Role National postings Avg. days to fill Demand signal What this means for your hiring Lawyer / Associate Attorney 22,938 31 days High demand Longest posting duration in any vertical in this report. In-house legal teams are expanding, pulling candidates from firms and creating firm-level backfill pressure at the same time. Contracts Manager / Specialist 23,547 20 days High demand Growing demand driven by procurement complexity, vendor risk, and M&A; activity. Candidates with government or SaaS contract experience are the hardest segment to source. Compliance Specialist 26,532 19 days High demand Regulatory pressure in pharma, finance, and healthcare is driving consistent demand. Compliance has become a line function, not a back-office one, and salary expectations reflect that. Paralegal / Legal Assistant 22,000+ 21 days Moderate demand Steady baseline demand across law firms and in-house teams. Paralegals with litigation or corporate transactional backgrounds are more competitive than generalists. Docketing / Legal Support 12,000+ 22 days Moderate demand Lower volume but highly specialized. IP docketing candidates represent a narrow talent pool. Firms that over-rely on internal promotions often find the role underfilled for months. Legal and Compliance Legal and compliance hiring operates at a different pace than most other functions, and the data reflects it. Attorney roles carry the longest median posting duration of any category tracked here, at 31 days, while compliance and contracts roles are growing rapidly as organizations face more complex regulatory and vendor environments. These roles require a sourcing approach that understands the nuance of the work, not just the title. PLANNING NOTE Legal candidates at the attorney and senior compliance level evaluate cultural fit, work structure, and growth opportunity as heavily as compensation. A compelling employer narrative and a well-run hiring process matter as much as the offer itself. Organizations that treat legal hiring as transactional consistently struggle to compete with those that approach it as relationship-driven.