In terms of recruitment it is fair to say that the market is undoubtedly in a better place than it was 12 months ago but interestingly it has not reached the same levels that it did pre-recession. All year we have been expecting the market to pick up but it has never quite made it and the numbers of senior HR roles in the legal sector have been few and far between. Other areas, such as marketing & business development and general management have fared much better.

Perhaps this is to be expected because it is clear that there is still some uncertainty in the market both from a client and also a candidate perspective. While the vast majority of law firms are looking ahead positively again they are still tentative about recruitment and quite rightly each potential hire is given a lot of scrutiny. On the flip side, candidates are also nervous about making a move from the relative safety of their current firms.

HR professionals more than anybody else have seen at first hand the effects of cutbacks and redundancies so are possibly more cautious than most.

There is no doubt that this period has been incredibly tough internally for HR professionals as redundancy programmes and restructures have been the order of the day for many firms. 

In many firms (with obvious exceptions) the perception of HR or “Personnel” has historically been pretty negative and they have often been viewed as reactive, administrative functions, full of red tape.

However, as a result of the recent market conditions, HR professionals have had greater exposure to key players more than ever before and they have probably never felt more valued or needed. 

Those HR teams and individuals who have stepped up to offer proper strategic advice have done themselves and their function a great deal of good.

As firms come out of the bad times the key priorities for them should be; resourcing and reward (attracting and getting the best talent) and career development (keeping the best talent) and these all have a foot firmly placed in the HR camp. 

In addition to this the legal world is about to enter a huge period of change with the implementation of the Legal Services Act and HR again will be heavily involved in this.

So by going through the short-term pain of the last 18 months - the tough redundancy decisions and meetings - HR professionals may find they get a long-term gain in the shape of a higher level of respect for what they do and what they can bring to the law firm management table.