Legal Professionals in Highest Demand
-
Lawyers 47%
-
Legal Secretaries, Legal Administrative Assistants 18%
-
Paralegals 16%
The ranking of roles is based on proprietary analysis of more than 186,000 positions posted on more than 300 independent job boards and company websites across Canada over the previous two quarters. Percentages reflect quarter-over-quarter growth.
Law Firms and Legal Departments Are Hiring — and Challenges Continue
January-June 2023
Hiring for new roles
Hiring for vacated roles
Facing challenges finding skilled talent
Demand for Contract Workers Increases
of legal managers plan to hire more contract professionals in the first half of 2023.
Top areas where lawyers and managers plan to add contract professionals:
Law firms:
- Lawyers
- Legal support
- Legal research and analysis
Legal departments:
- Corporate in-house counsel
- Compliance administration/lease administration (tie)
- Data privacy/legal support (tie)
Hottest Practice Areas for Legal Professionals Seeking a New Job
Legal practice areas offering the most job opportunities, according to employers:
- Labour and employment: 53 per cent
- Privacy, data security, information law: 50 per cent
- Ethics/corporate governance: 49 per cent
of legal professionals are looking or plan to look for a new job in the first half of the year.
Current Unemployment Rates

0.1%
Lawyers
3.0%
Paralegals and legal assistants
3.4%
Legal secretaries and administrative assistants
Labour Unemployment Numbers — December 2022, Statistics Canada, Jan. 6, 2023.
In-Demand Roles and Hiring Trends by Profession
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Data Sources:
*Robert Half calculations are based on job postings provided by TalentNeuron™, a comprehensive source of global labor market analytics by Gartner®. GARTNER and TALENTNEURON are registered trademarks and service marks of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in Canada and internationally and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved.
Labour Force Summary — April 2023, Statistics Canada, May 5, 2023
Labour Unemployment Numbers — April 2023, Statistics Canada, May 5, 2023
Online surveys were developed by Robert Half and conducted by independent research firms. Respondents included executives, senior managers and employees from small (20-249 employees), medium (250-499 employees) and large (500+ employees) businesses in private, publicly listed and public sector organizations across Canada.