Both brand-new and veteran attorneys are gravitating away from the insurance defense industry, posing a problem for shops currently inundated with work: How do you recruit and retain talent in a hiring era focused on work-life balance, flexible working arrangements, and ever-increasing compensation?

It’s a question full-service firms have had to contend with as they try to return to “normal” following the pandemic; but compounding these recruitment difficulties for insurance defense firms is a shrinking talent pool, linked to already thin profit margins and the demands of budget-conscious clients.

Behind the Talent Shortage