"The London and US markets are so buoyant and the salaries so good that Australia has really crossed lawyers’ minds in the past 18 months," he said.

‘There certainly hasn’t been an influx’

Australia’s borders have opened up post-pandemic, and some Australian-trained lawyers have returned home to be closer to friends and family. However, when considering this cohort and other legal professionals, “there certainly hasn’t been an influx” of talent entering our shores, said Legal People partner Sharon Henderson.

Law, as a profession, “is always candidate-short”, mused Empire Group managing partner Michelle Sneesby, but recruiters and employers alike are finding it difficult even with open borders.

“We are finding clients need to speed up interview processes to secure good talent as the employees are now being offered multiple roles. Time is so valuable,” she stressed.

Burgess Paluch director Paul Burgess opined that, even with open borders, the Australian market has “never benefited too much” from in-bound lawyer talent.

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“The restrictions on practising combined with relatively onerous re-qualification requirements mean that foreign lawyers are not highly sought after in Australia and the flow has always been limited,” he explained, which — together with the below factors — may explain why attracting staff remains so difficult for legal employers.

Why such difficulty in hiring?

According to G2 Legal Australian director Daniel Stirling, there are a number of reasons as to why legal employers are still finding it difficult to find staff, despite the borders having opened back up.

“There was a large build-up of Aussie lawyers looking to work overseas during the COVID-19 period. Now that the borders have reopened, and there are buoyant overseas legal markets, there have been a large volume of lawyers moving to locations such as London, Asia and the US,” he outlined.

“Typically, there would be a similar number of Aussie lawyers returning home as there would be leaving, having spent a period offshore. But there is currently a large ‘trade deficit’, as most returned in the early part of the pandemic or straight after borders opened.”

In addition, Mr Stirling went on, there hasn’t been any moving overseas for two to three years, meaning there will be a shortage of returners, which may remain the case for a similar period.

“This shortage isn’t balanced by foreign lawyers moving to Australia as there are generally less foreign lawyers working here than there are Aussies working abroad,” he said.

Light at the end of the tunnel?

Although demand still outstrips supply, Mr Gordine detailed, the market is not as frenzied as it was in May and June of this year, which helps legal employers come up for air and make more considered hiring selecting.

"We don’t see this a return to normal market conditions in the short-term, mostly due to the high level of options any candidate can consider but there is an easing from some legal employers on their hiring needs which will enable other legal employers to actually source and hire legal talent," he said.

When asked if and when the legal services market will eventually turn in favour of employers, Mr Burgess said that “at some point”.

“It has already passed peak demand, and there are signs of increased talent flow. However, there is also a significant pool of vacancies, and a very reluctant talent pool at present, so we don’t see things changing dramatically for at least six months.

“With rising interest rates and a US recession there is the likelihood of a reduction in demand, but that may take some time to have real effect,” he added.

Ms Sneesby feels the market will turn and become an employer’s market again, but “not for a while”.

“I would estimate early next year, but regardless, legal has always been candidate-short. We have more roles than candidates to fill,” she said.

Ms Henderson said that she can’t see the current state of affairs changing in the short term and that she expects it to remain a candidate’s market “at least until the end of 2022”.

“We advise our legal industry clients to be quick with offers, not to wait for comparable candidates and to put time and effort into their employee value proposition,” she said.

“Many talented candidates field multiple offers and compare culture, values, HR policies and remuneration packages looking for the best fit.”

Mr Stirling believes it will take another one to two years for the in and outflow of lawyers to balance out.

This is because, he said, lawyers most commonly spend two to three years overseas before returning and have been moving offshore again for close to one year.

“Over that period, the number moving in and out should both regulate to a more normal balanced situation. This is assuming there are no major changes to the general demand for lawyers in that period, whether in law firms or in-house,” Mr Stirling said.

Investing in training

In light of such challenges and open-ended time frames, legal employers must be on the lookout, Mr Burgess suggested, for talented people who have moved into areas they are not keen on or suited to who wish to switch areas.

“If you have the time and resources to train up those lawyers then there are good quality lawyers available,” he said.

Ms Sneesby supported this, positing that it is time to “open up to experience and invest time in training legal staff”.

“Sometimes, taking a candidate from a property background and training into law can be beneficial,” she noted.

“Depending, obviously, on the role.”

Flexibility and creativity

Elsewhere, Mr Stirling submitted, employers must make the move of the recent advent of remote and flexible working arrangements.

“Some clients have opened opportunities to lawyers in other states to work remotely with occasional travel. If legal employers are willing to extend this further to lawyers working overseas then this could open a larger talent pool, as well as potentially retaining some of those lawyers keen to live overseas for a period,” he argued.

“The challenge for some roles is that time difference and inability to attend the Australian office can make things more difficult, though not insurmountable. Some in-house employers have implemented schemes such as ‘work anywhere for a month’ which again allow people to travel more without leaving their job.”

Ms Henderson agreed, saying that now is an “excellent time” to think outside the box, given that WFH arrangements are more mainstream in a post-pandemic market.

“Be inclusive in your job descriptions to entice candidates of all walks and stages of life. Think about employee attraction over the long term by nurturing alumni communities and graduate programs. Some firms are offering nine-day fortnights, others working arrangements that involve two to three days working from home,” she outlined.

“It’s time to get creative.”