Recruiters are reporting an increase in hiring activity by Australian law firms – but it’s still too early to draw any long term conclusions.

“I’ve recently had briefs from large law firms which have been very quiet for the last 12 months; [firms] I’ve hardly heard from for the last 12 months, and we’re now getting vacancy lists sent through again,” said Burgess Paluch director Doron Paluch.

However,  he is reluctant to read too much into the increased activity. “It’s a very encouraging sign but I can’t yet say it’s anything more than what I’d call a spike,” said Paluch. “I’m saying that because I’m not sure [the activity] will be sustained. A spike may well be [limited to] a three month jump in vacancies.”

Taylor Root partner Tim Fogarty agrees that there is some increased activity, but describes it as  patchy in quality. He says this is a different kind of recovery from what he has seen in the past.

 “[After] the GFC, by July 2009 it was all on again across the market; it was very busy,” he said. “It sprang back very quickly, whereas now we’re not seeing that blanket response. Some of the top tier are hiring, but not all of them and not in every city. Two or three of the bigger firms are starting to recruit again, but for very select particular areas in particular markets.  It’s not a blanket recovery. Some of the large firms have still got hiring freezes nationally.”

There is a mixed array of practice areas and jurisdictions in demand.  “Perth is showing a few signs of coming back and the mid-tier market in Melbourne is looking fairly good,” said Paluch. “In terms of new roles, we are seeing a mix of employment, construction, litigation, banking and finance, and even some corporate - a fairly good mix.”

Fogarty says the Brisbane market remains flat, but he is seeing pockets of activity in other cities.
“In Perth funnily enough it’s all litigation,” he said. “We’ve got a few more corporate instructions in Sydney. There are vastly more banking roles in Sydney than there are in Melbourne. It’s still very quiet in Melbourne on banking.”

He adds that firms who are hiring are sometimes experiencing difficulty with the depth of the candidate pool. “[Candidates] still have a sense of skepticism and a sense that they are going to stay put…there’s a bit of frustration creeping in from law firms asking where all the candidates are,” he said.

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