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Construction and property lawyers being sought in-house
Hotspots of skills in demand are emerging, with relevant industry experience needed in the corporate counsel sphere, according to new findings from a global professional recruitment group.
Jerome Doraisamy
The 2018–19 Hays Salary Guide has shown that construction and property lawyers are needed in-house, as part of a broader increase in demand for legal counsel with relevant industry experience.
These hotspots of skills are popping up across industries, the guide revealed: “Demand will be high in-house for construction and property lawyers with at least three years PQE [post-qualification experience] in response to the flourishing infrastructure, residential and commercial markets.”
“Both front-end and back-end experience is sought; front-end lawyers are needed to provide contract advice while back-end lawyers are required to handle disputes that arise during or in the aftermath of a project,” Hays said.
Residential and commercial conveyancers and commercial litigation lawyers are similarly in high demand, with candidates showing “general commercial skills” for relevant industry projects becoming priorities for the in-house space.
“Lawyers with commercial contract experience remain highly sought after to negotiate, draft and review a wide variety of commercial agreements in relation to sales and services provided by or to a business.”
The news follows early reporting from Lawyers Weekly that while more in-house lawyers will receive pay rises in their next employment reviews, traditional law firms will be more generous in terms of dollars.
Two-thirds (65 per cent) of employers will give corporate counsel a pay rise of less than three per cent in their next review, and 11 per cent will not increase salaries at all. A further 18 per cent will give staff an increase between three and six per cent, and just six per cent will receive a raise of six per cent or more.
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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