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Where lawyers under 40 want to work right now
Following the recent release of the 2023–24 Top 25 Attraction Firms ranking, Lawyers Weekly has broken down the data by age – here, we reveal which of the nation’s biggest practices are most appealing to lawyers in their early-mid careers, if they were to leave their current employers.
Jerome Doraisamy
What is the Legal Firm of Choice Survey?
This latest survey was conducted between 22 January and 14 February and received 401 responses in total, recording the attitudes, priorities, and perceptions of legal professionals in private practice across Australia.
Every year, some firms rise up the rankings while others slide down the list. As in previous years, the 2023–24 results offer an intriguing insight into how lawyers perceive prospective employers. The results for the 2023–24 survey were released in late February, with a new firm taking the top spot. You can read the findings here.
The methodology
The annual Lawyers Weekly Top 25 Attraction Firms ranking was based on the results from one question in the recent Legal Firm of Choice Survey, which asked: “Which firms would you consider a move to if you ever decided to leave your current organisation?”
Respondents can select up to five firms they would be interested in moving to and are then asked to select the firm they would move to first, if they had the choice, of their selected five.
From this, each of the answers is given a point. The ranking is based on the point system, with the firm with the most points given first in the ranking. In the event of a tie-break, the secondary question was used to delineate between prospective employers.
Respondents to the survey were unable to vote for their own firm – thereby eliminating the possibility of any firm skewing results in its favour.
Firm choices of lawyers aged under 40
According to the findings, legal professionals under the age of 40 years are keen to work at the following firms, having identified these practices via their primary and then secondary votes:
10. Barry Nilsson
9. Mills Oakley
8. Lander & Rogers
7. Herbert Smith Freehills
6. Hall & Wilcox
5. King & Wood Mallesons
4. Ashurst
3. Clayton Utz
2. Allens
1. MinterEllison
Comparisons to those aged over 40
When comparing this top 10 ranking to that of lawyers who are aged 40 and above, a few things become apparent from a recruitment perspective:
- MinterEllison is the most popular firm for younger lawyers, while for those aged over 40, it is the fifth-most desired prospective employer.
- The generational divide for Clayton Utz is even more stark, with those under 40 ranking it third, whereas those over 40 have the national firm outside of their top 10.
- Barry Nilsson appears similarly popular with lawyers under 40, ranking 10th here but dropping to 19th for the older cohort.
- Hall & Wilcox and Mills Oakley are slightly less attractive to lawyers aged less than 40, ranking sixth and ninth, respectively, here, compared to their rankings of third and sixth, respectively, for lawyers over 40.
Speaking about the findings, Lawyers Weekly editor Jerome Doraisamy said the choices made by lawyers under the age of 40 years vary notably from those with more years of experience.
“The motivations of early-career lawyers appear noticeably different to their older counterparts, which no doubt is influenced by myriad personal, vocational and financial considerations,” he said.
“What these particular findings suggest is that legal employers, and ultimately recruiters, must ensure that their messaging and targeting of prospective employees must be idiosyncratic and cater to the unique needs of legal professionals, and not just presume that lawyers all fit into a cookie-cutter mould.”
Since late February, Lawyers Weekly has been publishing insights from the 2023–24 iteration of the Legal Firm of Choice Survey. To read those stories, click below:
- Top 25 Attraction Firms revealed for 2023–24
- Women more likely to see gender pay gap in law than men
- 1 in 5 lawyers want to leave their firms this year – where will they go?
- Male lawyers more likely to rate their remuneration highly
- Revealed: 5-year trends for the Legal Firm of Choice Survey
- Which BigLaw firms do male and female lawyers most want to work at right now?
Jerome Doraisamy
Jerome Doraisamy is the editor of Lawyers Weekly. A former lawyer, he has worked at Momentum Media as a journalist on Lawyers Weekly since February 2018, and has served as editor since March 2022. He is also the host of all five shows under The Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network, and has overseen the brand's audio medium growth from 4,000 downloads per month to over 60,000 downloads per month, making The Lawyers Weekly Show the most popular industry-specific podcast in Australia. Jerome is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in NSW, and a board director of Minds Count.
You can email Jerome at:
