The struggle for talent is real as law firms eye growth

Good lawyers are increasingly hard to find with demand set to grow. However, recent research uncovers that many firms may be under-utilising key tools & strategies available to attract top talent. Salaries have remained flat despite obvious, and continuing, high demand for quality personnel.

These are among the top findings of the 2019 Australasian Legal Practice Management Association (ALPMA) /McLeod Duminy NZ Legal Industry Salary & HR Issues Survey, which drew a range of views from 100 New Zealand law firms across the country. These firms employ 2714 people in more than 40 different roles.

The fact that three-quarters of firms (77%) intend to recruit and grow fee earner numbers is an indication of a buoyant industry. "Yet, at the same time, finding and retaining good staff is recorded as the number one challenge for 94 percent of respondents. Expectations for employment growth will continue to be strong in 2019. Overall employment in New Zealand is forecast to grow by 2.3 percent and 53 percent of the legal firms who responded to the survey expect to increase the number of staff they employ in 2019, likely to be driven by mid-tier firms.