London Legal Jobs Overview - 1st June 2025 (Private Practice)
- edobrien92
- Jun 2, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: Jun 3, 2025
As we approach mid-year, the legal recruitment market appears to be slightly improving, Looking at the number of new roles that were advertised directly by firms in May we see that there is a slight but clear increase in activity compared to April.
Overview: Hiring Lifts Slightly but Transactional Still Below Late 2024 Levels
May saw a modest rise in private practice hiring, recording the highest number of new roles in a month since January. This suggests a small rebound after a quieter April, though hiring volumes in key areas such as Corporate and Banking & Finance remain below their average monthly levels from the final quarter of 2024.
Corporate led with 12 new roles, followed by Banking & Finance with 9, continuing their dominance in transactional hiring. However, the most active hiring relative to practice size was seen in Employment (9 roles) and Construction (5 roles), reaffirming their status as the busiest practice areas on a per-lawyer basis.
Litigation hiring was mixed: Commercial Litigation (2 roles) was relatively quiet, but Insurance Litigation and Personal Injury (6 roles each) remained comparatively active. Specialist Litigation areas (4 roles) also contributed to ongoing demand as did real estate litigation with 4 new roles.
With the slight uptick in May, it will be interesting to see what happens in June. In 2024, June was the busiest month for new roles in private practice, so we wait to see if this trend is repeated in 2025.
Breakdown by Practice Areas
Transactional Roles:
At the beginning of June, we identified the following number of London based roles that were being advertised by law firms on their careers’ pages:
Banking & Finance: 35 roles (two being PSL roles) (seven with US firms, 22 with UK international/global firms and six with City/regional firm). There were nine new roles added to firms’ careers’ sites during May.
Corporate: 28 roles (four being PSL roles) (five with US firms, 14 with international firms and nine with City/regional firms). There were 12 new roles added to firms’ careers’ sites during May.
Restructuring/Insolvency: Seven roles (three with US firms and three with international firms and one with a regional firm). Two of the roles were new, having been added to the firms’ careers’ site since the beginning of May.
No of live London transactional roles advertised directly by law firms
Advisory Practice areas:
At the beginning of June, we identified the following number of London based roles being advertised by law firms on their careers’ pages in the below practice areas:
Antitrust/EU/Competition: 11 roles. Six with US firms and five with international firms. There were three new roles added to firms’ careers’ sites during May.
Employment - 32 roles (including one PSL role). 13 with top tier international firms and 19 with City/regional firms. There were nine new roles added to firms’ careers’ sites during may.
FS/Regulatory - Nine roles. Seven with international firms and two with City/Regional firms. There were two new roles added to firms’ careers’ sites during May.
Incentives - Four roles. Two with UK international firm and two with a City/regional firm. There were three new roles added to firms’ careers’ sites during May.
Funds - 10 roles. Two with US firms and seven with international firms and one with a City firm. Five of the roles were new, having been added to the firms’ careers’ site since the beginning of May.
Pensions - 12 roles (including 2 PSL roles). One with a US firm, six with international firms and five with City/regional firms. Four of the roles were new, having been added to the firms’ careers’ site since the beginning of May.
Tax - 18 roles (including three tax litigation and one PSL role). Two with US firms, nine with international firms and seven with regional/City firms. There were four new roles added to firms’ careers’ sites during May.
Litigation:
At the beginning of June, we identified the following number of London based roles being advertised by law firms on their careers’ pages in the below practice areas:
Commercial Litigation - 22 roles (including two PSL roles). Five with US firms, four with international firms, 13 with regional/city boutiques). Two of the roles were new, having been added to the firms’ careers’ site since the beginning of May.
Real Estate Litigation - Nine roles. Four with international firms and five with City /Regional firms). Four of the roles were new, having been added to firms’ careers’ site since the beginning of May.
Insurance Litigation - 18 roles. 15 with international firms and three with regional firms. Six of the roles were new, having been added to firms’ careers’ site since the beginning of May.
Personal Injury (including clinical negligence) - 14 roles. Six with international firms, eight with City/Regional firms). Six of the roles were new, having been added to firms’ careers’ site since the beginning of May.
Specialist Litigation - Eight roles. Three with international firms and five with city boutiques. Four of the roles were new, having been added to the firms’ careers’ site since the beginning of May.
Construction, Planning and Real Estate:
At the beginning of June, we identified the following number of London based roles being advertised by law firms on their careers’ pages in the below practice areas:
Construction - 24 roles (including one PSL role). One with a US firm, three with international firms, 20 with City/regional firms). Five of the roles were new, having been added to the firms’ careers’ site since the beginning of May.
Construction Litigation - Eight roles. Six with international firms, two with City/Regional firms). Two of the roles were new, having been added to the firms’ careers’ site since the beginning of May.
Planning - Five roles. Four with international firms and two with City/regional firms). One of the roles was new, having been added to the firms’ careers’ site since the beginning of May.
Commercial Real Estate - 13 roles (including one PSL role). Five with international firms and eight with City/regional firms). Seven of the roles were new, having been added to the firms’ careers’ site since the beginning of May.
To see which firms are advertising roles and explore these opportunities use the job search feature on www.therackle.com
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