Recruitment and Staff Retention in Legal Practices: How do you attract and retain staff?
Allan Smith · Posted on: September 24th 2025 · read
We recently held our first roundtable event in Scotland in our Edinburgh office and were delighted to welcome representatives from the Scotland legal sector to our office to discuss issues that they were facing. It was an informative and interesting discussion with a lot of common ground being shared in the problems that were being faced in the sector.
The legal sector is experiencing issues in retaining and attracting staff, particularly at manager level. There are various issues causing this and firms are using several measures to try to mitigate the problem.
Hybrid working
There has been a shift in the way people operate with much more work being able to be done remotely and although there seems to be a small move back to in person working, firms are having to consider their at home working policy in terms of what they can offer and the technology that they provide if they want to compete.
There is an expectation amongst candidates that this will be available and if it isn’t there is a danger that firm’s will lose out on candidates to their competitors.
Consideration also needs to be given to how you train new lawyers if there is a hybrid working policy. Traditional training was very much in person and replicating that remotely can be a challenge and involves a different way of working. This will become even more of an issue as AI evolves and improves. Firm’s that do not adapt to this risk being left behind.
The Rise of In-House Roles
"There is a trend of newly qualified lawyers being lost to In-house legal roles. These roles can be attractive if the perception is that they can offer a great work life balance."
"This shift presents both a challenge and an opportunity for traditional law firms who must think about how they work and what they can offer to compete with these roles."
Wellbeing concerns
Salary is no longer the deciding factor for people looking for work. Wellbeing is hugely important, and people are paying much more attention to their work life balance. In our recent survey in conjunction with The Law Society there was clear evidence that achieving partner status was no longer seen as the be all and end all. Presumably the view is that the work and long hours involved are not worth the rewards. A worrying trend!
Firms need to consider what else they can offer staff and be aware of their staff wellbeing if they are to compete in the marketplace.
Flexible working allows people to fit work into busy lives, but other examples of things employers can provide are providing counselling services, mental health first aiders, encouraging physical wellbeing with discounted gym membership or fitness challenges and health insurance or screenings.
Diversity and Inclusion
Legal firms need to have a progressive and forward-thinking Diversity and Inclusion policy if they are to compete in the marketplace and attract the top talent. Working for a socially responsible organisation is a key issue for candidates. Not only do firms have to have a policy in place, but they also need to be seen to be acting on it.
Salaries
A shortage of candidates in the marketplace undoubtedly leads to an expectation of higher salaries.
One of the consequences of this is that there is a not as big of a jump in salary to more senior positions. Does this make senior positions less attractive if there is not as much of a reward for the increase in responsibility?
Another problem is that by paying new hires higher salaries than existing employees you run the risk of causing existing staff to feel undervalued.
Conclusion
If you are to succeed in recruiting and retaining staff firms need to consider a wide range of factors. Paying the highest salaries is no longer enough! Candidates are placing a much higher emphasis on their well-being and work life balance than they might have done in the past.
