While virtually all large law firms have substantially cut management hiring during the current Covid-19 pandemic, an exclusive TMG survey of law firm human resources and talent professionals reveals that financial hires are far and away expected to be the key focus of law firm recruiting in the months to come.
According to the survey, 58 percent of the respondents said that they anticipated hiring financial professionals in the near future. That was far higher than the 21 percent expecting to hire either information technology or human resources/talent professionals. Only 11 percent said that they are likely to be focused on recruiting marketing professionals. At the same time, the current state of law firm management recruiting is at a near standstill. Overall, 57 percent of the respondents said their firms have ordered a formal hiring freeze; but virtually all of the rest of the respondents indicated that actual hiring of staff has been reduced dramatically.
Other findings of the TMG survey, conducted in June of 2020:
- 74 percent say their firms have set a date for reopening, but nearly all indicated those openings are on a very limited basis, and that most personnel are not returning on a regular basis in the foreseeable future
- 100 percent indicate that their firms will institute safeguards such as temperature checks, health screening, hand-sanitizing stations, plexiglass shields, and employer-supplied masks
- 78 percent report that office space will be reconfigured to adapt to social distancing mandates
- 74 percent have plans to implement staggered start times or alternate work days
- 95 percent indicate that work from home will be an option for everyone in the immediate future
- 50 percent report plans to downsize their office space
- 62 percent report that their firms have not cut salaries of administrative professionals, and a large majority of the rest say that cuts do not apply to those earning less than a set amount (usually $100,000 or $125,000)
Those interested in receiving additional information should contact TMG Principal Cassie Battle (
cassieb@tmg-dc.com
) or TMG Executive Principal Stephen Nelson (
snelson@tmg-dc.com
).
