Across Australia and New Zealand, law firms are facing the same challenge: finding and hiring the right lawyers is taking longer, costing more, and stretching teams thin. In a market where skilled legal professionals are in high demand, Leadership-Led Recruitment has become essential for firms that want to stay competitive. In a market where skilled legal professionals are in high demand—and where many are taking their OE or exploring flexible work options—the competition for talent has never been fiercer.
Yet, despite this, many firms are still relying on traditional methods like job ads and external recruiters. It’s a slow, expensive process that leaves firms with limited visibility and even less control.
If your firm is struggling with unfilled vacancies or drawn-out hiring cycles, this article will show you a better way forward—one that gives you back control, speed, and confidence in every hire.
As Henry Ford famously said, “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.”
It’s time for law firm leaders to rethink recruitment—and lead it from the top.
The Recruitment Problem No One Talks About
In many firms, recruitment is treated as a task to be delegated: an email to HR saying “We need to hire someone,” followed by a shortlist weeks later. This traditional, transactional approach worked once—but not anymore.
The world of work has changed. AI is transforming how we practise law, how clients are served, and how business decisions are made. Yet the way most firms hire hasn’t kept pace.
The result?
- Longer hiring times that stall growth.
- Rising recruitment costs that eat into profitability.
- Missed opportunities to secure exceptional talent before competitors do.
The firms that are now hiring lawyers faster—and smarter—are the ones embracing a new approach: leadership-led recruitment.
What Leadership-Led Recruitment Looks Like
Recruitment today isn’t a back-office function. It’s a strategic driver of firm success—and Leadership-Led Recruitment is the model that enables partners and senior leaders to take control of the process from the start.
Leadership-led recruitment means partners and senior leaders taking ownership of the hiring strategy and shaping it proactively alongside HR. Here’s how it works:
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Review how recruitment is done.
Identify inefficiencies in your current approach—whether it’s too much reliance on agencies, long lead times, or lack of candidate visibility. -
Invest in recruitment technology.
Platforms like Insource are built specifically for the Australian and New Zealand legal sector, giving firms access to over 101,000 lawyer profiles—including 60,000 who aren’t visible on LinkedIn or firm websites. That means a faster route to the right talent pool. -
Collaborate with HR strategically.
Set aside time to look beyond active job seekers. Consider alumni, talented lawyers from competitor firms, professionals you’ve met through conferences or on the other side of deals—people you already know are a good fit. -
Be involved in the shortlisting process.
By understanding how the shortlist is built, you’ll have greater confidence that each candidate aligns with your firm’s culture and long-term goals.
This model not only shortens time-to-hire but creates stronger, better-aligned teams and higher retention rates.
Harnessing AI and Data to Hire Lawyers Faster
At Insource, we’ve seen first-hand how data and technology can revolutionise legal recruitment. Our platform enables firms to take control of their hiring, dramatically reducing both time and cost.
Our customers consistently report:
- 30% reductions in agency spend
- 25% faster time-to-hire
- Thousands saved per hire
By giving firms complete visibility of the legal market, Insource empowers leaders to make data-driven hiring decisions. Firms can see who’s where, understand market movement, and identify emerging talent before competitors do.
“We’ve reduced our agency spend by more than 30% and cut our time to hire by upwards of 25%. Insource has fundamentally changed how we approach recruitment.” Olivia Holmes, Chief People Officer, Macpherson Kelley
This kind of visibility allows leaders to plan strategically—for succession, growth, and team balance—rather than reacting to vacancies after they appear.
Built by Law Firms, for Law Firms
Insource was founded with one mission: to help law firms and in-house teams hire lawyers faster.
Born out of the frustrations of traditional recruitment, our founder Jenn Little saw that firms needed better visibility, control, and value. By combining technology, data science, and deep legal recruitment expertise, Insource has created a platform designed for how the modern legal market actually works.
Today, 39% of the top Australian and New Zealand law firms use or have used Insource. Every feature we build comes directly from client feedback—ensuring the product evolves alongside the real challenges firms face.
“Insource is being built by law firms, for law firms. Our goal is to give leaders control of recruitment so they can hire the right people faster and more cost-effectively.”
— Jenn Little, Founder & Managing Director, Insource
Why Leadership Engagement Matters
When firms embrace Leadership-Led Recruitment, the results are transformative:
- Faster access to the right candidates — Leaders reach the ideal talent pool sooner, saving weeks of delay.
- Broader reach — Firms uncover lawyers who aren’t actively applying but are open to new opportunities.
- Greater confidence — Leaders who’ve helped shape the shortlist are invested in every hiring decision.
Recruitment becomes more than filling roles—it becomes a growth strategy.
The Future of Legal Recruitment
AI isn’t replacing recruiters—it’s empowering firms to take back control. The firms that succeed in the next decade will be those that adopt Leadership-Led Recruitment, empowering partners and HR to work together using real-time data and AI tools.
The choice is clear: continue with outdated, costly methods—or harness technology and leadership collaboration to build stronger, smarter teams.
At Insource, we believe that when leaders lead recruitment, they don’t just fill vacancies—they shape the future of their firms.
Insource: Empowering law firms across Australia and New Zealand to hire lawyers faster.
