MENLO PARK, Calif., March 30 Law firms and corporate legal
departments will be hiring more attorneys in the next 12 months, a new survey
shows. Sixty-two percent of lawyers polled said they will be adding staff in
the coming year. This is an increase over last year when 52 percent of
attorneys said they planned increased hiring activity.
The survey was developed by Robert Half Legal, a leading staffing service
specializing in attorneys, paralegals and other highly skilled legal
professionals. It was conducted by an independent research firm and includes
responses from 200 attorneys among the nation’s 1,000 largest law firms and
corporations in the United States and Canada.
Attorneys were asked, “Do you expect the number of attorneys employed with
your firm or corporate legal department to increase, stay the same or decrease
in the next 12 months?” Their responses:
Increase 62%
Stay the same 35%
Decrease 2%
Don’t know 1%
100%
“Law firms are gearing up for future growth, particularly within high-
demand specialties,” said Sheron Hindley-Smith, executive director of Robert
Half Legal. “Certain practice areas such as intellectual property and
healthcare law continue to generate significant project and case work within
law offices.”
Hindley-Smith cautions, however, that despite a recovering economy,
partners and law firm administrators remain conservative in their recruiting
efforts. “A growing number of law offices are bringing attorneys on board on
a trial basis before extending employment offers in order to ensure candidates
are a good fit and to determine if there is a full-time need for the
position,” Hindley-Smith said.
About Robert Half Legal
On March 15, 2004, The Affiliates, the specialized legal staffing division
of Robert Half International, became Robert Half Legal. The business provides
law firms and corporate legal departments with project and full-time
professionals including attorneys, paralegals and legal support personnel.
Robert Half Legal offers online job search services at
http://www.roberthalflegal.com.
