Now in its eighth iteration, the Top 25 Attraction Firms ranking is a key element of the Legal Firm of Choice Survey, which identifies the most sought-after private legal practices across the country.

This latest survey was conducted between 14 November and 13 December 2022 and received 462 responses in total, recording the attitudes, priorities and perceptions of private practice and in-house legal professionals in Australia.

In the past fortnight, Lawyers Weekly has published the Top 25 Attraction Firms ranking for 2022–23, detailing which firms lawyers in private practice would most like to move to. Also revealed last week were findings that one-quarter of lawyers plan to leave their current firms and will do so in the coming months, and which lawyers are most likely to leave in the near future.

Moreover, and for the first time, the Legal Firm of Choice Survey polled in-house respondents, exploring — among other things — which law firms law departments engaged, the volume of law firms utilised by one’s law department in the past year, whether those in-house professionals would recommend their chosen firms to others, and how they would rank the performance of the firms engaged.

Lawyers Weekly has also revealed the firms of choice broken down by gender, as well as the preferred BigLaw employers of those under 30.

Firm choices of 30-something lawyers

According to the findings, legal professionals aged between 30 and 39 are keen to work at the following firms, having identified these practices via their primary and then secondary votes:

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10. Mills Oakley

9. PwC Legal

8. Hall & Wilcox

7. Allens

6. MinterEllison

5. Corrs Chambers Westgarth

4. Baker McKenzie

3. Lander & Rogers

2. King & Wood Mallesons

1. Herbert Smith Freehills

Comments

Speaking about the findings, Lawyers Weekly editor Jerome Doraisamy said that lawyers’ choices once they enter their 30s will vary, but are likely influenced by longer-term personal factors.

“As a broad generalisation, lawyers in their 30s are settled into their practice areas and have a good sense of where their careers are going. As such, they are able to focus their attention on what comes next in life, and thus will value longer-term financial security, allowances for family planning and leadership pathways,” he said.

“The choices made by lawyers in their 30s to this survey are perhaps reflective of those, and other, lifestyle and vocational drivers.”

To read Lawyers Weekly’s full coverage of the latest Legal Firm of Choice Survey, see below:

• Top 25 attraction firms unveiled for 2022–23
• What firms did law departments use in 2022?
• 1 in 4 lawyers plan to leave their firms (and soon)
• How happy are law departments with their legal services panels?
• Women, junior lawyers most likely to leave firms
• Law firms not likely to be recommended by in-house teams
• Top 25 Attraction firms 2022–23 (by gender)
• Top 25 Attraction Firms: Where those aged 18-29 want to work