News Briefs

SALARY HIKES
The annual Hays Salary Guide suggests legal salaries are starting to rise again as the effects of the global financial crisis begin to wane. The major findings in the report include:

  • Market changes: the Australian legal scene has returned to a "jobs rich" market. Hays comments: "From top-tier to small firms, private practice as well as in-house and government, all are recruiting again. The most noticeable change has been an increase in demand in specialist areas such as property, corporate, commercial and, most noticeably, banking and finance. As the financial services market recovers there is an increasing demand for good banking and finance lawyers, both in-house and with firms."
  • Recruitment practices: employers are seeking to ensure they recruit the right candidate, with the recruitment process lengthening as a result. Hays comments: "In some cases employers are producing business cases on the feasibility of roles and on a candidate's ability to add value immediately."
  • Positions in demand: the report says work volumes have increased within the corporate, banking, energy and resources, property and construction and commercial law sectors. Hays comments: "Western Australia is experiencing huge demand for talented energy and resources as well as construction lawyers, with many firms recruiting in preparation for the next resources boom."
  • Salary movements: the prediction is for salaries to rise 3 to 5 per cent, with larger increases in exceptional circumstances. Hays comments: "Those lawyers whose salaries have been stagnant for a long period of time are likely to receive a larger salary increase. These increases are due to a growing economy, with many firms offering competitive packages to secure talent and increasing salaries at performance reviews in order to retain staff."

 

INDIA TIES
In a breakthrough for the Australian and Indian legal professions, an agreement has been reached between the Bar Council of India, the Law Council of Australia, the Council of Australian Law Deans and the International Legal Services Advisory Council to boost legal cooperation and exchange between the four bodies. The deal is also expected to strengthen cooperation between the legal profession, academics and institutions of both nations. Law Council president Glenn Ferguson notes the partnership formally recognises the common law heritage Australia shares with India and says the agreement will form the basis of the development of future effective legal cooperation and goodwill on issues of mutual interest.

 

SLEEP KILLERS
What is keeping CEOs and business leaders awake at night in Queensland? The latest feedback from the CEO Institute of Queensland reveals the top five issues on the minds of leaders of the state's largest private and public companies and professional firms. They are:

  1. The nature of the economic recovery after the global financial crisis - headaches such as tighter access to funds, concerns about European sovereign debt issues and weaknesses in the growth picture for China.
  2. Government and infrastructure issues - especially infrastructure planning and development, along with the impact of federal government policy failures and implementation problems.
  3. Recruitment and retention - with the possible exception of property and building services, CEOs are worried about a lack of available talent and have discussed the need for talent identification programs.
  4. Board and executive relationships - CEOs want to know how they can best negotiate and define their own role and that of their board, and how issues of corporate governance compliance versus corporate performance affect a board.
  5. Leadership and team development - CEOs are struggling with big-picture items such as how to get the right executive management team and address any dysfunction in their own teams.

 

RATE REPORT
A looming report from the United States confirms that many law firms charge different clients radically different amounts for the same kind of work. The Real Rate report surveying 3448 partners, associates and paralegals will be officially released in September by CT TyMetrix, a provider of web-based legal operations management solutions, and The Corporate Executive Board. However, some preliminary findings make for interesting reading. They include:

  • 78 per cent of timekeepers bill different hourly rates to different clients for similar work, with the largest rate differences ranging from US$350 to US$1000 an hour
  • last year, law firm partners charged up to US$1590 per hour for work with major corporate customers.However, when the total hours billed at each rate are considered, the report found that the median partner rate was US$340 per hour, meaning rates billed by partners are much lower than the typical ‘rack rates' reported in many surveys.

  

GENDER SNUB
The latest partnership survey in The Australian newspaper reports that female lawyers are still being snubbed for senior roles despite their growing presence overall in law firms. It suggests "the career prospects of senior women lawyers have not kept pace with their male counterparts". The survey notes that the current intake of partners at 30 leading law firms is 31 per cent higher than for the same period last year but that the number of new women partners has grown by just 6.3 per cent.