Law firms struggle to find qualified associates because of high competition for top talents, an increasingly limited pool of qualified candidates, and a growing demand for legal professionals skilled in specific practice areas. Law schools have also contributed to the existing talent crisis. The curriculum and law courses offered by most law schools don’t prepare law students for the realities that await them in the legal sector. Consequently, potential hires fresh from law schools may lack the legal skills and qualifications to meet market demands.
Is your law firm struggling to find qualified associates? Astor Professional Search can alleviate the hassle of associate recruiting. We tailor our legal recruiting solutions to match your needs. Call us at (312) 781-9000 to speak with one of our experienced legal placement professionals.
The demand for legal services is high. Associate hiring is on the rebound after seeing an 11.5% decline in lateral hiring in 2022. Many legal entities are flooding employment markets searching for top lawyers. Thus, law firms must withstand stiff competition to find qualified attorney candidates to fill on-demand practice areas. Law firms face the following challenges when looking for qualified associates:
The skyrocketing demand for legal services has created a disparity in the supply and demand for skilled talent. New practice areas crop up all the time, and they all need placements. Thus, the current legal employment landscape is a candidates’ market.
Only firms that can appeal to the candidates’ wants and needs will secure top talent. This presents vast opportunities for candidates looking for first-time placements or those looking to make lateral moves to advance their careers.
The competition for top talent has compelled law firms to focus more on due diligence to know the qualities candidates possess before conducting interviews. Partners looking to join new firms should know the tips for partners considering a lateral move to improve their chances of securing their desired roles in reputed firms.
Do only large firms hire associate attorneys? Associate recruiting isn’t only limited to large legal firms. Even small and mid-sized entities hire associates, although their roles may differ. Regardless of size, law firms find it hard to identify the best candidates to fill vacancies in specific practice areas. The inability to find the “perfect” candidates and the mismatch between what candidates expect and what firms offer only exacerbates the situation.
For example, a legal recruiter may find a candidate with the right qualifications, but the candidate may not like the firm’s ethos or culture. Conversely, a candidate may prefer working in a firm because of the opportunities, but the firm may not hire that candidate because the skills don’t suit its long-term goals.
Candidates’ needs, expectations, and preferences have changed. The younger generation dominates the legal job market. Such candidates want careers with a work-life balance and career development opportunities. They prefer roles that give them a sense of purpose along with better financial compensation. Satisfying these expectations and needs while meeting the demands of the legal sector becomes a problem for a legal entity with a conservative culture.
Law schools are partly to blame for the legal skills crisis. There are increasing concerns about their failure to produce competent and skilled law graduates. But why aren’t law schools channeling out qualified graduates to fill the existing vacancies in the legal market?
According to a survey by LexisNexis, 95% of recruiting partners say that recently graduated law students lack the necessary practical skills during recruitment. Surprisingly, graduates also agree with the recruiting partners. Up to 87% of graduates feel the U.S. legal education system needs changes to prepare students to meet the industry’s demands.
The education provided is highly steeped in legal theories, ignoring the importance of equipping students with real-life professional skills that can help them advance their careers. Most law professors have little to no practical experience. They mainly concentrate on generating law review articles that only lawyers conversant with legal jargon can understand.
Such a curriculum doesn’t provide students with what they need to kick-start their careers. Some practical skills required by legal entities that law schools tend to overlook include:
The ineffective curriculum by law schools could explain why the legal practice is increasingly losing its appeal. The rate of law school applications has declined by 44.9% since the 2008 financial bubble.
The number of candidate attorneys with unsatisfactory LSAT scores is also increasing. That signals gaps in the education system because students aren’t knowledgeable enough to excel in state bar exams. The below-par performances make finding qualified associates a huge problem for law firms and corporate legal departments.
High lawyer turnover is a top concern among many legal entities. About 56% of law firms agree that they struggle to retain top talent, particularly in areas such as cybersecurity and operational efficiency. Law firms can’t fully shield themselves against the impacts of the ever-changing market dynamics. They can, however, keep up with the latest attorney hiring trends and retention strategies to minimize turnover rates. Some of these strategies include:
Before the pandemic, a salary rise or bonus was enough to convince an employee who wanted to leave a firm to stay. The COVID-19 pandemic illuminated various pain points among legal associates, with high burnout rates being a major problem.
Currently, financial incentives aren’t enough to change an employee’s decision to quit. Law firms must provide all-rounded development opportunities to attract and keep their legal associates motivated. Lawyers want firms that care for their mental health, physical well-being, career development, and upskilling.
One way a law firm can show its new and existing employees that it cares is by providing career development sessions at least once a month. These monthly sessions will help workers understand the available career paths within the firm. Workers may stay longer if the firm has a well-planned career path.
Law entities striving to achieve high talent retention rates must give employees more control over how and where they work. A 2022 survey found that 44% of lawyers would leave their current employer to another employer offering a remote working arrangement.
Technological advances have disrupted recruitment processes across many sectors, including the legal industry. By leveraging technological solutions, entities can bolster their recruiting efficiency and improve the accuracy with which they identify and attract top talents.
New tech, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning, have revolutionized various law firm recruitment processes, including candidate sourcing and screening. These tools also provide valuable predictive analytics that help firms find ideal candidates to fill specific positions.
Top legal talents leave the job market within a short time. Firms with a long and involving interview process may lose qualified candidates to competitors. Law firms must invest in technological tools that make the interview process fast, efficient, and transparent. These tools include those that facilitate:
By leveraging these tech solutions, law firms don’t have to schedule physical interviews with candidates. Instead, they can assess candidates remotely, increasing the efficiency of the hiring process.
Legal work involves a lot of documents, making it difficult for lawyers to complete their duties on time. Attorneys might skip proofreading due to the many documents they usually draft and review. With rising burnout rates influencing candidate placement choices, only firms with the right technologies to automate various administrative and management tasks can retain their top talents.
The new generation of associates prefer working for law firms that give them a sense of purpose. So, your firm must communicate how its work makes a difference in the world during the hiring and onboarding process. That allows new hires to feel and believe they are part of something bigger than themselves.
You can rely on Astor Professional Search if you are a law firm looking for a qualified associate. We understand that a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t cut when searching for an employee to fill a specific role. Our legal recruiting agents are former lawyers who know the challenges you face when recruiting. They will listen to your needs and tailor the search to match you with your ideal candidate. Contact us today to schedule an appointment.
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