Lawyers may soon see a return to the war for legal talent after an Asia Pacific study found that the biggest challenge in 2010 for legal employers is attracting talent for growth - with almost half of all legal employers expecting to increase overall headcounts this year.

According to the Randstad 2010 World of Work Report released Wednesday, 47 per cent of survey respondents in the legal and consulting sectors are expecting an increase in overall headcount for 2010, compared with only 33 per cent across other sectors.

And this focus on legal headcount growth over the next 12 months is expected to benefit graduates, with 41 per cent of employers confirming their hiring will include graduates, apprentices and trainees, with only 27 per cent of employers in other sectors saying the same thing.

Other levels of legal talent in great demand this year, according to the report, include senior lawyers, those with expertise in specialist areas of law, experienced paralegals and experienced consultants.

Aside from the 21 per cent of respondents who labelled the attraction of talent for growth as the key challenge this year, 18 per cent of employers from the legal and consulting sectors said the next biggest challenge will be engaging their employees on organisation strategy and goals.

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The Randstad Report spanned the Asia-Pacific region and was based on an online survey conducted in February 2010, with more than 3000 respondents including HR professionals, business managers and CEOS.