The Rackle Legal Hiring Index | October 2026
The London legal recruitment market saw a significant increase in activity during September, as the expected post-summer pick-up in hiring arrived in force. The Rackle Legal Hiring Index increased from 99 to 130, its highest level of 2026, with 135 new associate and PSL roles advertised during the month.
Executive Summary.
The Rackle Legal Hiring Index decreased from 99 to 130 (+31 points).
135 new roles were advertised, up from 88 in August.
Active vacancies increased to 349, from 308 in July.
69 of the 80 firms recruited during the month, compared with 71 in August.
Banking & Finance led the market with 21 new roles, closely followed by Corporate with 19. Employment, Commercial Litigation and Real Estate also recorded double-digit new vacancies.
What this means:
September saw a significant increase in recruitment activity following the quieter summer months.
The number of new roles increased from 88 in August to 135 in September, an increase of more than 50%. At the same time, active vacancies rose from 308 to 349, taking The Rackle Legal Hiring Index from 99 to 130.
Transactional recruitment was particularly strong. Banking & Finance generated 21 new opportunities and Corporate 19, meaning these two practice areas alone accounted for 40 new roles during the month. Real Estate also recorded a strong month with 10 new vacancies.
However, the increase was not limited to transactional practices. Employment generated 11 new roles and Commercial Litigation 10, while Intellectual Property, Construction and Specialist Litigation also saw healthy levels of new roles.
Interestingly, the number of firms recruiting actually fell slightly, from 71 to 69. Whilst this is not significant, it does show that September's increase was driven not by significantly more firms entering the recruitment market, but by firms already hiring advertising a greater number of opportunities.
The Numbers
Metric | Current Month | Previous Month | Trend (last 3 months) |
Hiring Index | 130 | 99 | Upward |
New Roles | 135 | 88 | Upward |
Active Vacancies | 349 | 308 | Upward |
Vacancies Closed | 95 | 84 | Mixed |
Firms Hiring | 69 | 71 | Stable |
Practice Areas hiring | 30 | 29 | Stable |
What's Driving the Index?
Banking & Finance: Leads a Stronger Transactional Market
Banking & Finance was the busiest practice area during September, with 21 new roles advertised, almost double the 11 recorded in August.
Importantly, this was not simply a spike in new vacancies. A further 36 Banking & Finance vacancies remained open from previous months, meaning there were 57 live Banking & Finance opportunities at the beginning of October – comfortably the largest number of any individual practice area.
Banking & Finance has consistently been one of the strongest areas of the London recruitment market during 2026, and September's figures reinforce that position. The activity doesn't appear to be confined to one area of Banking, the new roles were evenly spread across Acquisition/Leveraged finance, DCM/Structured finance and Real Assets Finance (real estate finance, project/infrastructure finance).
Corporate: Recruitment Continues to Strengthen
Corporate recorded 19 new roles during September, almost double the 10 advertised in August.
Combined with the 15 vacancies that remained open from previous months, there were 34 live Corporate opportunities at the beginning of October.
The strength of Corporate alongside Banking & Finance is particularly notable. Together they generated 40 new vacancies during September, providing an indication of increased confidence in the need to hire in these practice areas.
Employment: Another Strong Month
Employment continued its recent run of strong recruitment activity, with 11 new roles advertised during September, following 8 in August.
A further 20 Employment vacancies remained open from previous months, taking the total number of live opportunities to 31 at the beginning of October.
Employment continues to stand out as one of the most consistently active areas of the market outside the major transactional practices.
Commercial Litigation: Demand Picks Up
Commercial Litigation recorded 10 new roles during September, up from 4 in August, taking the total number of live opportunities to 15 at the beginning of October.
The wider contentious market also remained active. Insurance Litigation had 16 live vacancies, Specialist Litigation 13 and Construction Litigation 12, demonstrating that demand continues across a broad range of disputes practices.
Real Estate: Strong Return to Hiring
Real Estate saw a notable increase in activity, with 10 new roles advertised during September compared with just 3 in August.
With a further 7 vacancies remaining open, there were 17 live Real Estate opportunities at the beginning of October.
Overview
September delivered the post-summer increase in recruitment activity that we had been waiting to see.
The Rackle Legal Hiring Index rose sharply from 99 to 130, while 135 new roles were advertised compared with 88 in August. Active vacancies also increased substantially, reaching 349.
Perhaps the most notable feature of the month was the strength of transactional recruitment. Banking & Finance and Corporate generated 40 new opportunities between them, while Real Estate added a further 10.
But this was not simply a transactional story. Employment and Commercial Litigation both recorded double-digit new vacancies, while recruitment activity was spread across 30 different practice areas.
The number of live vacancies entering October also provides some useful context. Banking & Finance alone had 57 live opportunities, followed by Corporate with 34 and Employment with 31. This suggests that the September increase has translated into a materially larger pool of opportunities for lawyers entering the autumn market.
It is important, however, to put September's increase into context. July and August are traditionally quieter months and an increase in activity as lawyers and hiring teams returned from the summer holiday period was expected. What is notable is the scale of that increase, with new vacancies rising by more than 50% month-on-month.
The question now is whether September represents a particularly strong post-summer rebound or the beginning of a more sustained period of higher recruitment activity during the final quarter of 2026.
If you are interested in exploring the new roles or the current ongoing roles that were covered by our Hiring index, you can see these in our Opportunity Tracker.
The Rackle Legal Hiring Index is an independent, proprietary measure designed to track changes in recruitment activity across the London private practice legal market, providing lawyers and firms with a consistent benchmark of market conditions over time.
Comments