In-House Job Outlook for 2016

According to information compiled by Robert Half Legal, the legal staffing and consulting firm, many legal departments don't' plan to hire or fire in the coming year.

Looking a little more closely at the data, it appears that in-house lawyers can rejoice: legal departments don't plan on reducing their spend too much. Only 1 percent of in-house lawyers report that their legal departments plan to eliminate jobs in the new year. Not bad!

Skilled Workers Need Apply

Charles Volkert, the executive director of Robert Half, says that corporate counsel who have several years' experience in areas like litigation, mergers, and compliance are in particular demand right now. It looks like counsel in these areas can write their ticket.

Health Care on the Rise

Robert Half predicts that health care compliance will be in demand, second only to general business and commercial law, the latter of which consistently takes the top spot. Although it's been several years since the passage of Obamacare, companies continue to struggle with its complexities. It does not help either that they must now also worry about compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accounting Act.

Lawyers Seek More Than Money

Perhaps helping lawyers is the concern among companies that they might lose their skilled personnel to other greener opportunities. According to RH, lawyers said that about a third of the companies out there had such concerns.

And it isn't money, either. Yes, purpose and engagement were concerns that came into focus when asked how companies can keep talented lawyers on their staff.

Hey, we already knew this...

FindLaw has an affiliate relationship with Indeed, earning a small amount of money each time someone uses Indeed's services via FindLaw. FindLaw receives no compensation in exchange for editorial coverage.

Related Resources:

• Need a great hire? Post a job with Indeed. (Indeed)
• Should Lawyers Submit to an E-Discovery Competence Audit? (FindLaw's Strategist)
• How Big Data May Change Law Firm Hiring Practices (FindLaw's Strategist)
• For 2016, Should You Expand Your Practice to ... Walmart? (FindLaw's Strategist)