The Department of Labor noted that legal jobs dipped in January of this year.  That trend appears to be continuing, as new listings on Firm Prospects from law firms, in-house legal departments and government agencies all dipped slightly in February.

Law Firm Jobs

New law firm job listings dipped slightly in February as compared to the prior month, with 1,050 new job posts, a decline of 3% month-over-month.

New job postings continue to be dominated by firms seeking litigation and labor & employment attorneys, mainly at the associate level.  As seen in the chart below, over 38% of all law firm job listings in February were seeking litigation attorneys, followed by Labor & Employment at 12.7%.

Considering the practice areas most sought after in February job posts by law firms, it will come as no surprise that firms with a litigation and/or employment focus listed the most new positions. As can be seen in the chart below, Ogletree Deakins, Norton Rose, Jackson Lewis, Lewis Brisbois and Nelson Mullins posted the most new jobs in February, with Ogletree leading the pack with a whopping 72 new job listings last month.

The major metropolitan areas with the largest attorney populations topped the list of locations with the most new attorney job listings in February. As seen in the chart below, New York led the pack with over 90 new law firm job listings in February, followed by Los Angeles with 60 new posts.

IN-HOUSE JOBS

New in-house job listings saw a steeper decline in February as compared to law firm listings, with 1,520 new jobs posted by corporate legal departments, a decline of 414, or 21% as compared to January.  Meta topped the list of in-house legal departments looking to find legal talent, followed by Wells Fargo and KPMG.

GOVERNMENT JOBS

Job postings by government agencies looking to hire attorneys also declined in February, with 626 total new listings, a decline of 158 jobs as compared to the prior month, or just over 20%.  The DOJ led all government agencies with 59 new job listings in February, followed by a number of states seeking attorneys at various levels and within different departments.

FIRM PROSPECTS CAREER TOOLS

For attorneys exploring a career change, seeking to reconnect with former classmates and colleagues, or conducting thorough law firm research, Firm Prospects is the perfect platform to take charge of your career. Start today by creating an account and unlock the tools you need to make informed decisions and grow your professional network.