Vacancies on the rise at City law firms
updated on 05 September 2022
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New research has revealed that City law firms are hiring at a rapid rate, with a 14% annual rise in vacancies recorded in the capital.
According to JMC Legal, a recruitment consultancy, a total of 2,680 vacancies have been recorded wall-to-wall in the City. In-house legal departments at corporations reported the largest increase in recruitment, with a 58% increase in openings. Commercial property, mergers and acquisitions, and banking and finance departments presented the highest number of these vacancies.
Magic Circle firm, Clifford Chance has distinguished itself at the top end of the legal market. According to sources, the firm is on course to have around 130 lawyer openings this year alone. In addition, it’s said to have the most solicitor trainees in the City, raising its numbers by more than 10% across 2021 to 110. On top of this, the firm’s trainees earn salaries of £55,000, with this figure rising to £125,000 from the first day of qualification. Simmons & Simmons LLP also takes a top spot, set to have around 80 vacancies in 2022.
In a move that may surprise some, PwC Legal, the law firm branch of the Big Four international accountancy group, reported 93 vacancies for the first half of 2022. This is more than four times its entire lawyer openings for the previous year.
This is part of a wider trend for in-house legal departments in the City. In March 2021 these in-house departments reported 307 vacancies, a 17% month-on-month increase. Technology companies are reported to have led this trend, with a 29% share of all in-house vacancies, totalling 451 – this number is set to rise to 900 by the end of the year. Banks came in a close second, with 365 vacancies this year and a 24% share of the total vacancies. This total is also expected to rise and could reach around 730 openings by the end of 2022.
As reported in The Times, Jason Connolly, chief executive of JMC Legal, said: “The optimism that law firms are showing regarding investment in hiring shows that they are positioning themselves to capitalise on this ever-changing market.”
