Queensland law firms are facing a retention crisis among legal support staff, with many professionals leaving the industry or shifting firms at the crucial five to 10‑year career mark.
Legal recruitment specialist Gretta Lloyd from HarperLloyd says the industry is “hemorrhaging talent” during these mid‑career years – a period where support staff often hold deep technical knowledge, trusted relationships with partners, and the ability to keep matters moving efficiently.
“When someone with five to ten years’ experience leaves, partners say they’ve lost their right hand,” Ms Lloyd said. “The knowledge that walks out the door can be impossible to replace.”
Mid‑career exodus driven by pay, flexibility and lifestyle
Ms Lloyd said the reasons for mid‑career departures varied, but many stemmed from workplace rigidity.
“Senior support staff are often less salary‑driven and more benefits‑driven,” she said.
“For those with families, flexibility like adjusted hours or hybrid work can be the deciding factor. If firms don’t offer that, they move.”
In contrast, younger staff are moving for different reasons — often believing they need to “go out to go up”.
“They’ll shift after 18 months or two years because another firm will give them a bigger title or a $10,000 pay rise,” she said.
Competition from corporate roles
Another growing trend is legal support staff leaving the profession entirely for corporate roles, where hybrid work, modern office environments and tech‑driven cultures are standard.
“Corporations – tech, property, construction – often pay $20,000 to $30,000 more for EA or support roles,” she said.
“If you can get more money, work from home several days a week and wear relaxed clothing, it’s very tempting.”
Rigid salary bands holding firms back
Ms Lloyd said many firms had national salary brackets for legal support, meaning Brisbane candidates were often paid the same as colleagues in Sydney or Melbourne, regardless of market differences.
“Salary structures are quite rigid,” she said. “Support staff feel capped.”
She also noted that flexible work decisions often depend on partner preference, creating inconsistency across practice groups.
“Litigation partners usually want their teams in the office five days. Corporate or insurance teams might offer one or two days from home – and that makes a huge difference to candidate attraction.”
Cost of replacing experienced staff ‘enormous’
The industry also underestimates the financial impact of turnover, Ms Lloyd said.
“When a senior support worker hears a conversation through the office wall and starts drafting correspondence before being asked – that’s priceless,” she said.
“You can’t replicate that with a new hire.”
The ramp‑up time for new staff, especially when firms are demanding candidates who can “hit the ground running”, further compounds the problem.
Retention key to industry stability
Ms Lloyd believes the solution lies in more flexible return‑to‑work models, clearer and earlier progression pathways, and deeper recognition of the expertise that long‑term legal support professionals bring to firms.
She says one of the biggest pressure points comes when employees return after major life stages – particularly parental leave – and discover that traditional work structures haven’t adapted.
“Legal support is still overwhelmingly female. The five to 10‑year mark lines up with huge life changes,” Ms Lloyd said. “If firms expect someone to return five days a week, in‑office, with no transition period, they will lose them – and many do.”
Ms Lloyd says even minor adjustments can make an enormous difference, suggesting staggered return plans, earlier consultation before employees come back, and partner‑level endorsement of flexible hours.
“It’s not just about letting someone log in from home one day a week,” she said. “It’s about partners genuinely supporting different ways of working – knowing that flexibility is often what keeps someone in the profession.”
She argues that retaining mid‑career legal support staff is not only a cultural issue but a financial one.
“When people stay 10, 20, 30 years, the value they bring is immeasurable,” she said. “It’s the unspoken knowledge — the memory of files, the understanding of partner expectations, the ability to pre‑empt work. Firms can’t afford to lose that.”
Ms Lloyd warns that without meaningful retention policies, firms risk a compounding skills shortage where senior support staff leave, remaining staff inherit the pressure, and younger workers burn out or move industries entirely.
“Once that cycle starts, it’s very hard to stop,” she said. “Retention isn’t just a HR metric — it’s strategic. It affects the whole practice.”
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