Litigation is expected to drive much of the hiring in the legal profession in the second half of 2014, according to a new study from Robert Half Legal. Twenty-nine percent of lawyers interviewed said their companies plan to add new legal jobs in the second half of 2014, up two points from a prior hiring survey conducted six months ago.  Fifty-two percent said they expect to only fill vacant posts; 10 percent said they would neither fill vacant positions nor create new ones; and 2 percent of respondents anticipate staff reductions in the next six months.

Forty-two percent of respondents cited litigation as the practice area that will generate the greatest number of legal job opportunities in the second half of 2014. General business/commercial law and Intellectual property followed at 20 percent and 6 percent respectively.

Among lawyers who cited “litigation” as a response, 31 percent cited insurance defense and 30 percent cited commercial litigation as areas of litigation that will offer the greatest job opportunities in the second half of the year.

More than half of respondents, 56 percent, cited at least some challenge in finding skilled legal talent, while 32 percent expressed concern about losing top performers to other legal job opportunities.

“Law firms are competing to secure new clientele and expand profitability,” said Charles Volkert, executive director of Robert Half Legal. “To succeed, they are seeking legal professionals who can help broaden their service offerings and spur business development.”

The survey is based on 200 telephone interviews with U.S. lawyers who have hiring authority within their organizations. It included 100 respondents employed at law firms with 20 or more employees and 100 respondents employed at companies with 1,000 or more employees.