Recruitment Market Update 2024 – In-house Legal & Company Secretarial

Key trends in in-house legal & company secretarial recruitment

The impact of private practice salaries

For nearly a decade, starting salaries for newly qualified lawyers have seen significant year-on-year increases at private practice firms. A lawyer beginning their career at a US firm can now expect to earn the equivalent of £180,000 annually, while top UK firms are paying approximately £150,000.

This trend is having a huge impact on the supply of good candidates to in-house legal functions, as many departments are unable to keep pace with private practice salary inflation.

In the past, moving in-house may have come with a pay bump, and even recently lawyers could have expected a small but palatable reduction in their salary. Today, accepting an in-house legal job means taking a substantial financial hit, so newly qualified lawyers are persuaded to stay in private practice for longer.

There are still many compelling reasons to move in-house, however. Lawyers often enjoy greater variety in workloads, a better work-life balance and the chance to see projects through from start to finish. Meanwhile, private practice can be an intense working environment that takes a toll on mental health, meaning the route to partnership is not appealing to everyone.

Budget restrictions hamper hiring

In addition to private practice salaries creating hiring challenges, in-house legal departments are also facing broader budgetary pressures. The average budget was slashed by 12% in 2024, according to recent research.

As a result, 95% of GCs claim they have inadequate staffing levels and 90% say they are worried they’ll be unable to invest in the people and resources they need to meet their organisation’s legal and regulatory obligations.

Unfortunately, UK GCs often struggle to secure enough money to build their in-house teams because – unlike in the US – legal is typically viewed as a second-line advisory function. They are therefore treated as a cost centre, rather than an integral part of the organisation’s front line.

With ever-growing workloads, GCs must often rely on private practice firms to alleviate some of the burden. While this arrangement solves the immediate problem, it only increases the demand for private practice services, driving salaries at these firms even higher.

To combat this, GCs need to ensure they are well represented on the executive committee and, ideally, the Board. It is only through exposure at this level that they can demonstrate the value of a strong in-house legal team and secure the budgets and headcount to offer meaningful departmental growth.

Restructuring on the rise

In-house legal departments see relatively little movement at the top end of the market. As such, GCs don’t change jobs often, and this can lead to a lack of opportunities for other senior lawyers who wish to advance their careers.

Many organisations are therefore seeking ways to restructure in-house teams to allow for more responsibility and progression within departments. This has led to the creation of roles beneath the GC level that provide real leadership and management opportunities, along with a grander title.

There are merits to this approach, as people are eager to be seen as progressing their career, and a new job title can enhance engagement, at least in the short term.

Within co-sec teams, there continues to be discussions over whether a corporate legal background is preferred within the profession or not. These decisions are usually driven by the type of business, level of hire and background of the current team.

However, it remains difficult for co-sec candidates to move between listed and non-listed companies. This is especially true for those trying to switch from non-listed to listed due to the slightly more complex requirements of the latter.