Wrapping Up Q1: New Technology, New Talent & Tight Budgets—What This Means for Interim Legal Opportunities

New talent: The marketplace is constantly evolving with new talent, all coming with nuanced skillsets and highly focused areas of expertise. While many interim opportunities are still searching for generalists and “jacks of all trades,” one prediction for 2024 is that organizations hiring on a permanent basis will be looking to strategically add specific skillsets that their current legal team doesn’t have. The most notable areas of niche focus include privacy skills and M&A/joint venture financing as well as a desire for lawyers with specific industry experience. As a job seeker, you should tailor your resume to each job application to set yourself up for the best opportunity for an interview request. If you have a broad, general commercial background, interim roles may present more opportunities for you as you will be seen as an asset to large corporations who can use your skills in varying areas of need.

1. New technology: AI and automation are allowing job seekers to apply for jobs, draft template cover letters and thank you notes, and negotiate for the highest rates with more ease than ever before. Although the reward seems high—a quick and easy turnaround on variations of your resume may seem appealing—we caution job seekers to only utilize AI for high-level aspects of your job search. Partnering with an industry expert or a knowledgeable recruiter who will be able to provide advice on the unique requirements for different job postings as well as provide guidance on nuanced and unfamiliar areas of your job search will provide those job seekers with an edge over competition. The value a skilled recruiter brings to the relationship trumps the pitfalls of trusting AI with your new career move.

2. Status Quo of Remote Work: By now most organizations have established their return to office (RTO) policy. The return to on-site or hybrid has certainly impacted some permanent employees who are now finding they need to relocate or resign, which is pushing some attorneys back into the market earlier than they expected. For those whom working remotely is a top priority, interim opportunities are still offering the chance to access challenging work but on their own terms. We continue to see a constant need for remote interim opportunities and an increase in organizations and law firms engaging consultants to help address bandwidth challenges.

3. New Legal Career Path: With the increased automation of contract negotiation, record retention and legal forecasting/analytics, companies and law firms are beginning to cast a wider net when sourcing for potential hires. There is increased demand for skilled contracts managers, chief legal officers and legal analysts across varying industries as companies look for new ways to grow their legal team and leverage the expertise of a broad range of employees. This not only allows for a crossover internally with having employees serve as a liaison between internal departments (HR, finance, marketing, etc.) and legal, but it has opened the door for individuals who do not possess a JD to advance their careers through the help of new technology and tactics of innovative legal teams. We recommend that non-lawyer candidates explore both permanent and interim opportunities that provide access to career building industries, organizations and skills.

4. Tight budgets: CEOs and CFOs are still being very mindful of budgets and being strategic with hiring, especially when companies and firms are looking for headcount approvals for permanent hires. Now more than ever we are seeing more and more organizations take advantage of interim and consulting services to find top talent, without seeking lofty budget approvals from their CFO. Many times, interim roles will be utilizing non-legal budgets within organizations, which only increases the opportunity potential for job seekers who are willing to look outside of the traditional permanent, legal department job postings. Consulting not only provides flexibility for both the job seeker and employer, but it also can serve to be just as lucrative for those out of work or those looking to supplement their current income.