The 11th Legal Firm of Choice Survey, run by Lawyers Weekly with research partner Agile Market Intelligence, collected 612 responses from private practice lawyers across Australia, with fieldwork running from 1 April to 31 May 2026. Source.
The headline for firm leaders is uncomfortable. Workplace culture is still rated highly, but satisfaction with wellbeing support, recognition and pay is sliding, and 21 per cent of private practice lawyers intend to leave their employer within 12 months. Source. With FY27 headcount plans being set now, that gap between a good culture and a supported one is where retention is being lost.
This is a general overview of published survey data, not legal or financial advice. It is written for partners, practice managers and people leads who need to act on the numbers.
Key Summary
- Wellbeing support is falling: among lawyers aged 18 to 29, positive ratings dropped from 72 per cent last year to 68 per cent this year. (Legal Firm of Choice Survey)
- Recognition is falling too: positive ratings for recognising individual performance fell from 72 per cent to 69 per cent, with 31 per cent of under-30s not rating their firm positively. (Legal Firm of Choice Survey)
- Pay is the weakest attribute: just 59 per cent of lawyers aged 18 to 29 rated their remuneration positively, up from 56 per cent. (Legal Firm of Choice Survey)
- Culture is the one strength: 83 per cent of under-30s rated their firm’s culture as excellent or good. (Legal Firm of Choice Survey)
- It is not only a junior issue: among lawyers aged 40 and over, not one respondent rated remuneration or wellbeing support as good or excellent. (Legal Firm of Choice Survey)
- Attraction is age-specific: the firm ranked first with lawyers aged 18 to 39 is not the firm ranked first with lawyers aged 40 and over, so a single employer-brand message will not serve both.
The Under-30 Scorecard, and What It Is Really Telling You
Four attributes drive the picture for young lawyers: culture, wellbeing support, recognition and pay. Only one of them is holding.
1) Culture rates well, and that is the trap
Among lawyers aged 18 to 29, 83 per cent rated their firm’s culture as excellent or good, and just 10 per cent rated it poor or terrible. Source. A strong culture score is worth having. The risk is reading it as an all-clear, when what it often measures is whether people like the colleagues around them, not whether the firm is looking after them.
2) Wellbeing support is going backwards
Positive ratings for wellbeing support among under-30s fell from 72 per cent last year to 68 per cent, with 8 per cent describing their firm’s performance as poor or terrible. Source. Roughly one in three young lawyers is not willing to say their firm supports their overall wellbeing well.
Daniel Stirling, Director for Australia at G2 Legal, told Lawyers Weekly: “Wellbeing is more in the spotlight given the much publicised mental health challenges in the industry and the fact that lawyers have experienced more flexibility in their early careers than previous generations.” Source.
3) Recognition is the quiet one
Positive ratings for recognising individual performance fell from 72 per cent to 69 per cent. Almost one-third, 31 per cent, did not rate their firm positively, and 12 per cent called it poor or terrible. Source. Recognition is the cheapest of the four attributes to improve and the easiest to let slide, because it usually depends on individual supervisors rather than firm policy.
4) Pay improved and is still last
Just 59 per cent of under-30s rated their remuneration positively, up from 56 per cent, with 6 per cent calling their pay and rewards poor and a further 3 per cent terrible. Source. Pay moved in the right direction and remains the weakest of the four scores. That matters, because pay is the attribute firms usually reach for first.
The read: when culture rates high while wellbeing and recognition fall, the likely cause is not a bad workplace. It is a firm where people enjoy their team but do not feel supported or seen. That combination keeps engagement scores respectable right up until someone resigns.
This Is Not a Junior Problem
The under-30 numbers look mild next to the senior cohort. Among lawyers aged 40 and over, not a single respondent rated their remuneration as excellent or good, and 71 per cent rated it poor or terrible, made up of 45 per cent poor and 26 per cent terrible. Last year, only 10 per cent of that group held a negative view of their pay. Source.
Wellbeing follows the same shape. No senior respondent rated their firm as good or excellent on supporting their overall wellbeing, and 56 per cent said their firm was falling short, against fewer than 5 per cent holding negative views last year. Source. Recognition tracks it: 55 per cent of senior lawyers say their contributions are not adequately recognised, and negative ratings in that area rose by 42 per cent on last year. Source. Culture again held up, at 87 per cent positive. Source.
| Attribute | Lawyers aged 18 to 29 | Lawyers aged 40 and over |
|---|---|---|
| Workplace culture | 83 per cent positive; 10 per cent poor or terrible | 87 per cent positive; 9 per cent poor or terrible |
| Wellbeing support | 68 per cent positive, down from 72 per cent | No respondent rated it good or excellent; 56 per cent said the firm falls short |
| Recognition of individual performance | 69 per cent positive, down from 72 per cent; 31 per cent not positive | 55 per cent say contributions not adequately recognised; negative ratings up 42 per cent |
| Remuneration | 59 per cent positive, up from 56 per cent; 9 per cent poor or terrible | No respondent rated it good or excellent; 71 per cent poor or terrible |
Figures as published by Lawyers Weekly from the 11th Legal Firm of Choice Survey. Under-30 source and 40 and over source.
Where the flight risk actually sits
Of the 21 per cent intending to leave within 12 months, the sharpest movement is in the 40 to 49 band at 27 per cent, a 14 point increase year on year. Lawyers aged 18 to 29 sit at 24 per cent and those aged 30 to 39 at 19 per cent. By state, NSW leads at 24 per cent, ahead of Victoria at 22 per cent and Queensland at 18 per cent. Source.
That 40 to 49 band is the group that supervises, reviews and mentors your juniors. Lose it and the under-30 scores get worse, because recognition and wellbeing support are delivered by the people immediately above them.
Attraction is not one audience
The survey’s attraction rankings split by age. Mallesons topped the list for lawyers aged 18 to 39, while MinterEllison topped the list for lawyers aged 40 and over. Allens fell from first place on both. Under-39 source and 40 and over source. Respondents chose up to five firms they would consider joining and then nominated a top choice, and could not vote for their own firm. Source. The practical point is that one employer-brand message aimed at everyone is likely to land with no one.
Four Moves Firms Can Make Before FY27
Each of these maps to one of the four attributes. None of them requires a rebrand.
1) Make pay legible, not just larger
- Publish salary bands by post-admission year internally, so a 59 per cent satisfaction score is not driven by guesswork about what peers earn.
- Explain how the band moves: what triggers a review, what evidence counts, and when decisions are made.
- Separate the pay conversation from the performance conversation, so one does not quietly become the other.
2) Move recognition off the annual cycle
- Set a standing expectation that supervisors give specific feedback on completed matters, not only at review time.
- Name contributions in front of the team, including non-billable work such as knowledge, training and business development.
- Track who has not had a substantive feedback conversation this quarter. Recognition fails quietly and by omission.
3) Treat wellbeing as workload design
- Look at matter allocation, urgency triage and after-hours expectations before adding another wellbeing program.
- Check whether the same handful of people absorb every urgent matter. That pattern shows up in wellbeing scores long before it shows up in resignations.
- Note that this is also a compliance question. Managing psychosocial risk is now part of work health and safety duties across Australian jurisdictions, following the model regulations and Code of Practice. Source. The right to disconnect under the Fair Work Act has also applied to non-small business employers since 26 August 2024 and to small business employers since 26 August 2025. Source.
4) Say something specific in your employer brand
- Culture claims all sound alike. Describe the mechanism instead: how work is allocated, how review works, what a normal week looks like.
- Write separately for early-career and senior audiences, because the survey shows they rank firms differently.
- Make sure the claim survives contact with a current employee. Candidates check.
For context on the size of the pool, there were 97,500 solicitors in Australia as at October 2024, and 48 per cent of them were aged 25 to 39. Source. Early-career lawyers are not a niche segment. They are close to half the profession.
Why this matters for your firm
- A high culture score can mask falling wellbeing and recognition. Read the four attributes together, never the best one alone.
- The 40 to 49 band is both your highest flight risk and the group that delivers recognition and support to juniors.
- Pay is the weakest attribute for under-30s, and it is the one most firms address first. Recognition is cheaper and is falling just as fast.
- Attraction rankings differ by age, so employer-brand messaging needs at least two versions.
Conclusion
The 2026 Legal Firm of Choice data does not describe firms with bad cultures. It describes firms whose culture is doing the heavy lifting while support, recognition and pay slip underneath it. Among under-30s, wellbeing support has fallen to 68 per cent and pay satisfaction sits at 59 per cent, even where culture rates 83 per cent. Source.
With 21 per cent of private practice lawyers intending to move within 12 months, the firms that hold their people through FY27 are likely to be the ones that fix the mechanics: how pay is explained, how work is allocated, and how contributions are recognised week to week. Source. If you would like a view of how your offer compares in the current market, our legal team works with firms across Australia every week.
Disclaimer: This blog is a general overview and should not be construed as professional legal, financial or medical advice.
FAQs
- What is the Legal Firm of Choice Survey and how large is it?
It is an annual survey run by Lawyers Weekly with research partner Agile Market Intelligence. The 11th edition collected 612 responses from private practice lawyers in Australia, with fieldwork from 1 April to 31 May 2026. Respondents nominated up to five firms they would consider joining, then a top choice, and could not vote for their own firm.
- How can culture rate at 83 per cent while people still plan to leave?
Culture scores often reflect how people feel about their colleagues and day-to-day working relationships. Wellbeing support, recognition and pay reflect what the firm does structurally. A lawyer can like their team and still leave because workload, feedback or remuneration are not working. That is why the four attributes should be read together rather than in isolation.
- Will a pay rise fix retention on its own?
It may help, and pay is the weakest of the four attributes for under-30s at 59 per cent positive. The survey data suggests it is unlikely to be sufficient by itself, because wellbeing support and recognition both fell over the same period. Firms may get more retention value from combining a defensible pay structure with better feedback and workload management than from a pay increase alone.
- What does wellbeing support actually mean in a law firm?
In practice it tends to mean workload design more than programs: how matters are allocated, how urgent deadlines are triaged, whether after-hours expectations are explicit, and whether recovery time is real. It also has a compliance dimension, since managing psychosocial risk forms part of work health and safety duties in Australia, and the right to disconnect now applies under the Fair Work Act.
- Do young lawyers and senior lawyers want the same things from a firm?
The survey suggests not. The attraction rankings differ by age band, with Mallesons topping the list for lawyers aged 18 to 39 and MinterEllison topping the list for lawyers aged 40 and over. Satisfaction levels also differ sharply, with the senior cohort reporting far more negative views on pay and wellbeing support than under-30s.
- If a firm can only fix one thing this year, what should it be?
Recognition is often the practical starting point. It is the least expensive of the four attributes to improve, it fell for both age groups, and it depends mainly on supervisor behaviour rather than firm budget. Consistent, specific feedback on completed work also tends to improve perceptions of wellbeing support and fairness of pay, because people can see how decisions are being made.
Information Sources
- Lawyers Weekly – What makes a firm stand out to young lawyers? (29 July 2026)
- Lawyers Weekly – Senior lawyers are on the move, but what are they really looking for? (12 August 2026)
- Lawyers Weekly – More than 20% of lawyers intend to leave their jobs this year (1 July 2026)
- Lawyers Weekly – Top 25 Attraction Firms unveiled for 2025-26, including survey methodology (3 June 2026)
- Safe Work Australia – Model WHS Regulations and Code of Practice on psychosocial hazards
- Fair Work Ombudsman – Right to disconnect
- Law Society of NSW – 2024 National Profile of Solicitors (published 13 June 2025)
- Gorilla Jobs – What Makes Law Firms Attractive to Lawyers?
- Gorilla Jobs – Lawyer Salaries Update: What to Watch Heading into 2026
- Gorilla Jobs – Why Do Lawyers Leave Their Jobs? Understanding the Top 5 Reasons
