, once again, been trying to recruit good people for wills and probate work. Every time we have done this in recent years, we have consistently had far fewer applicants than for vacancies in every other area of law. If we are lucky, we get a choice of one of two people. Even the head-hunters and agencies struggle to find good applicants. Yet we are a good-sized, happy and successful firm in a delightful part of the country, with plenty to offer talented young lawyers.


I wonder whether, given our vast age and failing memories, we older probate lawyers are forgetting to beat the drum for what can be fulfilling and rewarding work.


If the difficulties we are having in recruiting are common, which they appear to be, then the shortage of young lawyers going into this field is a matter of concern for the profession as a whole, and needs to be addressed urgently in view of the increasing competition from other bodies.


Mark Hodgkinson, Willans Solicitors, Cheltenham