McLeod Duminy Legal Recruitment

Legal recruitment specialist McLeod Duminy gives the verdict on the state of New Zealand’s legal profession, writes Dani Wright

New Zealand has one of the highest ratios of lawyers per population in the world, and competition for graduate law positions is high.

But, when you do land the graduate dream job, as well as a stimulating career, some of the challenges you are likely to face in your future at work will be trying to achieve the elusive work/life balance, as well as potential mental health issues.

Creativity is something that doesn't come naturally to a lot of [legal] firms because they often operate on very traditional models, or are relatively small. A prestigious annual survey indicates that employers in the legal profession aren't being as proactive — or as imaginative — as they could be, when it comes to recruitment and retention. The employers are possibly missing opportunities to make key positions in their practices more attractive at a time when most firms are planning, or at least hoping, to grow, and demand for good lawyers, managers and administrative staff is high.

Good lawyers are increasingly hard to find with demand set to grow. However, recent research uncovers that many firms may be under-utilising key tools & strategies available to attract top talent. Salaries have remained flat despite obvious, and continuing, high demand for quality personnel.

Our article on Page 5 of Issue 36 of LawNews discusses why your employer brand starts with your existing employees, and you need to guard it fiercely if you want to attract the best people.

There’s a new generation in town and they are steadily becoming your employees. But, contrary to popular belief, millennials don’t overtly want to be treated differently, and instead, are looking to assimilate into your workplace with as little fuss as possible.

Our article on Page 3 of LawNews Issue 21, about the challenges the profession faces in dealing with mental health risks for lawyers.

New Zealand law firm staff members are in for a treat this year as most of the legal industry expect to increase pay at or above the consumer price index (CPI).

The insight comes from the recently concluded “2018 NZ Legal Industry Salary and HR Issues Survey” commissioned by the Australasian Legal Practice Management Association (ALPMA) and McLeod Duminy, which gathered responses from 101 law firms that employ nearly 2,700 staff.

Most staff working at New Zealand law firms can expect to receive a pay rise at or above the Consumer Price Index (CPI), according to research conducted by Australasian Legal Practice Management Association (ALPMA) and McLeod Duminy.

Women make up the majority of the legal industry yet this dominance is not reflected in partner ranks, a new study reveals.

About 63 per cent of all lawyers are female, yet less than a third are on the board, research conducted by Australasian Legal Practice Management Association (ALPMA) and McLeod Duminy showed.

With a change in government for the first time in nearly a decade, a legal recruitment firm says changes in hiring trends are likely as the programmes of the Labour-led alliance get underway.