The legal market has not seen significant changes since the summer, but what we are seeing more of is that salaries differ depending on the industry you work in. Throughout 2021, we have seen a drastic increase in the need for legal professionals in the corporate services industry. This ranges from junior level positions up to senior appointments. The MFSA published a new CSP rulebook in 2021, and we then saw an increase from corporate service providers to hire legal professionals.
By looking over our observations, we see that iGaming is still the highest-paid industry on the island, but we are also seeing that salaries have increased slightly in corporate services and banking & finance. In general, salaries start out quite low in most industries, but by growing in a certain industry you will also find that brings higher salaries. Companies across most industries have been hiring and this has pushed the salaries up slightly.
Continuing on from what we saw at the end of the summer, companies in regulated markets are still hiring legal professionals. After Malta was greylisted by the FATF, lawyers with AML qualifications and experience were more in demand and we are still seeing trends of that. This specifically applies to regulated industries such as iGaming, Corporate and Financial Services and Insurance.
One of the key trends we are also seeing is that regulated industries are hiring the most. Legal professionals will find opportunities in such industries, especially with further specializations and skillsets. We have seen a trend that companies are hiring legal professionals to be involved in other key functions such as compliance and data protection. This has created more split positions than we have seen in the past such as Legal Counsel & DPO and Legal & Compliance Officer.
In general, certain skill sets are more attractive in the market. For almost any industry, we are seeing that skills in corporate & commercial law are the combination that is most attractive when entering the job market. For some industries, we are also seeing the advantage of having industry experience to enter as well, whether it be in Banking & Finance, iGaming or Insurance.
In Corporate Services, there continues to be a demand for Corporate Administrators. This is a need that lasted throughout 2021 and we are seeing that salaries have been affected in this regard. To be more attractive, companies are paying more as well as seeing counter-offers becoming more normal in order to keep the candidates.
This market has become very competitive and many companies are also applying for other benefits to attract talent. One of the most common and highly appreciated benefits is the option to work remotely or with a hybrid model.