2026 Canada legal hiring trends

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1.9%* December 2025 unemployment rate

Legal teams face mounting pressure as focus intensifies on priorities like growth, efficiency and technology adoption. Legal departments and law firms both aim to implement more legal technology in 2026, particularly AI-driven tools, while also managing additional priorities like budget optimization and client acquisition. Together, these competing priorities increase the strain on already stretched teams.

These initiatives require talent with both legal expertise and tech fluency—a combination of skills that is not easy to find. Without the right mix, teams risk slower service delivery and compliance challenges. A specialized staffing firm can help employers bridge gaps quickly, providing professionals who strengthen client relationships, manage risk and leverage technology to keep legal operations competitive and future-ready.

Hiring managers: Get customized insights and workforce strategies from a Robert Half talent solutions professional.

Strategic priorities for 2026

Leaders of corporate legal departments and law firms shared their strategic priorities for 2026. Expect demand—and competition—to increase for professionals with the specialized skills needed to advance these critical initiatives.

Alternative legal service provider (ALSP) management

Data privacy and cybersecurity

AI and legal technology implementation

Data privacy and cybersecurity

Succession planning and talent development

Legal teams face skills shortfalls that can stall critical initiatives. All leaders surveyed reported not having the necessary headcount and skill sets to accomplish priority projects this year, and 58% said they need to upskill current team members.

Flexible staffing solutions can also help teams gain the necessary expertise to keep operations running smoothly.

Legal
technology Legal
operations and
workflow Legal
research and
analysis Data privacy
and
cybersecurity Specialized
practice
areas Legal
technology Legal
operations and
workflow Legal
research and
analysis Data privacy
and
cybersecurity Specialized
practice
areas

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Critical
thinking and
problem solving Adaptability
and continuous
learning Creativity and
innovation Communication Emotional
intelligence Critical
thinking and
problem solving Adaptability
and continuous
learning Creativity and
innovation Communication Emotional
intelligence

Skills in highest demand

Recruiting professionals with specialized abilities and expertise enables leaders to advance strategic initiatives. An analysis of thousands of job postings over the past year shows which technical proficiencies employers value most in legal professionals—making a competitive hiring strategy essential.

AI literacy

Compliance

Contract management

eDiscovery

Ethics and corporate governance

Intellectual property

Litigation

Mergers and acquisitions

Hiring plans for 2026

67%

of legal leaders said finding skilled talent is more difficult today than a year ago.

62%

expect to increase headcount in the first half of 2026.

57%

plan to increase contract hiring.

Roles shaping hiring strategies

The following positions have experienced above-average sequential growth and consistent demand throughout the past 12 months according to an analysis of thousands of job postings and Robert Half placements:

Contract administrator

Lawyer, 2-3 years' experience

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More to explore

Labour market overview Stay on top of Robert Half and Statistics Canada job posting data to learn about today’s hiring market.

Staffing for small businesses Stay competitive in today’s hiring landscape with trends and strategies specifically tailored for small businesses.

2026 Canada Salary Guide Explore the latest data for roles across 6 professional fields and what you should pay or earn in local and national markets.

In-demand legal roles Dive deeper into the legal roles most in demand. Also learn what proficiencies and skills are growing in demand.

*Statistics Canada, seasonally adjusted, January 2026.

The surveys cited were developed by Robert Half and conducted by an independent research firm. Results may not total 100% due to rounding or allowing for multiple responses. Respondents included executives, hiring managers and workers from small (10-99 employees), midsize (100-999 employees) and large (1,000+ employees) businesses in private, publicly listed and public sector organizations across Canada.

Over 650,000 new positions from more than 4,900 independent job boards and company websites are represented in this report, including thousands of placements from Robert Half. Positions are categorized into more than 365 job titles within Robert Half’s Salary Guide using a proprietary mapping methodology that employs state-of-the-art large language models. This dataset includes roles across the finance and accounting, technology, marketing and creative, legal, administrative and customer support, and human resources professions.