According to the latest Hays Quarterly Report the current global economic climate is driving the need for employment and industrial relations lawyers and commercial litigators. “The current economy and the number of redundancies and restructuring within large corporate environments means these skill are very much in demand,” said Darren Buchanan, senior regional director of Hays Legal. ALB reported earlier in the year that insolvency related practitioners were seeing an increase in work as significant factors combined pushing more and more Australian companies into collapse or administration. “I think it’s certainly the case that there will be a large amount of insolvency related re-structures in the next 12 to 18 months,” Freehills partner John Nestel said in February.

Banking and finance lawyers specialising in projects with PPP experience are in high demand as a result of more financial transactions coming in from overseas, particularly Asia. Property lawyers are also highly sought after due to mergers and acquisitions and this is fuelling commercial contract requirements. Lawyers with  between three and five years of experience remain the target for recruiters as a result of the ongoing move in-house by lawyers in this range, stated the report. However, while many employers have very strict requirements in terms of skills and experience, others are looking at new hires with long-term potential and will consider less experienced candidates who they can develop into a role according to Buchanan. “The main reason is that they believe this gives the candidate a greater incentive to remain long-term with the organisation. For the same reason, many employers will also invest in new graduates and develop their experience.”

Buchanan added that employers are also looking for candidates who can bring value to the business, while at the same time increasing responsibilities in comparison to the role’s predecessor.

Related stories:
Leagal wages on the up, WA leads the way 4 June 2012