Lawyers Weekly takes a look back at the top 10 career and recruitment articles in 2025, including advice on how to make major moves in the profession, salary reports, and the gender pay gap at each of Australia’s biggest law firms.
In this wrap-up, we take a look back at advice from some of the profession’s key players and leaders, including managing partners and a judge of the Federal Court of Australia.
This also includes articles on reports that shed light on some of the profession’s most pressing issues, including salary and gender pay gaps.
Here are the top 10 career and recruitment stories in 2025:
1. Lessons from selling a law firm for $57m
Selling a law firm for $57 million wasn’t just a financial event. It was a manifestation of belief, risk and relentless execution, writes Hilton Misso.
2. How an unintended lawyer became managing partner of a national firm
For many young lawyers, the road to partnership is often a carefully charted journey, driven by ambition and clear goals. But for the newly appointed managing partner of Colin Biggers & Paisley, the path was far from planned.
3. Half of law firms pay below-average salary to lowest earners
Despite BigLaw’s highest earners taking home a pay cheque that’s well above the national average, half of them pay their lowest earners less than many other industries.
4. 4 in 10 disciplined lawyers struck off, exclusive data reveals
Exclusive Lawyers Weekly data revealed that around 40 per cent of lawyers facing disciplinary action have been struck off or recommended for removal. A closer analysis of the last 100 disciplinary reports uncovered further, troubling trends.
5. Firms must resist the rise of managerialism, Justice Lee says
Managerialism may have created the appearance of sleek, optimised law firms, but Justice Michael Lee said the ideology is “theatre” that has eroded professionalism and blinded once-ambitious and independent lawyers with billing targets and efficiency goals.
6. New report shows difference in mid-tier and top-tier salaries
While corporate law offers high earning potential, salaries for junior lawyers are higher in other practice areas, according to new research from legal recruitment firm Gorilla Jobs.
7. ‘The GC waiting room’: Why in-house lawyers are feeling stuck
Determined in-house lawyers are increasingly finding themselves stuck in what one executive general manager has dubbed “the GC waiting room”. But what impact does this have?
8. Gender pay gap’s getting worse in Aussie law firms
Australia’s biggest law firms had their gender pay data exposed for the second year in a row. Here, Lawyers Weekly takes a look into the new figures and reveals whether those gaps got better or worse.
9. Top 25 Attraction Firms unveiled for 2024-25
Lawyers Weekly, in collaboration with Agile Market Intelligence, is proud to reveal the BigLaw firms that are most appealing to legal professionals in the event they make a career move.
10. Why this lawyer started his own firm as a ‘side hustle’
When establishing his own law firm, James d’Apice initially approached the venture with the intention of treating it as a “side hustle” and a “hobby”. Here, he reflects on the reasons behind this mindset and how he’s evolved since his doors opened.
