ACC: In-house counsel are quite optimistic about job security

The majority of corporate lawyers (50.9%) believe that they are not affected by the loss of jobs that occurred following the global Covid-19 pandemic and the related economic crisis. This is the most optimistic figure that emerges from the latest survey by the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC), carried out online from 4 August to 10 August with the participation of 487 in-house lawyers.

Only 26% of respondents said they were only “a little” anxious about it and about 15%, on the other hand, said they were rather worried about their job. 6% expressed great concern about being left without a job and 2% said they had already lost their job. Fewer than one in five (16.9%) are actively looking for new employment.

Good news, for now, also in terms of compensation. In fact, nearly 77% of respondents reported that basic pay and benefits remained the same and 61% don’t expect a reduction in the future. Almost 30%, on the other hand, said they don’t know what to expect, while about 9% have already prepared for wage cuts. As for the austerity measures, 11% of respondents said their legal departments have implemented layoffs.

However, the result is that the crisis leads corporate lawyers to do more with less resources: while 33% said the pandemic did not affect the hiring practices of their legal department, nearly 28% reported being in the midst of a hiring freeze, and 19% said their departments have cut it down. More than 80% said this situation affected their daily workloads.