Recruitment future rosy

AN INCREASE in commercial and corporate legal work could lead to a boom in the legal recruitment market, recruitment consultants Richard Owen & Harper have claimed.

A survey of 43 firms by the consultants revealed that 98 per cent had recruited permanent fee earners between October 1995 and March 1996.

Of those, 86 per cent cited extra work as the reason for the recruitment. And 56 per cent of London firms experienced difficulty in retaining professional staff. Although regional firms did not find it so hard to hold on to staff, all firms reported skill shortages, particularly in commercial/corporate.