For many law firms, January is about momentum. Business plans are agreed, growth targets are set and new priorities are confirmed.
What’s often less clear is whether the firm’s current people model is genuinely set up to deliver those ambitions.
Not just on paper, but in practice.
Why workforce planning has become a strategic issue
Over the past few years, many firms have relied on resilience to bridge gaps.
Teams may have absorbed extra work, senior lawyers might have taken on more responsibility and partners may have stepped in to maintain standards and client service.
That flexibility has helped firms navigate uncertainty, but it’s also masked structural issues.
As we head into 2026, we’re increasingly seeing a disconnect between strategic ambition and operational capacity.
The difference between headcount and capacity
Most workforce planning focuses on numbers:
- How many people are in the team.
- How many vacancies exist.
- How many hires are planned.
Capacity is more nuanced and is shaped by:
- Experience and supervision requirements
- Dependency on key individuals
- Work that sits outside chargeable hours
- The ability to absorb change without strain
A team can look “fully staffed” and still be operating at risk.
Where people risks usually emerge
In our experience, the most significant risks are rarely the most visible.
They often sit in:
- Succession, where future leaders are assumed rather than prepared
- Senior roles, where responsibility has quietly expanded
- High-performing teams, where output hides fatigue
- Stable departments, where low employee turnover creates false confidence
These risks don’t appear suddenly; they build gradually.
Why timing matters
The legal talent market has not softened; it has become more selective.
Experienced lawyers are more deliberate about moves, but also clearer about limits.
By the time a resignation lands, the underlying decision has usually been forming for some time – often triggered by sustained pressure rather than a single issue. That’s why early planning matters.
Planning that supports delivery
Firms that approach workforce planning well tend to focus less on vacancies and more on exposure.
They ask:
- Where are we most reliant on a small number of people?
- Which roles would be hardest to replace quickly?
- How much slack exists if someone leaves or reduces hours?
- What assumptions sit behind our growth targets?
This isn’t about pessimism; it’s about making sure ambition and delivery stay aligned.
If you’d like a confidential conversation about whether your current people model supports your 2026 plans, our team is always happy to sense-check it with you. Get in touch with us today to book a meeting.
