According to Katherine Sampson, Mahlab Recruitment's managing director in Melbourne, corporate and government organisations often attempt to bolster their internal legal capacity during a downturn because they view it as a cheaper alternative to briefing work out to external firms.

"We find, in any downturn, one of the immediate things that happens is that corporate recruitment rises ... [and] we've got more government recruitment than we've had for years," she said.

"It's based on their assumption - and I'm not saying it's a true assumption - that they will save money."

According to Sampson, corporate and government organisations believe that reducing the volume of work being briefed out to firms is a quick-fix way of cutting costs.

"They're saying:'If we take on a lawyer for $200,000 we're going to save $X million in external legal fees.' It's quite a simplistic view, but it's one that's strongly held," she said.

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