Australia Legal Sector Update: Navigating Talent Gaps and Growth

The legal recruitment market in Australia is facing persistent challenges as 2025 begins, particularly in sourcing experienced legal professionals. Senior associates are the hardest to place, with 39% of firms struggling to fill these roles. There are also notable shortages of lawyers (25%) and associates (21%), alongside consistently high demand for legal support roles such as legal assistants and secretaries.

More than half of law firms report being under-resourced, with 44% feeling slightly short-staffed and 12% describing their resourcing levels as significantly inadequate. Despite these pressures, most firms (78%) are planning to grow their teams in the year ahead. Key hiring drivers include business growth (37%) and replacement needs (34%), with a smaller percentage driven by organisational changes (17%) or seasonal workload spikes (3%).

Flexibility remains a cornerstone of talent attraction strategies. Eighty-two percent of firms now offer work-from-home options, and 68% provide flexible working hours. However, traditional in-office attendance is still robust, with 70% of staff going into the office at least four days a week. This blend of flexibility and presence suggests a shift toward hybrid models that accommodate both operational and individual needs.

Top roles being recruited in 2025 include lawyers (41%), associates (36%), senior associates (33%), legal secretaries (29%), and paralegals (16%). In such a competitive market, law firms must differentiate themselves through meaningful benefits, particularly in the areas of career development and flexible work.

"The pressure to attract and retain talent really does remain high"

Kalinda Campbell, Permanent Legal Consultant at people2people, sums up the current landscape succinctly: "The pressure to attract and retain talent really does remain high." Her statement reflects the ongoing tension law firms face as they attempt to expand their teams while contending with limited candidate supply.

Kalinda explains that senior legal professionals are particularly difficult to secure. "Senior associates are the hardest to find," she says, citing the 39% of firms struggling to recruit for these positions. "Lawyers and associates aren’t far behind either," she adds, noting widespread difficulty in sourcing mid-level legal talent.

Support roles are also in high demand. "Legal assistants and secretaries remain in very high demand," Kalinda notes, highlighting the need for reliable administrative support in busy legal practices. These roles are critical to ensuring that legal teams operate smoothly, especially when senior staff are stretched thin.

Flexibility, while widely available, does not appear to have reduced office presence significantly. "Seventy percent of legal staff are still in the office four days a week," Kalinda observes. This trend underscores the sector’s ongoing reliance on in-person collaboration, even as flexible working becomes standard.

Recruitment in 2025 is being driven by both growth and attrition. Kalinda reports that "thirty-seven percent of firms are hiring due to business growth, while thirty-four percent are filling vacant roles." This dual demand further intensifies the need for effective talent strategies.

To remain competitive, firms must rethink their offerings. As Kalinda concludes, "Career development and flexible working arrangements are no longer optional—they are really essential for standing out in such a notoriously tight legal market."

Tips for Law Firms Recruiting in 2025

• Target both experienced and emerging legal talent to expand candidate pools

• Invest in career progression programs to retain key personnel

• Provide flexible working policies that are clearly defined and consistently applied

• Enhance support staff recruitment to relieve pressure on legal professionals

• Streamline hiring processes to reduce time-to-fill for hard-to-source roles