London: Associate shortage driving high salaries and retention bonuses

Law firms advertised more than 2,300 jobs for associate-level positions between January and November last year, data from BCL Legal and Vacancysoft indicate. This was a 131 per cent increase on 2020.

Matthew Porter, a director at BCL, said, however, that firms were “struggling to fill their vacancies because they are competing for the same people”.

Magic circle firm Clifford Chance advertised the most associate vacancies: 103 roles in London, up from 63 in 2019. It said it was especially needful of lawyers in areas including private equity.

But firms have also suffered high attrition rates during the pandemic as lawyers quit due to burnout. Leopard Solutions, a data intelligence firm, said associate departures at London law firms exceeded hires from other law firms by 46 per cent between December 2020 and 2021.

Firms are addressing the talent shortage by making more attractive offers to candidates, including retention bonuses where lawyers threaten to defect to rival firms. Some are even being allowed to name their price for retention.

Sarah Thompson, head of contract lawyering business Adaptive, part of Simmons & Simmons, said: “The contractor market was quite hot pre-pandemic but the pandemic really accelerated it. Clients have really been struggling with reduced headcount and resourcing.”