You have all heard that the property market is booming in Melbourne right now – what you might be wondering is whether the jobs market is booming for legal secretaries and support staff to match it!
With housing prices and the demand for properties on the rise, is it safe to assume the demand for property legal secretaries and conveyancing clerks is on the upward move too?
Let’s take a look at the hot-spots for staff in the legal support world right now…
1. Conveyancing
We are seeing a massive demand for intermediate and senior conveyancing clerks who can manage their own high volume caseload across all of Melbourne, but particularly in the CBD and the inner and outer southern and eastern suburbs. The demand is for both permanent and for temporary staff and also for staff with language skills. We also have some training based roles outside of law firms for career driven, switched-on conveyancers looking for a career change.
2. Property and Construction
Experienced legal secretaries and paralegals (over 5 years experience) in the property/real estate/planning/construction domain are hot property and sought after by CBD mid and top tier firms and in-house teams at the moment.
3. Litigation
CBD and suburban firms all have a preference for legal secretaries and law clerks/paralegals with at least 12 months experience at a busy practice. Exposure to multiple areas of litigation (i.e. commercial, insurance, WorkCover) will definitely boost your desirability! There is also a strong preference for career law clerks/paralegals – that is, those who are not studying law degrees.
4. Administrative/Reception/Multiple practice experience
Another area where we have seen a spike in demand for both permanent and temporary staff – firms are looking for skilled, personable and switched-on administrative staff with fast typing skills (60wpm +), advanced Microsoft skills and experience in a law firm as a receptionist, in an administrative capacity or as a legal secretary across multiple practice areas. The firms looking for these roles are generally boutique CBD or suburban firms.
5. Temporary/Contract roles
Aside from the usual 12-month maternity leave contracts, we are seeing an increasing trend where employers are seeing the benefit of “trying before you buy”. On-going temps with the view to becoming permanent and 6 – 12 month contract roles are becoming popular options for employers.
If you are looking for job opportunities in the above areas, employers prefer legal support staff to have
a minimum of 12-months experience in a well-regarded team with exposure to a good mix of work. For those wanting to work in-house, companies usually require a combination of mid/top-tier experience with some in-house experience.
Note to employers looking to fill a role in these trending areas – it may take longer than expected to find the right person!
For further information about current market trends or recruitment generally, contact Amanda Lee on (03) 8676 0310 or Fiona Ruggieri on (03) 8676 0332.