The Coming Crisis in Legal Talent and What to Do About It

For many law firms and legal departments, adjustment to a post-COVID era has been a challenge.  To meet demand for talent in recent years, many have increased salaries for a wide range of roles.  But this tactic has largely evened out the playing field and created a new normal for salary expectations.  Increasingly, once lucrative roles in legal related fields are being competed for by rising wages in almost every discipline.  This is coupled with the fact that revenue growth for law firms is expected to rise this year coming off a year of lower revenue in 2023. In other words, seeking talent with legal experience at any level is expected to become more challenging this year and beyond.

To meet this talent shortage, law firms and legal departments need to rethink how they’re attracting and retaining talent.  Here are three strategies that the Eastridge legal team has observed being implemented at law firms and legal departments we work with.

Shorter Work Weeks

There was a time when workweek expectations in law firms and legal departments far exceeded a 40-hour workweek.  However, today, many firms and departments are examining shorter work weeks to attract and retain candidates.  At Eastridge, we’ve seen this implemented by many of our clients as a way of limiting work hours and offering greater flexibility to employees who need to meet family commitments or need predictable hours to leave work providing a better work-life balance.   Even a small reduction in the work week to 35 or 37 hours, can open up a candidate pool for a position and offer current employees more incentives to stay.  

Clear Work-From-Home Policies

Working from home has become the new normal in most industries.  While the trend is still evolving, and there is plenty of debate on its merits, the fact remains that most candidates today in virtually any field will consider it when choosing a new position or career.  Our team has found that defining an organization's policy on work-from-home needs to be clearly spelled out.   In fact, many organizations include work-from-home policies in offer letters so that the policy is absolutely clear.  This allows candidates to understand the firm’s expectations and policies from the start. 

By clearly stating the work-from-home policy in the offer letter, firms can avoid any potential misunderstandings or conflicts in the future.  This is vital to increasing productivity as well as reducing turnover.  Remember, many candidates may only know a work-from-home culture in their careers.  That doesn’t mean they can’t transition to working in an office if that is the policy.  But being clear about the policy up front avoids any obstacles to success after a candidate is hired.

Consider Temporary Staffing

Many law firms experienced a sharp upturn post-COVID followed by a decline in revenue in 2023.  Experts expect 2024 to be a year of growth for law firms overall.  While no one can predict the future with certainty, we can say that volatility is likely to continue and flexibility could be a major strength to take full advantage of upswings and move quickly during downturns. 

For this reason, temporary staffing can be a viable option for a wide range of roles from administrative assistants to paralegals.  Temporary staffing assignments can last from weeks to months and can be an economical way to quickly onboard talent with experience minus the administrative burdens of recruiting and hiring.  

It’s important to work with a staffing agency familiar with legal departments and law firms, however, since the skills needed for a wide range of positions are often tailored to law firms and legal departments.

Conclusion

For law firms and legal departments, the last few years have seen big changes in how people view the workplace.  It’s also been a tumultuous time economically.  No one can fully predict what the future holds, but there are some fairly minor changes that law firms and legal departments can make in order to thrive moving ahead.  By creating more flexibility, clearly communicating policies, and introducing flexibility through temporary staffing, law firms and legal departments can arm themselves with a highly resilient talent strategy.