Law firms are busier than they’ve been in years. Business is good. And they can’t find people to handle the work.
This isn’t a new problem, but it’s getting worse. We talk to managing partners every week who are frustrated. They have the clients. They have the revenue. They don’t have the attorneys and paralegals to service the work. So work gets delayed, clients get frustrated, and partners burn out trying to pick up the slack.
The question isn’t whether there are attorneys out there. There are. The question is why firms can’t find them.
The talent pool is smaller than it looks
Law school enrollment peaked about ten years ago. The number of new attorneys entering the market has been declining ever since. That means the experienced talent pool isn’t growing the way it used to.
At the same time, more attorneys are leaving the practice entirely. Some go in-house. Some leave law altogether. Some work remotely or part-time. The traditional law firm attorney is becoming less common.
For firms still trying to fill seats, this is a supply problem. There’s less supply, more demand, and the supply that exists is more selective about where it goes.
The best people aren’t advertising themselves
If you’re a good attorney, you’re not browsing job postings on LinkedIn. You’re busy. Your firm probably treats you well or you’d have already left. If you do move, someone needs to come find you.
Most law firms don’t have the resources to do that. They post a job, they hope someone applies, and when nothing happens after two months, they’re stuck. In places like Florida, the challenge is even more acute because there’s a lot of demand and limited supply.
Getting the best candidates requires actively recruiting, not passive job posting.
Compensation isn’t keeping up
Law firm salaries, especially for associates, haven’t kept pace with what in-house positions pay. The hours are often worse. The culture can be more traditional and rigid. The growth opportunities might be limited.
An attorney with four years of experience can go in-house, make more money, have better hours, have a clearer path to advancement, and not have to worry about eating what they kill with their billable hours. Why would they stay at a firm that offers less?
Some firms are starting to address this. But many are moving slowly on compensation because it means margins go down.
Remote work changed everything
Ten years ago, if you wanted to live in a small town, you had to work as a solo practitioner. Now, you can live anywhere and work for a firm anywhere.
This is great for talent flexibility. It’s terrible for local hiring. A firm in Miami now competes for talent against firms in New York, San Francisco, and Austin. And often, the firm in Austin is offering more money and better hours.
The in-house move is accelerating
More corporations are building out legal departments and hiring attorneys directly instead of outsourcing to firms. These in-house roles tend to offer better hours, clearer advancement, and better work-life balance.
For a junior or mid-level attorney, an in-house corporate role is often more attractive than staying at a firm. This has pulled talented people out of the firm world, and that trend is continuing.
Onboarding is slower now
When you do find someone, getting them productive takes longer. New attorneys need training on your systems, your processes, your clients. They need mentorship. If they’re remote, all of that is harder.
Firms used to assume six months to full productivity. Now it’s often a year or more. That means you’re paying full salary for someone who isn’t generating full revenue for longer, which reduces the ROI on the hire.
Firms are more selective
Because hiring is harder and costlier, firms are more selective about who they bring on. That’s rational, but it also means more candidate rejections, longer interview processes, and more cases where a firm passes on someone who’s “good enough” waiting for someone who’s perfect.
The perfect candidate rarely appears. So seats stay empty.
What firms can do about it
Slow down the hiring process. When you find someone good, move fast. Don’t wait for perfect. The cost of the empty seat is usually higher than the cost of getting it slightly wrong.
Invest in recruiting. Whether that’s hiring an in-house recruiter or working with an external search firm, actively recruiting costs money. But it’s usually cheaper than the alternative—leaving seats empty or making bad hires because you were desperate.
Be honest about what the job is. If your firm culture is brutal, don’t pretend it’s great. If the hours are long, don’t sugar-coat it. The attorneys who thrive in your environment will self-select in. The ones who don’t will take themselves out, and you won’t waste time with bad fits.
Offer flexibility where you can. Remote days, flexible schedules, part-time options. This dramatically expands your talent pool and appeals to attorneys who might not have considered your firm before.
Pay what you need to pay. If you want the best talent, you have to compete on salary. This squeezes margins, but empty seats and overworked partners squeeze them more.
This isn’t going to get easier
The supply of attorneys isn’t going to grow in the next five years. The preference for in-house and alternative work arrangements isn’t going away. Remote work is here to stay. The competition for talent is only going to intensify.
Firms that recruit effectively now will have an advantage. The ones that keep relying on job postings and hoping people apply will keep struggling.
If you need help finding the right people for your firm, that’s what we do. We understand the legal market and know how to find candidates who actually want to be there.
For a practical guide on what to expect from the process, read about what to expect when working with a legal recruiter in Florida. And to understand things from the candidate perspective, check out what working with a recruiter is actually like.
Ready to get started? Contact us or learn how we find top talent.