During this month’s Eye on ESI, ACEDS VP of Strategy and Client Engagement Maribel Rivera and I discussed a number of new trends and predictions we saw this past June for job seekers and employers in the current eDiscovery industry. 

First, it’s important to point out that the free 2024 eDiscovery Jobs Report is still available from the TRU website. The data in ESI changes on a monthly basis, but information in this report remains timely and relevant. It’s a great resource, particularly for hiring managers looking for advocacy and points of data in the job market to help get the budget for hiring or to creatively help solve roadblocks to hiring.  

We’ve introduced a new segment in this webinar to showcase the diversity of current high-demand roles facilitated by TRU. These include contract, direct hire, leadership, and traditional midmarket project management positions. Notably, emerging technologies are creating new job types, such as utilizing eDiscovery technology for broader applications.

Now, let’s highlight the key trends from June: 

• Compared to last year, TRU recruiters have filled 30% more positions in the first half of this year, indicating increased and faster hiring activity in the eDiscovery sector. That shows you that organizations are hiring more, hiring quickly, and it shows that there were more jobs available this year in eDiscovery than there were at this time last year. 

• June saw a notable trend where many job seekers declined numerous offers, underscoring high demand for top talent who often receive multiple offers upon hiring. Furthermore, the job market is gradually shifting toward favoring candidates, marking a shift from an employer-dominated market over the past 18 months. 

• Another significant trend is the rise in corporate eDiscovery hiring, predominantly in contract roles, often remote. Transitioning from full-time to contract can offer unique career opportunities within corporate environments.  

• In June, more law firms moved toward flexibility by reducing in-office requirements to one day a week, aiming to attract top talent effectively. This signals that law firms know they need to work harder to attract top-notch talent. The minute that law firms make that shift, the number of interested candidates in open roles increases exponentially. 

• TRU recruiters discovered that three out of four ESI job seekers prefer fully remote contract positions over direct hires with more frequent in-office obligations, reflecting current job seeker preferences. We’re finding it is more likely that ESI professionals will leave a full-time role and go to a remote contract role instead of going into an office – this shows you the current mindset of job seekers. 

• As Q2 2024 concluded, burnout emerged as the primary motivation prompting job seekers to explore new opportunities, significantly impacting industry dynamics. The trend started in Q4 2023 and has continued to work its way up. Firms continue to be understaffed, teams are overworked, and this is why people are holding firm onto remote work. It gives them some control over their careers. This trend is really affecting the industry overall. People are willing to leave tens of thousands of dollars behind and go to a lower-paying contract role because they are burned out and need a change. 

• Moreover, ESI attorney hiring reached a 12-month peak by June, emphasizing demand for legal professionals adept in navigating ESI issues beyond traditional document review. 

Looking ahead, recent data highlights a shift in offer acceptance likelihood and a trend toward increased direct hiring. Employers now face a 50% acceptance rate for initial offers, requiring competitive offers to secure top candidates. Candidates are waiting weeks to see how many offers they get and what their best offers are. It’s no longer about being fast and first with an offer, right now, you have to put your best offer forward to get the best candidates. The lack of volume of people with a lot of open jobs is starting to hit – as you can see, it’s a trend a lot like in 2022. 

The balance between contract and direct hire roles shifted towards more direct hiring in June, indicating rising demand and preference for permanent placements. We expect this trend to stay the same between now and the end of the year. However, the only thing that would change that prediction is if project work becomes extreme, you will see contract work percentages go higher because staff would be needed to fill roles for a certain amount of time. 

Motivations among job seekers highlight burnout as a prevalent issue, alongside challenges related to new business prospects and toxic workplace cultures. Burnout is different for ESI pros. It can mean people are overworked or overstressed. In terms of the second point, not being able to take new business affects the sales professionals coming to TRU looking for new roles. If organizations can’t take on new jobs, sales pros will want to move on to continue to make money. In terms of the third point, a toxic culture can creep in because of a lack of vision or a lack of empathy toward employees. 

Salary averages in mid-market law firms have notably risen, indicating competitive efforts to attract and retain talent. We’ve seen the salary averages go up quite a bit at law firms, across the board in the mid-market section.  

Conversely, on the vendor side, salary trends vary, with increased demand and compensation for review managers reflecting a need for skilled leadership in reviews. 

We’re seeing the salaries for some roles go down, while salaries for review managers are going up – mainly because there are fewer review managers out there. Vendors want more sophisticated leadership over their reviews and are willing to pay for it. They are also pushing hard for less expensive midmarket talent. 

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