Lawyers head overseas as talent war intensifies
Amid fierce competition for top lawyers, the appetite for overseas moves has picked up, giving firms with an international presence an edge in hiring and retaining talent.
A stint overseas was a rite of passage for many Australian lawyers before Covid and associated lockdowns slowed departures to a trickle. Now, markets are reopening and they're once again jumping at the chance to get international experience.
That's making it even more difficult for local firms to retain talent at a time of fierce competition and gives international firms with a presence across several major markets an advantage in hiring and keeping top lawyers.
In London, the global talent war has even forced US firms to raise their rates for newly qualified junior lawyers to £180,000 ($341,000).
When I spoke with the chief executive partner of Norton Rose Fulbright’s Australian practice, Alison Deitz, about how the global firm attracts and retains talent locally, she said lawyers “want international experience”.
