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Leaders of law firms and corporate legal departments report it takes nearly 6 weeks on average to hire candidates for permanent roles.   According to Robert Half’s research on legal hiring trends, the duration of the hiring cycle for in-house teams, from writing the job description to having a candidate accept an offer, is slightly less than that of law firms.

of leaders in the legal profession said evaluating applications and determining who to interview are their greatest hiring challenges. of leaders in the legal profession said evaluating applications and determining who to interview are their greatest hiring challenges.

Hiring for strategic priorities

Legal leaders shared the top strategic initiatives for which they will hire more staff through the end of the year. Expanding to new practice areas Data security and privacy compliance AI and legal technology integration Technology implementation and automation Compliance and regulatory affairs AI innovation and governance

of legal leaders reported skills gaps within their department.

said the impact of those gaps has increased in the past year.

Where skills gaps are most evident

Paralegal, legal assistant and operations Legal support and records Law firm administration Legal research and analysis Legal operations and efficiencies Litigation support and eDiscovery Legal support and records  Corporate counsel

Make sense of shifting job market dynamics

Our Labor Market Overview connects the dots between U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, job postings and hiring trends, giving you a clearer view of employment shifts, workforce turnover and where opportunities are growing. Get the latest info
Almost all legal leaders plan to add new staff or at least maintain headcount in the second half of 2025 to support top business priorities. Yet 96% said it’s challenging to find the talent they need in the current market.

of legal leaders are hiring for new permanent positions.

are hiring only for vacated permanent positions.

Hiring plans: contract roles

65% of legal leaders said they’re increasing their use of contract talent in the second half of 2025. They also shared what they view as the greatest value in engaging these professionals. Access to specialized skills or experience Cost savings compared with hiring permanent employees Flexibility in scaling workforce Faster time to staff critical roles

Legal professionals in highest demand

The following positions are in the top 15% of in-demand legal roles, according to an analysis of thousands of job postings and Robert Half placements: Compliance director  Contract manager In-house counsel, 4-9 years' experience  Lawyer/attorney, 2-3 years’ experience Lawyer/attorney, 10+ years’ experience Paralegal Article: Learn more about the top roles in demand

At Robert Half, we know talent

Our mission: Bringing great companies and skilled talent together to help build successful businesses and rewarding careers. Innovation and high ethical standards have taken us from a small operation to the world’s largest specialized talent solutions and business consulting firm with offices across the globe. Hire Talent Schedule a walk-through Looking for a job? Search jobs now
The survey cited was 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 and hiring managers from small (10-99 employees), midsize (100-999 employees) and large (1,000+ employees) businesses in private, publicly listed and public sector organizations across the U.S. Over 4 million new positions from more than 8,000 independent job boards and company websites are represented in this report, including 340,000-plus placements from Robert Half. Positions are categorized into more than 450 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, healthcare support, and human resources professions.