Beyond Hiring: How Legal Teams Can Tackle Turnover and Retain Top Talent in 2025
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Our 2025 Legal Hiring Guide provides legal recruiting teams with key insights into the evolving legal hiring landscape, offering a strategic look at what’s ahead. While the guide covers a range of trends, this article focuses on Trend #1: employee retention and passivity.
The Problem: Legal Talent Turnover and The Passive Job Search
Our Workforce Trends Survey revealed that 47% of legal professionals are actively exploring new roles, while 72% regularly reassess their career trajectory. Meanwhile, The American Lawyer reports rising dissatisfaction with return-to-office (RTO) mandates, continued economic uncertainty, and a growing demand for tech-savvy legal talent—all of which are accelerating turnover, particularly in Big Law.
With law firms often implementing different policies for billable and non-billable staff, RTO requirements can disproportionately impact retention. If in-office mandates are non-negotiable, how else can legal hiring and development leaders bridge the gap?
High turnover—and even passive job-seeking—can have serious consequences for law firms. When attorneys and legal support staff are disengaged or eyeing other opportunities, productivity declines, institutional knowledge is lost, and client relationships suffer. Frequent departures can also increase workload pressures on remaining team members, leading to burnout and further attrition. In a profession built on trust, consistency, and expertise, the cost of turnover extends beyond recruiting expenses—it can impact client service, firm reputation, and long-term profitability. Addressing retention isn’t just about keeping people in seats; it’s about building a firm where top talent wants to stay and grow.
The Answer: Engagement and Growth
Retention hinges on employee engagement and professional development. Firms that invest in their people create a stronger culture and, ultimately, better client service. Consider these key strategies:
- Mentorship & Coaching: Establish formal mentorship programs that support attorneys and legal support staff alike.
- Skill Development: Offer workshops on emerging legal tech, client management, and leadership to ensure continuous growth.
- Career Progression Planning: Give employees a clear roadmap for advancement within your firm.
By prioritizing legal development opportunities for both attorneys and non-attorney staff, firms can improve job satisfaction, reduce turnover, and enhance overall firm performance.
Need a Partner in Legal Talent and Development?
If you’re looking to build or enhance your firm’s legal development programs—or need support in hiring top attorney and legal support talent—we can help. Within the Legal division of LHH, 86% of our team has prior legal practice experience, and 81% have worked in law firms, including AmLaw 100 firms. Let’s connect.