According to the index, banks advertised 48 per cent more legal jobs in London throughout 2015 than in the previous year. The spike in demand for lawyers was more than double the overall growth in job listings for Q2 2015, which was recorded at 21 per cent (23 per cent for the banking and financial services sector). It was also the single largest increase recorded for any profession within the sector. The demand for lawyers is good news for job seekers and employees alike, especially given the 100,000-plus job cuts announced by major banks this year.
Past failings
'Pressure from regulators has played a critical role in driving recruitment within banking and financial services,' commented Robert Walters' chief executive for EMEA Chris Hickey. A wave of fines stemming from the sector's past regulatory and compliance failures is also a likely cause for the new popularity of in-house legal staff. According to data from Morgan Stanley, fines and lawsuits have cost major banks in the US and Europe more than $260 billion since the 2007-2008 global financial crisis. The research, made available in August this year, also projects that the group (which includes the five largest US banks and 20 largest European banks) will face another $60 billion in litigation costs over the next two years.
Cause for optimism
Mr Hickey also predicts 'significant demand' for legal recruits across the banking and financial services sector in the year to come, projecting that lawyers will once again lead the pack in the 2016 index. Aside from legal job listings, which lifted an average of 65 per cent across all sectors compared with Q2 2014, advertised vacancies for marketing professionals also enjoyed a massive 78 per cent increase year-on-year. Overall, Mr Hickey believes that the survey results are cause for optimism about the health of the UK private sector.
'The fact that employers are looking to recruit into [sales and marketing] shows that they are confident in a sustained recovery for the UK and are looking to bring in the kind of staff who are integral to growing their businesses,' said Mr Hickey. Sources: Robert Waters; Financial Times
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