Lawyers expect increased hiring of first-year associates in the next 12 months, according to a study released by Robert Half Legal. Nearly one-quarter of lawyers interviewed, 22%, said their law firm plans to increase its hiring of first-year associates in the next 12 months.

“Job opportunities for recent law school graduates are on the rise as firms look to expand legal teams to support high-growth practice areas, such as litigation, commercial law and real estate,” said Jamy Sullivan, executive director of Robert Half Legal. “New associates who were ranked at the top of their law school class and possess in-demand attributes such as technology proficiency, business acumen, interpersonal abilities and team collaboration skills are highly marketable.”

Lawyers were asked, “Does your law firm plan to increase or decrease its hiring of first-year associates in the next 12 months?” Their responses:

• Increase significantly: 2%
• Increase somewhat: 20%
• Neither increase nor decrease: 67%
• Decrease somewhat: 4%
• Decrease significantly: 3%
• Don't know/no answer: 4%

Law firms are also investing in new associates professional development. Aside from salaries and bonuses, the surveyed lawyers said their law firm spends an average of $12,000 recruiting and training each first-year associate hired, while respondents among the largest law firms — those with more than 250 employees — said their organization spends $62,000 on average.

Average starting salaries for first-year associates at the midpoint of $68,000 in the US and $62,750 in Canada, according to Robert Half Legal’s 2018 Salary Guide.

The survey is based on 175 telephone interviews with lawyers in the US and Canada who have hiring authority within their organizations.