The number of legal jobs advertised last quarter has dropped according to the latest Elias Job Index.
Over the last quarter, there has been a decrease in the number of jobs advertised. However, that may not be all that significant to the legal job market and that the previous period, around Christmas time, saw a lot of resignations and hires.
The drop might not be cause for concern for lawyers as in terms of day-to-day there is still a sense of buoyancy, especially in the Sydney market.
The past quarter saw 18 fewer vacancies advertised than the previous one, a total of 228 vacancies, nearly 70% of which were in Sydney. The slow start to the year could be put down to the slow weeks in January and the uncertainty over a pending election.
While the number of banking and personal injury lawyers has taken a tumble, demand is still high for corporate and M&A lawyers, the index found.
“There is still business confidence and deals are getting done,” Jason Elias said.
“Lots of optimism in the tech space, for example, fintech, life sciences, and apps. Hopefully, the long election period does not create uncertainty which can sometimes delay deals.”
Sparke Helmore remains one of the biggest hirers, with 14 vacancies advertised during the first three months of 2016, along with Gilbert + Tobin, which advertised 16 vacancies in the same period. Fast-growing Mills Oakley advertised 13 open positions.
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Jason Elias runs Elias Recruitment, a boutique legal recruitment consultancy specialising in finding lawyers for law firms, NFP’s and corporate in-house teams. Jason is also co-founder of Bulletpoints.com.au – a one-stop shop that simplifies CPD for lawyers. Get in touch at jason [at] eliasrecruitment.com .
Source: Blog