By Justin Wise

Law360 (October 27, 2020, 7:44 PM EDT) -- A majority of decision-makers in the legal industry say their organizations will likely rehire for roles eliminated during the coronavirus pandemic, though in-house counsel are more optimistic than law firms, according to a survey report released Tuesday.

The findings from a 2020 workforce trends survey by staffing firm The Adecco Group showed that roughly 7 in 10 leaders at law firms and in-house groups said backfilling positions eliminated during the pandemic would definitely or probably happen.

Of those who expect to rehire, 41% of legal industry respondents said the moves would take place within four to six months, while 25% said they would happen over the next year.

It appears law firms and in-house legal departments are somewhat divided in terms of confidence. While 42% of decision-makers working in-house said rehirings would definitely take place, just 27% of law firm respondents said the same. About half of law firm respondents, meanwhile, said the rehirings would probably happen, compared with 1 in 4 in-house personnel who predicted the same.

The legal industry has generally withstood the more damaging financial impacts of the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus. However, many large firms haven't been able to avoid layoffs, and the sector slashed approximately 68,000 jobs in April alone, according to data provided by the U.S. Department of Labor.

While more than 21,000 jobs were added in the last five months, a growing list of firms, including Baker McKenzie, Baker Botts LLP and Hogan Lovells have announced layoffs in recent weeks. Experts told Law360 in September that the fall layoffs may be a sign of firms permanently restructuring their organizations to meet the demands of an evolving business environment.

But Nicole Gable, chief of sales for The Adecco Group's Professional Recruitment and Solutions unit in North America, said in a statement to Law360 that the sentiment among survey respondents showed "the [legal] industry is in go-forward mode — meaning they are not merely working to keep the lights on but rather are looking to expand and grow to meet future needs."

While the latest survey did not specifically target the future of legal support roles, Gable said that its findings showed IT roles are in high demand in the industry. She said her interpretation was law firms and in-house departments were getting creative as they move toward a "more modern way of work."

This has included a broader acceptance within the legal industry for remote work and where prospective employees are based geographically.

According to the survey, 42% of legal industry respondents said their organization now promoted virtual operations after previously opposing it. The industry was also least likely among other sectors to believe geographic considerations would go into hirings for remote candidates, with about 4 in 10 saying it would be relevant.

Sixty-five percent of in-house personnel said they were offering stipends or reimbursements for things such as WiFi and internet, while a majority of law firm respondents said they were giving out reimbursements for technology like laptops.

Other highlights from the survey included roughly 90% of legal industry respondents expecting salary increases at their organization this year, which appears to reflect recent trends among major firms.

The survey data is based on responses from 1,152 hiring decision-makers, managers and other high-ranking staff employed in marketing, finance, administrative, human resources and legal departments. There were about 200 legal industry respondents, evenly split between in-house and law firms, according to Adecco.

--Additional reporting by Kevin Penton and Aebra Coe. Editing by Michael Watanabe.

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