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 and those aged between 30 and 39.

Firm choices of 40-something lawyers

According to the findings, legal professionals aged between 40 and 49 are keen to work at the following firms, having identified these practices via their primary and then secondary votes:

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10. Herbert Smith Freehills

9. MinterEllison

8. Hive Legal

7. Sparke Helmore Lawyers

6. Hall & Wilcox

5. Maurice Blackburn

4. Gadens Lawyers

3. Ashurst

2. King & Wood Mallesons

1. Lander & Rogers

Comments

Speaking about the findings, Lawyers Weekly editor Jerome Doraisamy said that the choices made by lawyers in their 40s vary significantly from lawyers with fewer years of experience, with these older practitioners apparently more likely to view national plaintiff firms and emerging NewLaw practices favourably.

“The motivations of mid-life lawyers appear vastly different to their younger counterparts, which no doubt is influenced by myriad personal, vocational and financial considerations,” he said.

“What these particular findings — as well as those pertaining to lawyers in earlier decades — suggest is that legal employers, and ultimately recruiters, must ensure that their messaging and targeting of prospective employees must be idiosyncratic and cater to the unique needs of legal professionals, and not just presume that lawyers all fit into a cookie-cutter mould.”

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
• Top 25 Attraction Firms: Where lawyers in their 30s want to work