Legal Hiring Trends 2024 | Robert Half
Hiring for new permanent roles Hiring for new permanent roles

Hiring for vacated permanent roles Hiring for vacated permanent roles

Facing challenges finding skilled talent Facing challenges finding skilled talent

Lawyers and managers list their strategic priorities for 2024

Technology integration Expansion of practice areas Data security and privacy compliance Alternative fee structures Legal optimization and efficiency Technology implementation and automation Risk and litigation management AI innovation and governance

Legal professionals in highest demand

The following positions are in the top 15% of in-demand legal roles, according to an analysis of thousands of job postings and Robert Half placements: Director, litigation support/eDiscovery Lawyer/attorney, 4-9 years’ experience Lawyer/attorney, 2-3 years’ experience Legal assistant Paralegal manager Paralegal, 2-3 years’ experience Learn more about the top roles in demand

53% of legal employers plan to engage more contract professionals

Areas where they are most likely to use contract professionals:  General administrative (e.g., administrative assistant, file clerk) Legal administrative (e.g., legal secretary) Legal research and analysis (e.g., paralegal, legal assistant) Law firm administration (e.g., legal administrator, office manager) Legal specialist (e.g., patent agent, records manager) Litigation support and eDiscovery (e.g., eDiscovery specialist, document coder)

Current unemployment rates

From Current Population Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, July 5, 2024. Percentages reflect unemployment rates for select positions that were near or below the national average at the end of second quarter 2024. 1.1% — Lawyers 2.0% — Paralegals and legal assistants
Over 1 million new positions from more than 8,000 independent job boards and company websites are represented in this report, including 100,000-plus placements from Robert Half. Positions are categorized into more than 450 job titles within Robert Half’s Salary Guide using a proprietary mapping methodology that employs state-of-the-art large language models. This dataset includes roles across the finance and accounting, technology, marketing and creative, legal, administrative and customer support, healthcare support, and human resources professions.  Surveys were developed by Robert Half and conducted by independent research firms. Results may not total 100% due to rounding or allowing for multiple responses. Respondents included executives, hiring managers and workers from small (1-99 employees), midsize (100-999 employees) and large (1,000-10,000 or more employees) businesses in private, publicly listed and public sector organizations across the United States.