While legal salaries across the UK have grown, the most notable gains were made by in-house lawyers, according to survey results released by specialist recruitment consultancy Robert Walters.

Primary areas

Demand for in-house personnel is also on the up in the primary areas analysed -- energy and natural resources; pharmaceuticals/biotechnology; professional services; real estate/property; retail/fast-moving consumer goods and technology/media/telecommunications.
The survey found that although demand for in-house legal professionals fluctuated throughout 2011, there was still a ‘significant increase from 2010 hiring levels’. Lawyers who had between two and seven years’ post-qualification level experience formed the most sought after group, with those who spoke additional languages or had cross-jurisdictional experience particularly coveted. Ability to cover a wide array of responsibilities was another attribute employers aimed for in the in-house recruits.

Buoyant 2012

The survey also forecast recruitment levels to remain high in 2012 after a strong end to the year in 2011.
Internationally, in-house recruitment was high in the energy, oil and gas, media and telecommunications sectors, particularly in the Middle East. For example, the Persian Gulf state, Qatar, recruited heavily as preparation for the 2022 World Cup kicks in.
Elsewhere, in North Africa, real estate and tourism were the two most heavily-recruited sectors.