Junior lawyers struggling as entry-level jobs dry up

Michael Andrew

Jess* completed her legal studies with every hope of finding a junior role in criminal law – at least within a few months. Several years later, and after being admitted to the bar, she’s still looking.

In the past six months alone, she’s applied for 16 roles. She has had two interviews, yet she’s yet to receive a single offer.

“Both times, every time after the interview, when I would ask for feedback, they would say ‘there’s absolutely nothing wrong with your application and you’re doing all the right things. We just unfortunately found people with more experience.’

“You’re just stuck between a rock and a hard place when everyone is wanting experience, but no one is giving you the opportunity to get experience.”

Jess’ comments are not unique. Across New Zealand’s economy, an entry-level  jobs crisis is playing out, where a growing number of new graduates are struggling to get a foot in the door of their chosen careers.

Law – despite having plenty of job opportunities and being relatively recession-proof – is seeing the same bottleneck at the bottom.

A market of contradictions

Legal recruiters are quick to point out that in general the market is far from tight. Experienced lawyers remain in high demand and some specialist areas of practice are thriving. But the difference lies in where the demand is concentrated.

Louise Hall-Strutt

Louise Hall-Strutt, the managing director of Altitude Recruitment, says the market can feel contradictory from the outside.

“In terms of private practice, there hasn’t been a shortage of jobs, but clients have been a bit more particular about what they’re looking for,” she says.

Mid-level and senior lawyers – those with three to seven or more years of post-qualification experience – remain highly sought after, with firms struggling to fill those roles partly because of an ongoing exodus of experienced practitioners to Australia and the United Kingdom. But that same talent drain does not translate into opportunity for those at the beginning of their careers.

“We’re losing a lot of people overseas, so there’s still that talent shortage at the intermediate to senior level and good lawyers in that space have been in really high demand,” Hall-Strutt says. “But for the graduates and the juniors, it’s been really tough.”

Kathryn Cross

Kathryn Cross, managing director at Artemis Executive Recruitment, agrees that the brain drain has created a general talent shortage of mid-level lawyers, making it more competitive for employers than job seekers.

While 83% of Kiwis were actively looking for new opportunities in early 2025, the legal sector is behaving differently – not because there are more lawyers than jobs, but because firms have become increasingly cautious and specific about who they will hire.

“Contrary to perceptions of a ‘tight’ job market, implying high competition for roles, current data points to the opposite: a tightening candidate supply, with fewer applications per job vacancy,” Cross says. “The market is employer-competitive overall, with good opportunities available for skilled and experienced lawyers.”

For junior lawyers, however, that caveat – skilled and experienced – is precisely the problem.

“We don’t recruit law graduates as a rule but of course monitor activities in this area of the market. We know that graduates and junior lawyers struggle most.  Fairly, this has been a persistent issue for over a decade, but in recent years with economic caution there are even fewer junior hires which makes for a punishing and highly competitive market at entry level.”

The AI factor

One of the more significant shifts reshaping the entry-level market is the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence within law firms. Senior lawyers are increasingly using AI tools to perform tasks that would previously have been handed to graduates or juniors – research, drafting, document review – and firms are adjusting their hiring accordingly.

“With the adoption of AI, there’s been less demand at that level, and so it’s been very competitive,” Hall-Strutt says. “Even post-covid, firms scaled back the number of graduates they were taking on. And then with the adoption of AI, they’ve scaled back even further and then scaled back on support staff. There’s just less demand in that space.”

Cross identifies the same trend, framing it as one of several structural forces reshaping the bottom of the profession. AI and automation that compresses routine junior tasks, public sector restructurings and a shift toward specialist roles are some of the key drivers behind the shrinking entry-level market, she says.

The result is a graduate cohort entering the workforce at precisely the wrong moment – when the traditional on-ramp to legal careers is narrowing and firms are unwilling to invest in training lawyers who can’t hit the ground running.

“Firms prefer candidates who can contribute immediately, “Cross says. “They are reducing junior intake and favouring those with specialist skills or proven track records.”

Fierce competition

When junior roles do appear, Hall-Strutt says the response is overwhelming. Firms don’t use agencies to advertise for entry-level positions for that reason.

“They can post a job ad and they get 200 responses. If a junior role comes up, there’s so much interest and so many good people in the market that it’s just become so competitive.

“Although there is a demand for good people, clients are wanting to hold out for those unicorns, rather than look at who is available in the market. It has become harder than ever for people that, for whatever reason, may not be seen as that perfect fit or perfect candidate.”

Cross notes that graduate numbers have grown consistently over the past decade while the number of traditional private practice entry-level roles has not kept pace. The bottleneck is not a reflection of individual candidates’ quality, but of a system producing more lawyers than the market is currently willing to absorb at the junior level.

Jess can attest firsthand to the scarcity of roles from the job-seeker side.

“There definitely is a shortage. The main ones that I’ve been looking at are community legal services and police prosecution support. I haven’t seen many of them lately.

“Even the ones that they did have, and I did apply for, you don’t even get an acknowledgement email. They probably have so many applications and they just look for the best of the best.”

While she says many of her peers are also struggling in the job market, some have succeeded finding roles through family connections at firms.

Passion or pivot?

Jess’ situation is made harder by the specific nature of her ambitions and the absence of any professional network or mentorship to guide her. With a passion for criminal law, she came to the profession with a clear sense of purpose. Pivoting to commercial or civil work to improve her chances is not, she says, a real option.

“With law, a lot of people, especially junior lawyers, burn out real fast if you don’t love what you do. If you don’t go all in and aren’t happy with what you do every single day, you will burn out and you will leave sooner or later.”

While some of the peers she graduated with have migrated to Australia in search of work, that option is not available to her due to family commitments.

“I come from a very traditional, conservative family. I can’t actually just decide to go and leave. I don’t have a choice but to get a job in New Zealand.”

The emotional toll

The legal profession already faces high levels of stress, depression, anxiety and burnout compared with other professions, but Cross acknowledges that job search difficulties compound this. Barriers to entry, underemployment or career uncertainty can lead to disillusionment, burnout or reduced wellbeing.

She has observed junior lawyers pivoting away from their desired careers altogether, out of frustration. “We have noted juniors seeking in-house opportunities earlier or pivoting to non-law roles due to frustration and how hard it is to secure a role.”

For Jess, the toll is quietly accumulating. She is weighing up whether to resign from her current role in the hope that the pressure might force a breakthrough, or whether to stay put and keep searching for the security of stable employment.

“I’m stuck between staying here and resigning because I really like my job and I don’t want to be left with nothing,” she says. “I’m still thinking about it.”

Potential solutions

For Cross, the path forward requires the profession itself to respond. Upskilling programmes, mental health resources and clearer pathways into the profession will be essential if the sector wants to retain the next generation of talent rather than watch it drift overseas or out of law entirely.

Hall-Strutt is blunter about the stakes. “Those three to six years PQE lawyers – that’s where the demand is. But that’s exactly where no one is getting the chance to get to.”

As for Jess, turning away from the law seems like a betrayal of her passion, yet she’s still considering her options. What keeps her going in the meantime is the conviction that brought her to law in the first place.

“I’ve known I wanted to be a lawyer for a very long time, so I think that’s the only thing really helping me push through and just continue to look.”

*Name has been changed