Sharp rise in local authorities opting for permanent legal recruitment

Local authorities are increasingly opting to recruit lawyers on a permanent basis, a leading public sector recruitment firm has reported.

In the October 2011 of Badenoch & Clark’s Professional talent spotlight, Duncan Ward, Operations Director (Legal), also said that the recruitment freeze in central government was thawing.

On the local government legal jobs market, Ward said: “Despite ongoing hiring freezes within a large number of organisations, recruitment for ‘critical hires’ remains. Due to the additional red tape now involved in both temporary and permanent hiring, there has been a sharp increase in the number of local authorities opting to recruit on a permanent basis, to secure headcount over a longer period and minimise lengthy processes.”

On Whitehall, he said: “With some departments in central government realising that it is generally more cost effective for them to deal with complex legal work in house rather than outsourcing to a law firm, there has been an uplift in demand for commercial lawyers in central government. The Government Legal Service is now recruiting for a number of departments, with a focus on commercial law and litigation as a result.”

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