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Media OpinionsYou are here: Media > Media Opinions
Below are recent comments provided to media by Mahlab.
October 200930 October 2009
The Australian
Turnover to rocket in jobs rebound
Lisa Gazis, of legal recruiter Mahlab, said employers were now more optimistic and were hiring. "There have defintely been employers more optimistic in terms of hiring and we have seen more demand for lawyers in private practice." Ms Gazis said banking and finance lawyers were in demand because of more restructures, new regulations and generally more commercial activity.
August 20097 August 2009
Lawyers Weekly
The Big Freeze
Lisa Gazis, managing director (NSW) says "the June/July 2010 reviews are likely to be positive and reflect salary growth, but its still too soon to suggest what the percentage growth may be and whether, if at all, salary increases will return to previous boom levels."
July 200924 July 2009
Lawyers Weekly
Facing up to empty promises
According to Katherine Sampson, managing director (VIC) of Mahlab Recruitment, law firms are being more cautious about what they're promising incoming employees, but equally, lawyers are now more realistic about what to expect.
"Most of the time, (firms) are putting a pretty conservative case to a potential employee. On the other side of that, candidates are also much more cautious, so you have a meeting of the minds" she says.
Samspons says there has also been a definite shift in candidates' mindsets concering what they believe to be the important features of a job, and they are now more focussed on the longer-term benefits, rather than just grabbing the short-term perks. "Security is definitely on their minds a lot more - even at the most junior level where you'd think they might be a bit more carefree," she says. "In this market, they're concerned about career development... rathan than 'Am I going to get another ten grand out of (a move)?'."
June 200926 June 2009
Lawyers Weekly
Toasting the top in tough times
Mahlab Recruitment's managing director (Vic), Katherine Sampson explained that partner promotion and salary review time is generally - during both good and bad economic times - a hot period for lateral movements between firms. "We usually find that the busy times for us are coming up to review and post-review - coming up to review because people are interested in what they think they should get paid and what we think the trends are, and post-review because they haven't got exactly what they wanted," she says.
When it comes to managing staff career expectations - and avoiding a "mass exodus" when the market turns around - Sampson says the better firms are focusing on transparency between staff and senior management. "I think the main strategy that firms are employing is communicating with their staff. Really keeping the lines of communication open and being really frank about the firm's financial position. I think what this does is breeds a maturity in the response of the employee ...and you can get a more co-operative arrangement between employer and employee."
She explains that this should involve regular, one-on-one discussions between lawyers and partners, and where promotions have to be postponed because of the conomic conditions, there should be a structure in place to monitor the situation going forward.
"They've tended to - as part of that transparency - set an extra deadline - "we'll talk to you again in six or 12 months. You're not gone and forgotten, we'll keep in touch with you on a regular basis." So they've put in that time-line," she says.
"I get a lot of calls from senior associates who feel - understandably - that their career development has been stalled. But while they might not be deliriously happy about it, most of them - once we've talked to them about it - understand that if it's the right place for them, evenutally (partnership) will probably happen, it just won't happen as quickly as they expected."
26 June 2009
Australian Financial Review
Ambitions frustrated by firm glass ceilings
Executive consultant with Mahlab Recruitment (NSW) Joanne Glanz says firms are offering select senior associates whom they are keen to retain a range of incentives, including special counsel roles for permanent non-partners, bonuses in lieu of pay increases, flexible work hours, secondments to clients, unpaid leave and assistance towards training. However "there are a significant number of senior associates in the market seeking employment," she says. Glanz expects that number to rise markedly if business activity slows further in the new financial year.
May 20091 May 2009
The Australian Financial Review
Mid-teirs turn crisis into opportunity
Mahlab Recruitment managing director (NSW) Lisa Gazis says lawyers are now finding more opportunities outside the top-tier firms for career advancement. Mid-teir and boutique law firms are using the depressed legal market to hire lawyers they would ordinarily struggle to attract."
"There is demand for partners in private practices, in the medium and smaller-size firms," she says. "These firms want to cherry-pick the very best people. They are securing senior associates who have developed small practices as well, and are looking to make a move."
"Antecdotally, lawyers are saying there is greater security, responsibility and opportunities for career advancement in medium-sized and boutique firms that have alwyas operated on a leaner basis," Gazis says. "Money is not the major consideration in this market. Usually people are aiming for a comparable salary or a litttle bit more."
March 200918 March 2009
Good news for graduates
Lisa Gazis, managing director (NSW) at Australian recruitment firm Mahlab, (says) that "the attitude towards graduate recruitment from firms indicates the clear intention to look past the current market turmoil and set up for the future. The major firms have always had a very strong comitment to thegraduate recruitment market. I don't think that will change" she said.
Gazis says "firms who can look and plan past the current downturn will definitely fare better in the long run. As the market picks up (firms) have the critical mass of lawyers who are there and can take on the work and they will be the partners of tomorrow over time, so it's definitely a sensible strategy."
February 200920 February 2009
The Australian
Corporates turn to boutiques
Some firms with lower overheads and lower charge-out rates report an increase in new client activity as clients vote with their feet (and their wallets) and move to cheaper firms" Mahlab says. "Changes in the legal market offer opportunities to many firms, often in the second and third tier, to cherry pick outstanding lawyers who may not otherwise be on the market or open to a call".
20 February 2009
Australian Financial Review
Soaring salaries a thing of the past
"Flexibility seems to be a theme for some law firms who have built good teams during the boom but are now too big for their needs," Mahlab says. For those who keep their jobs, Mahlab says increased to salary bands in Melbourne are likely to be conservative and in Sydney would remain stagnant."
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