In the dynamic and ever-evolving legal landscape, recruiting top talent has become a paramount challenge for law firms and legal organizations. As the demand for skilled legal professionals continues to rise, the competition to attract and retain the brightest minds in the field intensifies.
Wegman Partners reviews the intricacies of legal field recruiting, exploring the strategies, trends, and challenges faced by law firms in their quest to assemble exceptional legal teams. From the changing expectations of new graduates to the importance of diversity and inclusion, join us as we navigate the complexities of legal recruitment and uncover the keys to building a successful and resilient legal workforce.
Technology is becoming the driving force behind business innovation, leading to more hybrid workers and the financial benefits that come with them; starting salaries are also rising, and counteroffers are not as readily accepted.
Top 3 Recruitment Trends in the Legal Field
Let’s examine the top 3 recruitment trends in the legal field below.
- Technology Matters Increasingly
- Salaries For Starting Employees Are on the Rise
- Counteroffers Are Not Easily Accepted
Next, we’ll analyze what is meant by each of these trends to better understand what prospective employees and hiring managers alike should keep in mind.
Technology Matters Increasingly
From e-filing to conferences conducted entirely through video chats to online subscriptions, technology is becoming one of the critical ways to cut down on costs for legal firms. When it comes to candidates for these jobs, it is important to realize that the top contenders are those who are technologically savvy.
Nowadays, legal teams are considering hiring those who go above and beyond in terms of technological skill as well as the many other advantages that could be listed on a resume.
Salaries For Starting Employees Are on the Rise
Making an offer to a potential candidate should be competitive. Without making sure that the candidate feels wanted and valued ahead of time, it is easy to lose very skilled potential employees to more generous competitors.
This hiring principle is important to keep in mind when realizing that the starting pay for legal professionals has done nothing but increase in recent years. Be generous to get the best results.
Counteroffers Are Not Easily Accepted
Finally, another important trend to be made aware of has to do with associates who are leaving a team for one reason or another. It is usually more financially stabilizing and strategically advantageous to simply let that associate go rather than make an expensive counteroffer.
Remember, replacing an employee who is leaving will be costlier as starting salaries rise, and it is often easier to award loyal employees with more money over time than pay more to one that is already dissatisfied.
In Conclusion
The top three recruitment trends in the legal field show that technology is not only very important to the industry but drives every aspect of the business. Additionally, the salaries for employees just starting in the legal field are competitively high. Finally, counteroffers for employees that are leaving is no longer a viable recruitment strategy.
Staying on top of these trends is an important way for prospective legal associates to get into the business competitively, while legal teams can compete with their rivals for the best employees using the top strategies.