The private practice market in London very quickly adapted to the ‘new normal’ way of working and this was reflected in a buoyant recruitment market over the last 12 months. The majority of law firms have now successfully adopted hybrid-working which has been an 
unquestionable successful across the legal sector in the City.

Competition for the best Associate level lawyers remains to be of the upmost importance to all the major law firms in London. Many top-tier firms have increased their salary bandings and we have also seen a continued trend in firms offering additional benefit rewards. NQ Retention in London has also been strong in the last 12 months with many firms retaining the majority of trainees and still requiring to make additional lateral hires in transactional areas. Associates with strong academics and experience in the following areas will find themselves
with options in the current private practice market in London:  corporate, banking, construction/ projects, investment funds, regulatory, financial services and technology/intellectual property.

If you are a lawyer from Scotland or Ireland considering a move to the City, the diversity of your experience and level of client interaction will often be what appeals to the top-tier firms. Scottish and Irish lawyers with interests in more niche areas such as media, sports, derivatives and capital markets will find these types of positions will be readily  available in London.

We also expect to see a rise in Senior Associate and Partner level hires in 2023/24 in London. This will be fuelled by continued ambitious growth plans of the national, international and US firms but also to address senior level turnover as a natural result of the pandemic.

We also expect to see a rise in Senior Associate and Partner level hires in 2023/24 in London. This will be fuelled by continued ambitious  growth plans of the national and international law firms but also to address senior level turnover as we expect to see many lawyers at this level to consider their options elsewhere following the recovery from  the pandemic.

Recruitment activity in the London in-house market over the last 12 months has been high following the pandemic. Many in-house  lawyers opted to wait until better economic conditions and exit from the Covid 19 pandemic before making a move. This has met the 
need for many companies with strategic growth and expansion plans  as well as replacing lawyers who have sought out new opportunities during the last 24 months.

Competition for the best talent in popular sectors, such as technology & media, energy and financial services has returned and is showing no sign of slowing down. We would expect to see a continued rise in junior to mid-level in-house opportunities and due to reduced activity 
during the pandemic, we also anticipate seeing a rise in vacancies at General Counsel, Head of Legal and Senior Legal Counsel levels across the majority of key sectors.

Demand for lawyers with regulatory experience is expected to continue within the banking and financial sectors which accounts as one of the largest in-house sectors in the UK. Lawyers with experience in: regulatory, commercial contracts, renewable energy, funds, outsourcing, data protection and financial services are of increasing interest. Indeed, many in-house companies in the City are now actively recruiting from outside the London market to meet high levels of demand.

Scottish lawyers with experience from the oil & gas market in Aberdeen and the highly respected financial services sector in Edinburgh will have options in-house in 2023/24 if considering a move to the City. Equally so, Irish lawyers with exposure to IT/IP, outsourcing, 
telecoms, data privacy and social/ digital media will find this can be  an excellent route to making a direct move in-house in London.