From a 5-year plan to a 10-year plan: The critical juncture point for mid-level associates

“In smaller firms, many have been enticed away to the larger firms — due to the larger firms being more flexible than usual with the background of the candidates they will consider and offering, at times, a dramatic pay increase. This door will, at some point, close when the candidate-driven market normalises.”

While the candidate market is unlikely to close completely, Taylor Root private practice director Richard Schontag said that mid-level associates would start to have fewer options moving forward.

“As we move towards the end of summer in Australia, a level of positive optimism about the economy has returned in Australia. Despite inflationary challenges, the majority of leaders are confident in their own companies,” he noted.

“As a result, associates remain busy; however, from a recruitment perspective, they might have less options in the market with law firms taking a cautious approach to headcount. Where they might have had traditionally four or five options, they might now only have one or two.”

Despite this, mid-level lawyers remain in a “sweet spot” within the market, Beacon Legal director Alex Gotch insisted.

“[These lawyers are] experienced enough to manage juniors and contribute meaningful work, yet not too senior to make their charge out rate expensive when it comes to partners’ pricing up mandates.

“Over the last 18 months, lawyers at this level (the ones who have remained in Australia) have been heavily relied on by their partners and firms, as teams have been significantly understaffed. This has resulted in lawyers often being overworked and racking up unsustainable billable hours which drastically exceed their annual targets, leading to burnout and, in turn, enhanced inclination for lawyers to change jobs,” he explained.

“The mid-level lawyers who have weathered the storm and are navigating the demanding environment they’re working in are generally well rewarded financially as well as fast-tracking their careers into more senior positions.”

“And a big conundrum for a lot of them, which shouldn’t even be a conundrum in the first place, is if I go and take that route of wanting to start a family, where am I going to land in terms of maternity pay and stability in a new firm? Do I have to be open and honest that I am trying for a family, or do I have to put those plans on hold for a couple more years before I can start? So, a lot of them are very nervous and even making a move where a lot of them are unhappy in their current firms.”

Are we still losing lawyers to overseas markets?

Entering 2023 — and exiting three years ruled by the pandemic — many legal candidates in both the Sydney and Melbourne markets jumped ship coming out of statewide lockdowns to move either interstate or overseas after travel restrictions were eventually lifted. This was somewhat unsurprising, with candidate expectations changing significantly throughout lockdowns and following the Great Resignation, which Mr Schontag confirmed manifested in an increased number of Australian lawyers moving to bigger (overseas) markets.

“As law firms and corporates emerged from the worst of the pandemic, demand for legal services continued to grow, resulting in overseas law firms aggressively hiring Australian associates. Fears of the ‘Great Resignation’ manifested into the reality of the ‘Great Migration’. This was due to exceptionally strong demand from law firms in London, New York and San Francisco for Australian transactional lawyers,” he said.

“Working overseas is definitely something Australian lawyers should have on their career plan. They will work in a larger market on bigger matters, which looks great on the CV. The salaries are far bigger than what the Australian market pays too, but it comes with increased intensity and work hours.”

In terms of overseas markets, London, Dubai, and New York are the most popular destinations for Australian lawyers, according to Naiman Clarke associate director Kristina Steele. However, she also said that “the London market has cooled considerably this year, meaning we may see a decrease in international relocations, purely due to lack of demand, which will no doubt be positive for the Australian market”.

Ms Steele outlined a number of positives of mid-level lawyers moving overseas, including getting to experience another market and being able to explore other countries and continents from a shorter distance.

“If a role is secured in a London magic circle law firm (the most prestigious high-performing law firms in London), for example, this can only benefit their future career and will be viewed extremely well upon return to the Australian jurisdiction,” she said. “However, the cons should also be considered. If the market turns, generally, the people on visas will be the first to be asked to leave. We have also seen a couple of situations where integration into a much larger firm/team has not gone well.”

Lawyers who leave Australia for longer periods can also face a salary and position decline when they return, particularly if they join a “particularly unbranded firm”, according to Ms Steele. Additionally, interviews at top firms in the US or London tend to be far more challenging than domestic interviews, as previously reported by Lawyers Weekly. But despite this, Mr Gotch insisted that a move overseas offers lawyers “far more pros than cons”.

“They have opportunities to work on world-leading matters at the premier global law firms, learn from the sharpest legal minds in the business, potentially triple their salary and enjoy the culture and lifestyle of a new city,” he said.

Additionally, a move overseas means stepping out of your comfort zone and exposure to often bigger cases — and at least for the next few years, cities like Sydney and Melbourne will continue to have roles available, Mr Shah emphasised.

“We’re finding it harder to attract talent from overseas here at the moment than we used to before. It’s not as appealing as it used to be here because [of] the way Australia shut down its borders; there’s a lot of hesitation to come here. A lot of European lawyers are making the move to Canada or America, whereas before, they would make the move out here,” he said.

“With the talent shortages, even if you do make that move overseas for a couple of years, there’s always going to be a role for you back in Sydney when you come back. I don’t see the talent shortages being solved anytime soon. And it can only be a positive at this stage.”