Despite a slow year for in-house roles in 2009, a steady increase in demand for transactional positions in banking and finance, corporate and funds is expected in 2010 as financial institutions continue to recover well.

The 2010 Taylor Root Banking and Finance Services Survey says over the last few months there has been reasonable demand for lawyers with skills in financial services and wealth, superannuation, regulatory and compliance, insurance, insolvency and restructuring and equity capital markets.

However, according to the survey, superannuation, insurance and restructuring lawyers continue to be very difficult to find as most employers have started to put a higher emphasis on finding the "perfect technical fit" - much more so than in previous years.

Early 2010 has also seen the first appearance in some time of roles requiring derivatives, debt capital markets and structured finance experience. According to the survey, the fact that several of these positions have appeared concurrently is evidence of better days ahead.

The highest demand experienced in this market at the moment is for lawyers at the three to seven year post-admission mark, reflecting the trend in previous years. The survey explained how most legal teams appear to be recruiting lawyers who will grow with their business, rather than senior lateral hires, who would be more likely to expect promotion into management or business roles earlier in their career.

On the supply side, the survey points out that despite the perception the market was being flooded with good legal talent in the wake of mass redundancies, the reality is that the highest-calibre people survived the redundancy rounds and the majority of unemployed lawyers found alternative roles within one to three months.

In relation to remuneration, the survey says a significant improvement is expected across the board for the banking and financial services sector by the end of 2010.