The legal profession is weathering the current economic chill relatively well, a survey claimed this week, with 53% of firms increasing staff levels in the previous six months and 55% planning to during the next six.

However, the survey of 215 firms of all sizes by recruitment consultancy TMP/Hudson Global found that half of law firms are experiencing difficulties in employing skilled people for specific areas, compared to a national business average of 32%.

Despite the skills shortages, the research said little action is being taken to tackle it - 60% of firms have no long-term strategy in place to tackle the problem, while only 40% are taking specific steps to counter the problem of burn-out among young graduates in the profession owing to the long hours and pressures of the job.

This is despite the finding that 31% of firms maintain that the current economic climate has heightened the burn-out problem.

Sarah Simpson, UK head of legal recruitment at TMP/Hudson Global Resources, said: 'The market has seen some redundancies, but these are predominantly being driven by practice and firm-specific factors.

In general, firms are still recruiting, albeit for flourishing practice areas rather than across the board.

As a result, we are still very much in a candidate-short market, where specific skills are highly-prized.'