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Attracting quality talent identified as top law firm challenge
A new report has singled out the highest rated challenges for law firms in the current climate, with attracting quality staff ranking at the top of the chart.
Emma Musgrave
According to CommBank’s annual Legal Market Pulse, the most common challenge among Australian firms is finding high quality staff. The report found the challenge is especially prominent now, given heightened demand.
“The top-tier firms are facing greater headwinds when attracting talent (-70 per cent) than mid-tier firms (-61 per cent).”
It added: “Staff utilisation across the market has also eased from -35 per cent to -2 per cent in the same time period – now viewed by top-tier firms as the most favourable element of business conditions”.
“Anecdotally, some firms are also seeking to address staff attraction and retention through further embedding a strong culture of innovation in the workplace, and leveraging technology to develop commitment and drive productivity,” the report said.
“While both top-tier and mid-tier firms now find it easier to negotiate prices with clients, this remains a top-rated challenge overall. Mid-tier firms, in particular, view winning new business as challenging (-48 per cent), compared with top-tier firms (-10 per cent) that may currently enjoy a stronger pipeline of work.”
CommBank’s annual Legal Market Pulse also offered insights into the strategies firms have in place, in order for them to “future-proof” their business.
It found that the vast majority – 95 per cent – are developing alternative fee arrangements in attempts to future-proof, while 93 per cent are adopting new technologies to be able to compete with more flexible and efficient rivals.
Fifty-eight per cent are already expanding into new practice areas to future-proof, while a further 25 per cent expect to do so within the next two years.
Interestingly, firms were least likely to use mergers as a future-proofing strategy, the report found.
Emma Musgrave
Emma Musgrave (née Ryan) is the managing editor, professional services at Momentum Media.
Emma has worked for Momentum Media since 2015, including five years spent as the editor of the company's legal brand - Lawyers Weekly. Throughout her time at Momentum, she has been responsible for breaking some of the biggest stories in corporate Australia. In addition, she has produced exclusive multimedia and event content related to the company's respective brands and audiences.
Prior to joining Momentum Media, Emma worked in breakfast radio, delivering news to the Central West region of NSW, before taking on a radio journalist role at Southern Cross Austereo, based in Townsville, North Queensland.
She holds a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) degree from Charles Sturt University.
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