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Over half of lawyers considering consulting as a career path: report
A new research report from a global firm’s consultancy platform has revealed that lawyers are increasingly looking for innovative ways to shape a career within law that break traditional molds, with consulting becoming the norm for many.
Jerome Doraisamy
Peerpoint, Allen & Overy’s consultancy platform for lawyers, published a report showing that the concerns of lawyers have shifted: 38 per cent of lawyers and law students have considered consulting, and 57 per cent say they would recommend it to a friend.
Peerpoint Asia Pacific managing director Carolyn Aldous said the legal landscape is changing rapidly in Australia, as lawyers seek greater control over their careers.
“The most important measure of success for a lawyer is now having achieved a good work/life balance and having the ability to choose what type of work they want to do,” she said.
“The conventional partnership model doesn’t necessarily meet the needs of the modern Australian lawyer, who is seeking to build a career in law on their own terms, so we’re anticipating a rise in alternative legal service models such as consulting.”
The report also outlined specific insights for the Australian and New Zealander legal professions, identifying the following results: over half of Australian and NZ lawyers have considered consulting as a career path, compared to just over one-third of lawyers globally, and lawyers in these two countries appear to be “far more purpose-motivated in their careers” than their global peers.
Further, 50 per cent of respondents from Australia and NZ ranked “changing approaches to legal resourcing and outsourcing” as a top-three trend that would have the most impact on their careers in the next five to 10 years, and 67 per cent of those same respondents noted having to sacrifice too much to achieve partnership as one of the main reasons they weren’t interested in achieving such a title within a firm.
These regional results suggest, Ms Aldous surmised, that there is a “greater sense of urgency to prepare for the future” among lawyers in Australia and NZ, thus explaining why so many are interested in consulting work.
“But, there also appears to be great energy and anticipation for the future as lawyers here see the benefit of doing things differently,” she said.
“The sentiment reflects a great foundation for the growth of alternative career paths, such as consulting.”
Jerome Doraisamy
Jerome Doraisamy is the editor of Lawyers Weekly and HR Leader. He has worked at Momentum Media as a journalist on Lawyers Weekly since February 2018, and has served as editor since March 2022. In June 2024, he also assumed the editorship of HR Leader. Jerome is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in NSW, and a board director of the Minds Count Foundation.
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