The AFR recently released an article (here) that describes the legal talent movement in Australia over the past year. The article uses data from The Law Partnership Survey that outlines the challenges faced by firms in attracting, and retaining, talent in the current market.

Key takeaways:

• • 1. When going into salary review conversations, know your worth! The competition for talent is and will remain for the foreseeable future, intense. This means that strong negotiating power still rests heavily with the lawyer themselves.

• • 2. This is a great opportunity for junior lawyers to get into an area of law that will accelerate their careers. The challenges ahead present opportunities. Although demands in most areas will soften, law firms are well placed to capitalise on this due to their diversified business models.

• • 3. Top-tier and mid-tier firms should be equally considered. Partner movement over the past 6 months has been staggering, generally from the top-tier to the mid. This means that the quality of work at mid-tier firms is, in some cases, as good as the top-tiers.

• • 4. The outlook for the following sectors is still strong, target experience in these areas: Corporate M&A (Private), Insurance, Cyber, Restructuring, Tax and Finance.

• • 5. Pause international plans. The US and UK have been hit the hardest by the global recession. Australian lawyers, who are usually interested in these jurisdictions, are advised to pause any international relocation plans until the end of 2023.