Lawyers not bothered about being hired in Lord Sugar's boardroom

Fewer than one in five lawyers would quit their job for the chance to battle it out for an investment from Lord Sugar in The Apprentice's famous boardroom.

A survey of 300 lawyers and accountants by two recruitment firms ahead of series 11 of the show found that legal professionals are more risk averse than four years ago.

When the same survey was carried out in 2011, lawyers were more open to appearing on the show, with 25 per cent admitting they would throw off the shackles of legal practice to duke it out in the show's now famous boardroom.

Former lawyers who have appeared on the show include family lawyer and tech entrepreneur Lauren Riley and former Slaughter & May associate Felipe Alviar-Baquero.

The change may have something to do with the show's change of format. Between series one to six the winning 'apprentice' was offered a £100,000 a year job with Lord Sugar.

However, since 2011 the prize has been an entrepreneurial one, with the show's winner receiving a £250,000 investment in a business of their creation with the Amstrad founder as a 50 per cent partner in the company.

'Lawyers are usually risk averse and the fact that the nature of the prize associated with winning The Apprentice has changed has not gone unnoticed,' commented Clare Butler, global managing director at Laurence Simons.

'The winning candidate was previously onto a safe bet - a £100,000 a year job with Lord Sugar. Lawyers realise the odds are stacked against them to get any real value out of participation in the show and in the meantime they could undermine their integrity by doing a pterodactyl impression in front of an audience of millions - as demonstrated by the 2008 winner, Lee McQueen.'

However, unlike lawyers, accountants have become more open to participation in the BBC programme.

When surveyed this year, 31 per cent of accountants said they would pack in their current job to take part in The Apprentice, an increase of 10 per cent from 2011.

Dave Way, the managing director at financial services recruiter Marks Sattin, said that accountants may now be the 'chameleons of the professional services world' after the Legal Services Act opened the doors for the Big Four accountancy firms to build up their legal services divisions.

'I can understand lawyers not wishing to take part in the latest iteration of The Apprentice, but thinking of new ways of doing business and injecting creativity into the everyday can help the legal profession retain its standing in an increasingly competitive international landscape,' he added.

'While lawyers may not face their rival accountants in Lord Sugar's boardroom any time soon, they may soon be facing them directly on a client pitch.'

John van der Luit-Drummond is deputy editor for Solicitors Journal
john.vanderluit@solicitorsjournal.co.uk | @JvdLD