Covid’s new paradigm raises the stakes in hiring law firm talent
Money and interesting work are just the starting point when law firms recruit these days: new hires insist on quality of life.
Flat growth totals for partners and fee-earning lawyers at sub-partner level have disguised variations between firms that show who is faring well in the war for talent and who has more work to do, The Australian’s Legal Partnership survey has found.
While partner headcount rose by double digits at Dentons, Gilbert + Tobin and Wotton + Kearney in the six months to January 1, it fell at Norton Rose Fulbright, Moray & Agnew and MinterEllison, although the latter two recorded slight increases in annual numbers. Likewise, double-digit growth in the fee-earner headcounts over the six months at Mills Oakley, Dentons and Gilchrist Connell contrasted with falls in some of the top tier firms, such as MinterEllison, Ashurst and Gilbert + Tobin.
In terms of fee-earners, Eaton Strategy + Search managing partner Shaaron Dalton said: “There was a feeding frenzy as top-tier and in-house legal teams at corporations poached from the larger domestic firms and everyone poached from … smaller ones.”
“The top tier usually wins on money – though in the survey period, it suffered losses to the brain drain and overseas firms with even deeper pockets – but tends to struggle on career progression and culture,” said Ms Dalton, whose firm conducted the survey.
This analysis explains why Ashurst chief executive Paul Jenkins says quality of life ranks equally with remuneration and the chance to deal with important clients as key to recruitment and retention.
A seller’s market, with good salaries and interesting work as part of any deal, now includes conditions such as flexibility in office hours, better parental leave, clearer career paths and the advancement of women.
Living and working in the shadow of recession and geopolitical uncertainty has not changed a simple fact of legal life: there are never enough of what Clayton Utz chief executive partner Bruce Cooper calls the “perennially rare” experienced fee-earners to go around. Almost all firms surveyed increased salaries this year and intend to do so again next year.
HopgoodGanim was the only respondent that admitted to doubt.
“Salaries increased in mid-2022 and we anticipate that may continue into 2023. However, that will also need to be supported by buoyant economic conditions, which are perhaps in doubt at the moment,” people, culture and development director Kelly-Ann Sciffer said.
HopgoodGanim, like other firms, offers a hybrid working model with days at home as well as in the office. Although some firms are at pains to point out they offered such flexibility before the pandemic lockdowns, there is no doubt that this new paradigm is an enduring legacy of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Addison’s managing partner Kieren Parker noted a sartorial side effect – “the tie has become conspicuously more and more absent” – as well as virtual meetings, reflecting increased use of technology tailored to streamline services and improve efficiency.
“We are now smarter about how we work and how we use technology to connect with clients,” Norton Rose Fulbright chief executive partner Alison Deitz confirmed. “We are all now more considerate of each other’s personal time, and save the in-person meetings and events for occasions that truly warrant them.”
Travel, a casualty of lockdowns, may not fully recover. “Effective online collaboration and advice has reduced the need for routine travel,” Ms Deitz said.
DLA Piper managing partner, Australia, Amber Matthews, said while international and domestic travel for client work and training experienced “an intense burst after Covid”, it was not back to the pre-pandemic norm.
“Now that we have improved video conferencing technology and people are comfortable with this format, we don’t expect it to go back to those levels,” he said.
This also plays into firms’ environmental, social and governance responsibilities. “EY is fully committed to being net zero by 2025, so we are very considerate now in terms of how, when and where we travel,” the firm’s law leader for Oceania, Sarah Ralph said.
Among those accentuating the positives on workforce recruitment was Lander & Rogers, whose chief executive partner Genevieve Collins argued hybrid working had facilitated its lawyers in being able to operate from anywhere in Australia, “paving the way for a truly national model and expanding our talent markets”. “Our experience shows that hybrid and remote working is extremely effective, provided the right leadership, policies and processes are in place,” Ms Collins said.
Many firms have adopted the 60:40 model in which staff are in the office for three days if possible. This adjustment has also given rise to the “glue” day, the weekly chance to meet en masse or in teams to network, collaborate and socialise.
Among them is Barry. Nilsson, whose chief executive Graeme Walsh spoke for many when he said: “Covid-19 is still a global health issue that impacts our workforce and one that we are now managing internally without government restriction guidance.
“The main issue … revolves around how we maintain our positive culture, including a sense of community, when so many of our staff are working remotely. Team members all attend the office together one day per week. However, we expect it will continue to be something that we need to work on for some time.”
Clayton Utz’s Mr Cooper notes the need to be “be smarter” in working out which groups or teams are more suited to more work-from-home arrangements.
Clients are less interested in attending face-to-face meetings. “We are still finding that it’s challenging to host clients where the format easily lends itself to a virtual environment,” Dentons chief operating officer Maureen Migliazzo said. “To engage with clients, events need to be innovative and provide a strong reason for in-person engagement.”
Mr Walsh predicted in-person business development activities were unlikely to return to pre-pandemic days but construed that as an opportunity. “Smarter use of technology and innovative ways to keep in contact with clients and staff will likely provide a competitive edge,” he said.
There was concern that remote working could disadvantage some. Swaab noted the productivity and skills of its younger lawyers had “developed intensely since returning to the office”.
