Market Overview

We have seen in the first quarter (July - Sept) of the new financial year renewed recruitment activity and i mproved business confidence leading up to and post September's federal election.

This much needed improvement in legal recruitment activity is particularly pleasing given the prior state of the legal recruitment market which was fairly flat in the preceding 12 months. Some would indicate that last financial year was probably the worst recruitment market we have seen for quite some time, even worse than the GFC which was significant but short, whereas this time, the lack of recruitment activity has been more prolonged as a result of many factors including; unprecedented level of consolidation and therefore merger activity amongst law firms of all shapes and sizes, local and international; general downturn in economic activity within Australia and overseas; the federal election and a structural shift in technology and the way we use it, are some of the many factors cited.

Recently reported in the press is increased business activity and recruitment levels now seen in the UK which tends to have a flow on impact here. Additionally, a recent Fairfax employment forecast report released this month, has indicated that in general, recruitment activity should start to pick up at a steady pace earlier on in 2014 and continue to improve for the rest of the new year.

At Legal People we have seen the demand for legal support staff in the last few weeks has picked up and is keeping us busy. Likewise recruitment activity for lawyers improved in the first quarter, stagnated over the September school holiday period, but again we are seeing a gradual increase as clients wish to finalise their roles with the lead up to Christmas. Whilst most roles seem to be replacement, there are some growth opportunities out there too.

Despite the improvement, it is hard to pinpoint particular areas of law that are in demand. Usually when the market picks up after a cyclical downtown, we see transactional areas like property and commercial rebound first, whilst litigation normally takes a back seat. However this time, it is difficult to identify a trend of particular areas being back in demand. The roles are quite sporadic so at this stage we're not yet able to offer candidates a lot of choice in available positions simultaneously.

All in all, now with the lead up to Christmas, the outlook for 2014 looks much more positive than this time last year, a nice Christmas present for many of our candidates actively seeking to make some positive changes to their career!

Warm regards

Sharon Henderson

Director, Legal People