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Lately there has been a lot of talk about recessions, downsizing, and price freezes in the legal market, especially in Big Law. Most of the world’s largest law firms are private law firms. The 57% global reduction in IPOs in the third quarter from the previous year is due to a significant decrease in such firms from 2021, especially in emerging markets. capital and mergers and acquisitions directly.
With that in mind, it’s not surprising that we’re seeing slow movements in these market segments. Law firms in 2021 need people to cut jobs, which has caused a food frenzy for business partners.
At one point, firms are said to be handing out associate jobs without interviews and offering $100,000 signing bonuses to second-year associates. Those days, for a while, seem to be behind us.
An interesting aspect of the current decline in employment is that it is not universal, be it workplaces or geographic regions. For example, non-demand services that revolve around the economy—such as litigation, privacy, data security, intellectual property, employee benefits, and taxation—are still costly.
In fact, some highly competitive or highly specialized fields—such as labor and employment, employee benefits, and prevention—are having a hard time finding qualified candidates. Twenty-five managing partner positions are open at Am Law 100 firms in Washington, DC alone, according to a database of legal openings accessed earlier this month. Likewise, there are over 100 job openings in the state of California for employment litigation associates.
And for highly specialized and in-demand career areas, such as employee benefits/ERISA, there are more than 125 job openings nationwide at the associate level. These numbers indicate that some groups still need training at levels that businesses cannot fill, despite the current state of the economy.
Regional differences
Also, some regions experience this decline much less than others. Firms in California, for example, have a shortage of qualified attorneys and are still looking for qualified talent at all levels. And legal markets that are less exposed to capital markets or private equity—such as those in Washington, DC, Colorado, Florida, and Texas—are also seeing less impact from the economic downturn. recently.
The state of Texas, for example, has more than 400 posted jobs in the Am Law 200 across the board for jobs to be filled, not including the many unposted bar job openings. through traditional means.
The Big Demand for Lawyers and Clients
In addition to the differences in some training areas and declining geographic regions, we are also seeing a slight decrease in demand for fellows with portable books. In contrast to older people who do not have customers, those who have a business to carry them are very sought after and visible, among other things, in the long run of businesses.
Many partners and carriers that did not move during the 2021 inflation are now seeing financial and corporate benefits for the lateral move, as businesses continue to pay. for sidekick talents.
Finally, without thinking, moving through an economic downturn can also benefit you. After years of great work, many law firms were burned by the 2008 recession, and many attorneys at all levels were forced to lay off.
With memories of those days on the minds of today’s law firm executives, it’s possible that lateral moves today are filling current needs rather than future ones. As I told a friend the other day, if a company hires you today, that’s a good sign of your time in the company.
No one can know for sure what the next year will bring in the legal industry (and anyone who claims to be buying anything). But from what we can see from the front lines so far, it’s not all doom and gloom.
There are jobs, markets, and types of lawyers that are in high demand. And if you fall into any of these, you may want to move now, or you may be setting yourself up for long-term success than would be true if you moved at the top of the market.
This article does not reflect the opinion of Bloomberg Industry Group, Inc., publisher of Bloomberg Law and Bloomberg Tax, or its owners.
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Karen Vladeck A former law firm partner and mediator turned attorney at Whistler Partners.
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