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With senior lawyers on the move like never before, Lawyers Weekly explores the firms capturing the attention of top legal talent and the factors that are making them stand out as destinations of choice for the profession’s leaders.
What is the Legal Firm of Choice Survey?
Now in its 11th edition, the Top 25 Attraction Firms ranking is a defining feature of the Legal Firm of Choice Survey, which identifies the most sought-after private legal practices across Australia.
The latest survey was conducted from 1 April to 31 May and garnered a total of 612 responses from legal professionals currently engaged in private practice throughout the country. It recorded the attitudes, priorities, and perceptions of these practitioners, offering a valuable glimpse into the evolving landscape of the legal profession.
Last month, Lawyers Weekly also published the Top 25 Attraction Firms ranking for 2025–26, revealed which BigLaw firms are climbing in popularity and which are slipping among lawyers this year, and uncovered that more than 20 per cent of lawyers intend to leave their jobs this year.
The methodology
The annual Lawyers Weekly Top 25 Attraction Firms ranking is based on responses derived from one question within the recent Legal Firm of Choice Survey, which asked participants: “Which legal firms would you consider a move to if you ever decided to leave your current organisation?”
Respondents were able to choose up to five law firms they’d be interested in joining, and then were asked, if they had the option, to identify their top choice among those five they selected.
From this, each answer is assigned a point. The ranking is determined by the total points, with the firm that receives the most points ranked the highest. In instances of a tie, a secondary question is used to differentiate between prospective employers.
Participants were not allowed to vote for their own firms to nullify the possibility of any firm influencing the results in its favour.
The firm choices of lawyers aged 40 and over
According to the findings, the top firms that legal professionals aged 40 and above (comprising partners, principals, senior associates, and other legal professionals) find the most attractive to work for are as follows:
10. Baker McKenzie (in the same position in 2024–25)
9. Macpherson Kelley (was not named in the top 10 in 2024–25)
8. HWL Ebsworth Lawyers (was not named in the top 10 in 2024–25)
7. Ashurst (down from 5th in 2024–25)
6. Hall & Wilcox (down from 3rd in 2024–25)
5. Lander & Rogers (was not named in the top 10 in 2024–25)
4. Allens (down from 1st in 2024–25)
3. Mallesons (listed as King & Wood Mallesons at the time the survey was conducted) (up from 6th in 2024–25)
2. Gilbert + Tobin Lawyers (up from 2nd in 2024–25)
1. MinterEllison (up from 2nd in 2024–25)
What do senior lawyers care about most?
Senior lawyers have sent a clear message about what matters most in the workplace, with new data revealing a sharp divide between the areas where firms are getting it right and those where sentiment has taken a worrying turn.
When asked where firms are falling short, pay and rewards emerged as the biggest concern among senior lawyers, with dissatisfaction particularly pronounced among those aged 40 and over.
Among lawyers aged 40 and over, not a single respondent rated their remuneration as either “excellent” or “good”, highlighting the depth of dissatisfaction among this cohort.
While 29 per cent of respondents were neutral on the issue, the remaining respondents expressed negative views, with more than seven in 10 senior lawyers (71 per cent) rating their remuneration as either “poor” or “terrible”.
This included 45 per cent who described their pay as “poor” and a further 26 per cent who said it was “terrible”.
The results mark a dramatic shift from last year, when 77 per cent of lawyers aged 40 and over had a positive view of their pay within their firms.
At the time, just 10 per cent held a negative view of their remuneration, making this year’s results a stark reversal in sentiment.
Pay and rewards also emerged as the biggest area where young lawyers believe firms are falling short, with only 59 per cent of lawyers aged 18 to 39 rating their remuneration positively.
Holistic wellbeing has also emerged as another major area of concern, with senior lawyers indicating firms have significant room for improvement.
Once again, the sentiment was clear among lawyers aged 40 and over, with not a single respondent rating their firm as “good” or “excellent” when it came to supporting their overall wellbeing.
More than half of respondents (56 per cent) said their firm was falling short when it came to supporting their holistic wellbeing, with 40 per cent rating this support as poor and a further 16 per cent describing it as terrible.
The figures point to a concerning deterioration from last year, when 80 per cent of lawyers aged 40 and over gave their firms a positive rating for their support of holistic wellbeing.
Less than 5 per cent of respondents had negative views about how their firm was supporting and addressing lawyers’ holistic wellbeing last year – a stark contrast to the picture emerging from this year’s data.
Recognition of individual performance has also emerged as a significant weak spot for firms, with 55 per cent of senior lawyers saying their contributions are not being adequately recognised.
The figures paint an even bleaker picture, with 34 per cent rating their firm’s ability to recognise individual performance as “poor”, while a further one in five (21 per cent) described it as “terrible”.
The results also point to a worrying deterioration in this area, with negative ratings for how firms recognise individual performance rising by 42 per cent compared with last year.
While remuneration, wellbeing and recognition emerged as areas of concern, workplace culture, communication and diversity, equality and inclusion stood out as areas where firms appear to be getting it right.
Workplace culture was the strongest performer, with 87 per cent of senior lawyers expressing positive views about their firms’ culture. Of those, 36 per cent rated it as “good”, while an impressive 51 per cent went a step further, describing it as “excellent”.
At the other end of the scale, just 9 per cent of lawyers rated their firm’s workplace culture as either “poor” or “terrible”, highlighting a clear strength for firms despite the concerns raised across other areas.
What do firms need to do?
As senior lawyers reassess what they value most from their workplaces, the pressure is mounting on firms to listen, adapt, and rethink what it takes to attract and retain the profession’s most experienced talent.
For senior lawyers, the decision to move is rarely driven by a single consideration.
G2 Legal’s director for Australia, Daniel Stirling, noted that priorities can vary significantly depending on the type of role a practitioner is pursuing and what they want from the next chapter of their career.
“Senior lawyers consider a range of issues when deciding on which firms or employers are best to work for. This may differ between candidates considering law firm and in-house roles as well as their individual goals and aspirations,” Stirling said.
Stirling stressed that career progression and the prospect of partnership can play a pivotal role in shaping senior lawyers’ decisions when considering a move between firms.
“When moving law firms at a senior level, key considerations would be progression and the partnership path for those aspiring for this,” Stirling said.
“Senior in-house practitioners are also looking for career progression, but other factors such as company/industry growth, flexibility and interesting work are key issues too.”
While remuneration remains a key consideration for senior lawyers weighing their next move, Stirling said the equation has changed in recent years, with salary no longer carrying the weight it once did on its own.
Flexibility, work/life balance and wellbeing are increasingly being weighed alongside remuneration, as practitioners look beyond their pay packet to assess whether they feel genuinely valued and rewarded for the contribution they make.
“Remuneration is obviously important for anyone when moving roles, and this may be balanced against other issues such as likely work/life balance and future potential,” Stirling said.
“They want to make sure that they are rewarded appropriately for the hard work they are putting in. Over the last five to 10 years, we have seen more consideration for flexibility, work/life balance and wellbeing rather than just salary.”
Alison Crowther, partner at Empire Group, similarly argued that there is no single factor that will determine whether a firm can successfully attract and retain experienced lawyers.
“My view is that attracting and retaining senior lawyers requires more than a single criteria because lawyers, like all professionals, have different motivations, priorities and career aspirations,” Crowther said.
For experienced practitioners, Crowther said, the draw is increasingly about whether a firm is prepared to invest in them – not simply through a competitive salary, but through meaningful recognition, genuine flexibility, clear career pathways and workloads that can be sustained over the long term.
“Experienced practitioners are looking for firms that genuinely invest in them through meaningful recognition, flexibility, clear career pathways, and a sustainable approach to workload,” Crowther said.
That investment, however, extends well beyond formal career progression, with Crowther noting that senior lawyers are increasingly looking for visible and trusted leadership, genuine recognition for high performance, and wellbeing initiatives that deliver meaningful support rather than simply paying lip service.
“Leadership visibility and trust are also critical. Lawyers want to feel that their contribution is valued, that high performance is acknowledged fairly, and that wellbeing initiatives are practical rather than symbolic,” Crowther said.
Ultimately, Crowther said firms that want to attract the profession’s most experienced practitioners will need to create workplaces where lawyers can thrive professionally without having to sacrifice their lives outside the office.
“Everyone wants to be seen and heard. Firms that create an environment where talented lawyers can do high-quality work, continue developing professionally, and maintain balance outside the office will be best placed to attract and retain the profession’s leaders,” Crowther said.
