We catch up with Tom Brooks and Jay Farr who head up our legal, insurance and P&I recruitment desk to find out more about them, their backgrounds, and what they're working on at the moment.
Jay: Before I joined Spinnaker I spent 3 years working as a manager of a coffee shop as I had just finished my degree. I studied drama and would be lying if said I didn’t have dreams of being on the stage… I have been lucky enough to do this in my spare time and, it comes in handy when networking and attending meetings in this industry. Confidence is key!
Tom: Before my Spinnaker career began, I graduated with a 2:1 in economics, followed by a stint in retail management. I never had any intentions of working in the recruitment industry but I stumbled across Spinnaker, fell in love with the maritime industry and the rest, as they say, is history!
Jay: It is my 3 year anniversary this year and I can still remember my first week, thinking to myself, "I need to be on the legal desk!" – Tom was manning this desk alone when I joined, so I liked the idea of joining such a busy area of the business.
Tom: I remember how keen Jay was to join the desk! It was at a time where things were really picking up and the extra pair of hands on the desk was most welcome. Safe to say, we haven’t looked back since.
We specialise in the legal, P&I and insurance market, so essentially placing candidates at all levels within P&I Clubs, law firms, shipping companies and insurance companies. This is globally, so we really do keep ourselves busy.
At the moment, there seems to be a high demand for 2 – 4 PQE UK-qualified Solicitors and with the market being so competitive it is often harder to tempt them. It is always exciting when we turn to each other during the day with the same look on our face when we have found someone!
We have a really good working relationship in our team and we are supported by Georgina King who keeps tabs on us, making sure that we do not spend too much of our day bickering (we can’t help it, people often say we are like an old married couple) about who should do what or who gets the last chewing gum in the wrapper.
During our time on the desk we have made some really great placements that we are very proud of. Early last year Tom and I helped secure the Head of Shipping for Hill Dickinson, something that we are very proud of as we can see they are making real waves in the legal world. More recently we have just finished a really exciting piece of recruitment for [whoops! We can't reveal this one yet – our lips are still sealed at this moment in time. No doubt you will be reading about it soon enough!].
2018 seems to be all about overseas roles. We currently have some real senior roles on in the Middle East that are keeping us nice and busy – it is a great challenge but we enjoy being kept on our toes.
The best part of our job is the people. We get to speak to so many people around the world every day. At 9am we are speaking to a Claims Manager in Singapore and by 3pm we are speaking to a Lawyer over in New York.
Random fact about each of us:
Tom: I am a fully qualified Rescue Scuba Diver
Jay: I once toured in a tribute act
We would really love to spend even more time getting to know you, so if you would like to call us or meet us for a coffee and have a chat, please let us know. Email us at [email protected] or give us a call on +44 (0)1702 480142.
Tom Brooks, Senior Consultant, Legal, Insurance and P&I
Jay Farr, Consultant, Legal, Insurance and P&I
