September new roles rebound – but is there more to it than the end of the summer slowdown?

Private practice hiring has picked up sharply in the first half of September, with 53 new roles advertised across the firms tracked by The Rackle. But after a quiet July and August, how much should we read into the increase?

We are only halfway through September, but there has already been a noticeable increase in private practice hiring.

Across the firms tracked by the Rackle Legal Hiring Index, 53 new roles were advertised during the first half of September. That compares with 36 during the equivalent period in both July and August – an increase of 47%.

On the face of it, that looks like a significant improvement. There is, however, an important qualification.

Is this simply the end of the summer slowdown?

July and August are traditionally disrupted by the summer holiday period. Recruitment processes slow down, decision-makers are away and firms may delay advertising vacancies until people return.

Some rebound in September should therefore be expected.  If we compare activity with June, the comparison somewhat supports this.   There were also 53 new roles advertised during the first half of June.

Rather than evidence of a sudden surge in hiring, September could simply represent a return to pre-summer levels of activity.

However the underlying numbers for practice areas do tell something a little more interesting:

Is corporate hiring picking up?

September has seen a big increase in core practice area vacancies with firms.

Together, Banking, Corporate, Real Estate and Commercial Litigation generated 21 new vacancies, compared with just eight during the first half of August.

Corporate is particularly interesting. Seven new roles have been advertised so far this month, compared with two in the first half of August, six in July and six in June. In the first half of 2026, there was only one month that had more than 7 new roles in the first half of the month and that was January.

Hiring numbers don't tell us directly how busy firms are, vacancies can arise for replacement hiring or growth hiring. However, Corporate recruitment is worth watching because it may provide an indication of firms' expectations about future workloads and confidence in the market. An increase in deal flow does not only generate work for corporate lawyers, it helps to feed other areas such as Employment, Competition, Tax, and other specialist advisory teams.

If there is a continued increase in corporate hiring, its significance could extend beyond the transactional practices themselves.

Employment remains a standout area

Employment continues to be one of the more consistently active areas for recruitment.

Six new Employment roles have been advertised during the first half of September, compared with two in August, one in July and four in June.

Overall Employment has been a standout hiring area for some months, however 6 new roles in the first half of the month is high considering the number of new roles in the whole of a month for employment this year has tended to be 7 or 8. 

What should we make of September so far?

The headline is encouraging: 53 new vacancies in half a month, compared with 36 in both July and August.

But it is too early to conclude from that alone that the market has strengthened significantly.

The summer slowdown matters. September has so far taken hiring back to exactly the level we saw in the first half of June.

What may prove more significant is the composition of that hiring. The increase in Corporate and other transactional vacancies is something to watch closely. If it continues through the second half of September and into the autumn, it may provide a more meaningful indication of firms' expectations for workloads and market activity.

For now, it is an early signal rather than an established trend. We will see whether it holds.