The survey – produced by the Robert Walkers Legal agency – predicts a generally stagnant atmosphere for corporate legal functions this year, with most general counsel under strict instructions only to replace departing staff and not to grow their teams.

Clamp-down

Reported in the Lawyers Weekly magazine, the survey says the recruitment clamp-down is a continuance from last year’s corporate policy, which had the effect of boosting private practice hiring in Sydney as more work was farmed out to law firms.
Nick Ahern, the recruitment agency’s head in Sydney, told the magazine that unless a lawyer leaves a legal department, general counsel ‘will struggle to get sign off and they are expected to do more with the same or less recourses ...’ The survey also found that in-house remuneration packages in Sydney were also generally stagnating.

Bucking the trend

However, the survey confirmed other recent research showing that some in-house fields were bucking the trend. The agency found some energy companies in Brisbane were boosting their in-house legal numbers, although the Queensland picture overall was depressed by a spate of public sector legal department redundancies. That meant that the salary picture in Brisbane mirrored that in Sydney and was generally flat.

Pay hikes

Nonetheless, according to the report, the researchers maintained that the in-house lawyers best positioned to cut a pay rise deal were those of five to eight years’ post-qualification experience  in the financial services, property or energy sectors. Indeed, those fortunate specialists could negotiate pay hikes by as much as 23 per cent.
In-house technology, media and telecommunications specialists also had some bargaining leverage, with some able to expect pay rises of around 13 per cent.