Every week, we speak with law firms looking for a commercial real estate paralegal with 10+ years of experience.
And every week, the search gets a little harder.
The reality is that many of the professionals who built their careers in highly specialized legal practice areas are approaching retirement. Unfortunately, there simply aren’t enough experienced candidates entering the workforce to replace them.
This isn’t just a commercial real estate issue.
We’re seeing the same trend across corporate law, intellectual property, trusts & estates, litigation support, insurance defense, and other specialized legal support roles.
National workforce experts have been warning for years that retirements will outpace the number of experienced professionals entering the labor market. The legal industry is no longer preparing for that shift—it’s living it.
As legal recruiters, we understand why firms want candidates who can “hit the ground running.” Training requires time, resources, and the involvement of already busy attorneys and senior staff.
But there’s a challenge with relying exclusively on senior-level hires.
If every law firm is searching for professionals with 10 to 20 years of experience—and very few firms are developing the next generation—where will those experienced professionals come from five or ten years from now?
The firms that will be best positioned for the future are already thinking beyond today’s opening.
They’re investing in junior and mid-level legal assistants and paralegals with strong fundamentals.
They’re pairing newer professionals with experienced mentors before decades of institutional knowledge walk out the door.
They’re creating structured training opportunities in specialized practice areas.
And they’re treating talent development as a long-term business strategy—not just a hiring decision.
We’ve seen firsthand how effective this approach can be. Some of the strongest senior paralegals in Atlanta started as junior professionals who were given the opportunity to learn, grow, and specialize because a law firm was willing to invest in their potential.
The legal talent shortage isn’t coming.
It’s already here.
The question isn’t whether your firm will eventually need to train the next generation of legal professionals.
It’s whether you’ll start before your experts retire.
At Connect Staffing, we’re passionate about helping law firms build sustainable legal teams—not just filling today’s vacancy. Sometimes the best long-term hire isn’t the candidate who checks every box today; it’s the one who has the foundation, drive, and potential to become your firm’s expert tomorrow.
How is your firm preparing for the next generation of legal talent? Are you investing in succession planning and developing future legal support professionals, or are you finding it increasingly difficult to hire experienced talent? We’d love to hear your perspective.